As flu season rolls around in Australia—from May through to September—it’s almost inevitable that your local GP will bring up the flu vaccine. But before rolling up your sleeve, it’s worth pausing and asking: Is this necessary? Is it safe? Is it effective?
This article isn’t about fear. It’s about informed consent—your right to understand exactly what you’re putting into your body, especially when the intervention may not be necessary at all.
Let’s lay out the facts as they appear in official documentation:
🚫 No Proven Efficacy
⚠️ No Proven Safety
Both of these facts are clearly stated in the official Product Information (PI) document for the flu vaccine currently used in Australia. You can read it yourself here on the TGA website:
👉 Click to read the official flu vaccine PI
This document isn’t hidden. But it’s dense, full of medical jargon, and not easy to digest unless you’re trained in regulatory or pharmacological language. Most people never read it. Most doctors don’t either.
I won’t take you through the statistics in detail—but I do want to draw your attention to one section: the list of ingredients. Scroll to the excipients section in the PDF, and you’ll find substances that go far beyond simple saltwater and viral particles.
Among the contents are:
- Formaldehyde
- Cetrimonium bromide
- Gentamicin sulphate
- Tylosin tartrate
- Corticosteroids
Let’s take a closer look at what these substances are and what they do:
1. Formaldehyde
A known toxin used to kill viruses during manufacturing. The idea is that trace amounts won’t harm human tissues. But formaldehyde is toxic to living cells. How exactly it’s “safe” for injection into infants and the elderly, while being unsafe for pathogens, is an assumption that has never been properly challenged or tested long-term.
2. Tylosin tartrate
This is a macrolide antibiotic—commonly used in veterinary medicine. In fact, it’s not even approved for human use. It’s added as a preservative or to control bacterial contamination during production. But why are we injecting livestock antibiotics into humans at all?
3. Gentamicin sulphate
Another antibiotic—this one is used in humans, but it’s known to carry serious risks. Gentamicin is nephrotoxic (toxic to kidneys) and can cause severe allergic reactions. It’s powerful, and its inclusion in something as routine as a flu shot should raise questions.
4. Cetrimonium bromide
A topical antiseptic, typically used in creams and disinfectants—not something you’d normally inject. Its role in the vaccine is as a surfactant or preservative, but systemic exposure through injection bypasses your body’s natural detoxification pathways. Bromides compete with iodine in the body, leaving you deficient of this important element.
5. Corticosteroids
These are synthetic versions of adrenal hormones, designed to suppress inflammation. In medicine, they’re used for everything from asthma to eczema, which, in itself, is not a great practice. AND injecting them routinely should definitely raise serious concerns.
So, what’s worse?
Getting the flu (which you may not even catch)?
Or subjecting your body—or your child’s developing system—to repeated exposure to chemical compounds with no long-term safety data, because it has been casually suggested “it’s time for your flu jab”?
The intention here isn’t to shame anyone who chooses vaccination. It’s to say: choice without full information isn’t really a choice at all. And the full information is normally not provided during short consultations when a doctor refers patients to the vax.
We all deserve better than vague reassurances and blind trust. We deserve full transparency, and a system that respects our right to say yes or no—with clarity, not coercion.