Talk about being a party pooper!
Here we are, about to celebrate America’s 242nd birthday, and all Big Pharma wants to talk about is the flu!
Of course, there’s no doubt that last winter’s flu season was a brutal one. And that’s something drugmakers don’t want you to forget.
They want to make sure that even though you’re enjoying the summer… perhaps flipping burgers on the grill or at the beach or pool… the flu is always on your mind.
And aside from the summer “soft” sell of the flu shot, there’s something else in the works that you’ll hear on the news nonstop. You’ll soon be told about a new pill that can “cure” you of influenza in one day – a true miracle drug!
This latest wonder-med has just had its wheels greased to speed along the FDA’s fast track, and it’s expected to be out the door and on pharmacy shelves by the end of the year.
But neither this drug nor any of the current lineup of flu shots is going to make influenza extinct… or even have a significant impact when it comes to keeping people healthy.
The best way to stay on your feet and be flu-free this coming fall and winter is to start right now, taking the steps necessary to make sure your immune system is getting all the perks it needs to protect you.
The real flu-fighter
The flu vaccine has to be Big Pharma’s most sacred cow of all.
Even though it doesn’t work very well… and drugmakers are constantly being shielded from lawsuits over its side effects (no matter how horrible)… it makes a mint for the drug industry every year.
So, it’s not unexpected that it is only July and we’re already being primed to roll up our sleeves!
The latest news was an FDA wrap-up of the most recent flu-shot flops. Seriously, only the feds could take those results — which told how “flu vaccines barely worked at all” when it came to keeping seniors out of the hospital last season — and put a positive spin on them.
The agency did that by saying Flucelvax, a newer shot made from kidney cells taken from a cocker spaniel (yes, a dog!), was a tiny bit more effective than the other flu vaccines. That’s all it could come up with!
But the main event – the feature presentation this year — is no doubt going to be Xofluza.
Otherwise known as “baloxavir marboxil” or simply S-0331188, this med is surely going to be oversold and overhyped like never before.
As we told you right here in the eAlert this past February, we already got a taste of that when every single news source (some, numerous times) told us that drug coming down the pike would make the flu virus vanish in a day!
But as you might have guessed, that’s not exactly how it works.
Xofluza was reported to reduce the influenza “viral load” to undetectable levels in 24 hours for around half of those taking it.
That, however, doesn’t translate into being back to normal in that time.
For that “pre-influenza health status,” as the drugmaker calls it, you’ll need over five days. And guess what? Those taking the placebo fully recovered within seven days.
So, what will you be risking in the side-effects department for (perhaps) feeling better two days sooner?
Well, that’s kind of hush-hush at the moment. All we know right now is that the trials show this new drug has “slightly less side effects” than Tamiflu. And if that’s all they’ve got, this pill is going to be a doozy.
Because causing a tad fewer adverse reactions than Tamiflu is definitely not saying much!
Last winter, I told you how Tamiflu had been linked to some bizarre and tragic occurrences – including a teen’s suicide in Indianapolis and a six-year-old in Texas who came very close to jumping out of her bedroom window.
That’s no secret. You’ll find warnings about the risks of such “neuropsychiatric events” right there on the Tamiflu package with “abnormal behavior,” nausea, vomiting, headache, pain, and a horrific condition in which your skin literally peels off.
But if you’re wondering about Tamiflu benefits, well, it reduces flu symptoms by around half a day — that’s right, a mere 12 hours!
Sure, it would be great to take a pill and have the flu magically go away! But if your immune system is up to par, you’ve already got the best flu-fighter around.
And the best ways to help keep it purring along are going out in the sun for at least 10 minutes a day (to allow your body to make more vitamin D), filling your plate with plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, and getting daily exercise and enough sleep.
Because, as Big Pharma keeps reminding us, it’s never too soon to start preparing for flu season!
“The first single-dose flu drug nod could be FDA’s Christmas present for Roche” Angus Liu, June 26, 2018, FiercePharma, fiercepharma.com