9 replies to this topic

[Rogerdodger]

If you ever meet someone nearly killed by a flu shot, it will make you think twice about getting one.
I met a guy who was shaking so bad he couldn't drive. He had been that way for years after getting the flu shot nerve disease, GBS.

Swine flu shot link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America

By Jo Macfarlane
15th August 2009
Prevention: Is the swine flu shot safe?

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.
The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.
GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.
It refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:
* More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu.
* 500 cases of GBS were detected.
* The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.
* The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.
* The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.

Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.
It is being developed by pharmaceutical companies and will be given to about 13million people during the first wave of immunisation, expected to start in October.

Top priority will be given to everyone aged six months to 65 with an underlying health problem, pregnant women and health professionals.
One senior neurologist said last night: ‘I would not have the swine
flu jab because of the GBS risk.’

There are concerns that there could be a repeat of what became known as the ‘1976 debacle’ in the US, where a swine flu vaccine killed 25 people – more than the virus itself.
A mass vaccination was given the go-ahead by President Gerald Ford because scientists believed that the swine flu strain was similar to the one responsible for the 1918-19 pandemic, which killed half a million Americans and 20million people worldwide.

LINK
http://www.dailymail...hs-America.html

[Lysis]

Given the fact that the mortality rate in association with the swine flu is fairly similiar to that seen with yearly seasonal strains of influenza, it's just not worth it to get vaccinated. Guillain-Barré is definitely not something that you want to develop.

[stocks]

Swine flu vaccine myths 'busted' by experts

Immunisation and influenza experts including Professor Booy, Professor Alan Hampson of the WHO's Influenza Specialist Group and Professor Terry Nolan of the University of Melbourne said they wanted to dispel some of the myths that had sprouted around the vaccine, through underinformed media reports and anti-vaccination campaigners.

MYTH:

The swine flu vaccine has been rushed through without the normal tests.

FACT:

The vaccine took just as long to prepare as the usual seasonal flu vaccine, has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and has been subjected to greater scrutiny than the usual flu vaccine.

MYTH:

Swine flu is so mild that you might as well just catch it and not bother with the vaccine.

FACT:

The number of deaths caused by swine flu could be up to ten times those that we know about, because it might have exacerbated other underlying diseases. It is particularly dangerous in young people and pregnant women.

MYTH:

In 1976 a swine flu vaccine in the USA caused paralysis (Guillian-Barre Syndrome) and it could do again.

FACT:

It was a one-off. The original effect was only an additional one case of GBS per 100,000 people vaccinated. The modern vaccine is very different, and no subsequent vaccines have been linked to GBS. In fact, research suggests vaccination may REDUCE the likelihood of getting GBS, which can be caused by an infection.

MYTH:

The vaccine contains dangerous amounts of mercury.

FACT:

The multi-dose vials contain a small amount of thiomersal, a mercury-based preservative. It is in such small trace amounts — similar to the amount of mercury in some foods — that there is no credible evidence it poses any risk whatsoever.

http://www.theage.co...91001-ge30.html

[Rogerdodger]

I was speaking to my father-in-law about the flu shot.
He had a similar story to mine.
He was painting a house one Friday afternoon when the homeowners left to get their flu shot.
When he came back to finish the job on Monday morning, there was a wreath on the front door.
The woman died after getting the shot.
He says since then he won't take a flu shot.

On the other hand, a local High School 16 year old became ill with flu symptoms last Wednesday.
He was dead within 48 hours.
They are suspecting swine flu.
East Central student dies from influenza

[maineman]

The modern (current) H1N1 vaccine is produced exactly as the annual seasonal flu vaccine and has no side effects (statistically). Currently pregnant women are dying at a rate of 28/100 pregnant women. Young children have no natural immunity. Kids under 18 get fevers up to 105 degrees and are extremely sick because of severe dehydration. The usual suspects (chronic illness, elderly) are at risk the same way as they are for seasonal flu - i.e. flu wears them down so they are susceptible to pneumonia. Death rates annually are difficult to establish for sure, but run over 30,000 annually for the elderly and those with chronic illness. The problem with H1N1 is that it is highly contagious, hence the rapid spread. The average middle aged person who is healthy will get a viral illness with cough, fever, joint aches and pains and misery but will usually be able to handle it well, albeit with several or more days of missed work. The current triage of the H1N1 vaccine is: first to pregnant women, then to kids and college kids. Health care workers, ambulance folks, ER nurses, etc. are next. If there is any left over it will be offered to the general public. No hysteria. Just common sense. GB disease can happen after any infectious illness. mm

[*JB*]

The modern (current) H1N1 vaccine is produced exactly as the annual seasonal flu vaccine and has no side effects (statistically). Currently pregnant women are dying at a rate of 28/100 pregnant women.
GB disease can happen after any infectious illness.

mm

Maineman --

NOT arguing with your position, just the above about pregnant women -- as written -- is VERY misleading.

Of the 100 pregnant women who have been put IN THE ICU -- 28 have died.

LINK to Washington Post article on CDC report on deaths from H1N1

For pregnant women who get H1N1, the RATE OF DEATH is nowhere near 28 out of 100.

Edited by *JB*, 04 October 2009 - 06:27 PM.

[maineman]

The modern (current) H1N1 vaccine is produced exactly as the annual seasonal flu vaccine and has no side effects (statistically). Currently pregnant women are dying at a rate of 28/100 pregnant women.
GB disease can happen after any infectious illness.

mm

Maineman --

NOT arguing with your position, just the above about pregnant women -- as written -- is VERY misleading.

Of the 100 pregnant women who have been put IN THE ICU -- 28 have died.

LINK to Washington Post article on CDC report on deaths from H1N1

For pregnant women who get H1N1, the RATE OF DEATH is nowhere near 28 out of 100.

valid point. We'll know the exact death figures, sadly, a few months from now. Still, as the article points out, this is one hell of a flu for those women, and others. Hopefully all who are at risk will get vaccinated as the benefits outweigh the risk.

mm

[Dex]

I'm surprised that people who are used to dealing with and thinking about numbers only look at the negative aspects of the vaccines. What would the death rate be without the vaccine? What is the death rate of those who take the vaccine?

[maineman]

I'm surprised that people who are used to dealing with and thinking about numbers only look at the negative aspects of the vaccines.

What would the death rate be without the vaccine?
What is the death rate of those who take the vaccine?

Here's some measles facts. Once the measles vaccine was introduced in the 1960s the case rate fell from 400,000 per year to under 1500 until around 1990 when 55,000 cases were reported. Investigation determined that these were due to parents not vaccinating their children. As a result there were 11,000 hospitalizations and 130 deaths. What if that were your kid?

We have similar data for all the major vaccines.

mm

[stocks]

Swine flu less deadly than seasonal flu: official

Swine flu is killing fewer people than seasonal flu but is causing greater alarm due to its impact on children and higher healthcare costs, according to a top disease surveillance expert.

Denis Coulombier, who heads the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's preparedness and response unit, warned that a second wave of swine flu infections could be expected within weeks.

In an interview with AFP, Coulombier said the response to the virus so far had been appropriate, and it was right to prepare for "the worst plausible scenario".

"We had a period of anxiety because the first phase developed very, very quickly and the situation was unclear in Mexico" where the A(H1N1) virus was first reported, he said at the ECDC's Stockholm headquarters.

"For several days, we were not very clear ourselves about the severity of the virus. But more facts emerged very quickly, and we realised the virus was circulating in the United States and therefore had been around for a while."

But he insisted: "We did well to prepare in the way we did. We must always prepare for the worst plausible scenario and the work that was done indicated the possibility of a very severe pandemic.

http://news.yahoo.co...healthfluexpert