Flu Shots: What’s Coming, Pt 2 – by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

As we saw in Part 1 of the influenza shot, most flu shots have been made from eggs for more than 80 years. We also discussed some of the chemicals found influenza vaccines.

After the hybrid virus has been chosen from the mix, the virus is injected into the membranes of fertilized eggs.

 

Used with permission (2005) from Dr Vincent Racaneillo

May we assume, therefore, that chicken cell substrate vaccines are safe? With biological products, as with crossing the street, there is no such thing as absolute safety.”

~Robin A. Weiss, University College London, U.K.

That’s why giving up the belief in flu shots is important.Read why here.

In the last several years, there has been a move away from egg-based shots primarily because manufacturing annual flu shots is slow, tedious, and rather expensive. It requires a 9-month production cycle and if the virus in the shot is not a “match” to the virus in circulation, the production run cannot be repeated and replaced. Additionally, even though an allergy to eggs has been a long-standing reason to avoid flu shots, this risk has been recently downplayed. Nonetheless, persons with egg allergies can experience life-threatening anaphylactic reactions after an egg-based flu shot.

In the mid-1990s, the WHO began recommending the use of a cell culture alternative to the egg-based production process. This technology could be rapidly ramped up, especially when shorter production cycles were needed in the event of an urgent need for shots, such as another pandemic.

Only three cell lines have been studied for the manufacture of influenza vaccines: Vero cells, PER.C6 cells, and Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells.

• VERO cells – in 1998, Baxter Vaccines produced a flu shot called Preflucel that underwent clinical trials in 2008-9. The shot was associated with a large number of side effects, including very high fevers. It was removed from the EU market in 2011 with little explanation other than to say it was a “precautionary measure.” No other flu shots have been made from this cell line. VERO cells are from African green monkey kidneys, originally used for polio vaccines. These cells, thought to be responsible for introducing the cancer-causing Simian Virus 40 (SV40) into the human population, are still in use today.
• PER.C6 cells – Manufactured by Crucell, this cell line is derived from a single human retina cell from an aborted fetus. Adenovirus DNA has been combined with the retinal cells, creating what is referred to as a “designer substrate,” a cell complex that can replicate indefinitely. By their very nature, these cells are neoplastic (cancer-causing); researchers refer to them as “oncogenic” cells. They have caused tumors when injected into experimental animals. To date, no flu vaccines derived from PER.C6 have been approved for use in humans.
• Flucelvax Quadrivalent is the only influenza vaccine approved for use in the US made from mammalian MDCK cells (Madin-Darby Canine Kidney). MDCK cells were extracted from dog kidneys in 1958 and have been used in perpetuity for more than 60 years. This shot is licensed for use in six-month-old infants to seniors.
  • In addition to measurable amounts of four different influenza viruses in each injection, the package insert for Flucelvax notes that each dose also contains residual amounts of the following:
    • polysorbate 80
    • cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)
    • β-propiolactone
    • Residual amounts of MDCK dog-cell protein and MDCK dog DNA
    • Each 0.5 mL dose from the multi-dose vial contains 25 mcg of mercury (thimerosal).

Flublok Quadrivalent is the only recombinant flu shot available for the 2022–2023 influenza season. Flublok Quadrivalent is licensed for use in people…