Before we get started today, I need to post a clarification on my position about viruses.
There is a movement afloat to refute the very existence of viruses. This debate will likely go on for a long time before it is settled. **That battle is not my fight,** and I won’t engage in that discussion/debate on this page. I am reviewing and writing here about what is the generally accepted influenza viruses and flu shot – and I am writing about the foibles of both.
A virus is said to be an infectious microbe consisting of a segment of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat. A virus is not a living organism, but it can make copies of itself that can be passed on to other hosts. The ability to replicate gives the impression that a virus is ‘alive.’ To replicate, it must invade a living cell and use components of the host’s cells to make copies of itself. The host can be a fungi, bacteria, plants, and every living creature. The viruses that can infect humans are only a small fraction of viruses in the world. Since 1977, only a few influenza A viruses, specifically H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2, have been associated with human infection….