Book has the flu
People flipping out about the swine flu, H1N1, and the worry that getting vaccinated might mean suffering from Gullain-Barr© Syndrome might be calmed by reading this 2001 book by New York Times reporter Gina Kolata, whose research disputes the popular notion that one had anything to do with the other during the Ford Adminstration's 1976 effort to stem the flu's spread. The Virginia Department of Health reports that a Prince William-district woman died July 22 of h1n1.
8 comments
This is not 1918 people! Wake up and stop with the hysterics please (unless you can profit. ie media, pharm)! I bet malnutrition takes more lives than this ever will and yet we as the wealthiest country do little.
H1N1 1N1H who gives a Hooo!
"Swine flu may cause seizures in children "
Given the risks of complications from the vaccine, and the risks of contacting the swine flu, I'll opt for the vaccine for myself and my family.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/health/24flu.html
That 36,000 people die of seasonal flu each year in the US, as quoted in the Baltimore Sun article, is bogus.
http://www.thinktwice.com/flu_lie.htm
There are other side effects to any flu vaccine besides GBS. Before you get any vaccine, you may want to educate yourself on the ingredients, which include viruses, (possibly genetically modified, or "recombinant" or synthetic) preservatives, additives, adjutants, fetal and animal tissue, antibiotics, and often Thimerosol (Mercury). (Yes, the flu vax still contains mercury.)
A vaccine does not confer immunity. It may boost the immune response, but it does not render the recipient immune. Especially influenza vaccines.
Read up before you take any shot.
Much of the information available in the last 10 years agrees with Ms.Kolata's book. The testing has begun in Australia, and mass delivery of the vaccine will not begin until October.
"Aggressive tests set for new flu vaccines
Maryland one of 8 U.S. universities to take part in effort to stave off dangerous mutation of H1N1 virus "
http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bal-md.flu23jul23,0,5508292.story
James, there is still controversy about whether the 1976 vaccine was the cause of Gullain-Barre syndrome. It was never proven conclusively. Isn't this the important lesson to be learned ? ââ?¬Å?The math is overwhelmingly in favor of vaccine if there’s an epidemic,” said Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg, the president of the Institute of Medicine and co-author of ââ?¬Å?The Epidemic That Never Was,” a book about the 1976 episode. ââ?¬Å?It’s in the absence of disease that this rare effect looms large.”
Unlike 1976, we are now experiencing a worldwide swine flu pandemic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/health/09vaccine.html
Not 1918 you say, history has a way of repeating itself. Remember the boy/girl scout motto " Be Prepared "
"An effective flu vaccine would put a dent in the pandemic, if large enough numbers of people get the vaccine before the next waves of the pandemic sweep the nation. Schuchat says the CDC is telling state and local authorities to plan to start getting H1N1 swine flu vaccine in mid-October."
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20090724/new-estimate-on-swine-fl...
Who should be vaccinated for swine flu first. The tentative list that the CDC advisory committee came up with was -- in no particular order:
-- Pregnant women
-- Household contacts and caregivers of children under six months.
-- The 14 million health care and emergency service workers in the United States.
-- All children, adolescents, and young adults age six months to 24 years.
-- Adults age 25 through 64 who have underlying medical conditions
There is an excellent article in today Washington Post concerning the flu "Complacency Bolsters A Pandemic "by Jorge R. Mancillas, a neurobiologist, involved in monitoring and coordinating responses to the flu pandemic as health services officer for Public Services International.
"Efforts to play down the threat are predicated on the idea that one must avoid creating panic. That reveals a condescending view of the public as a mindless mob prone to irrational behavior. A well-explained, sober and objective assessment does not generate panic, especially if it lays the groundwork for preparedness and is accompanied by clear guidelines for the public, medical authorities, front-line responders, health personnel and employers."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/31/AR200907...
Hawes,
You posted about this book when the H1N1 virus first surfaced in the Spring. You seem to be leading an early campaign for mass flu vaccination.
Unfortunately, Gina Kolata's "Flu" is not a reliable source to calm anybody who is "flipping out" about Swine Flu or worried about GBS. In the 10 years since it was written, the amount of publicly available information has increased exponentially.
People can actually make informed decisions by reading up-to-the moment information at the National Vaccine Information Center website, www.nvic.org , among other places.
According to the FDA, swine flu vaccines will be tested for one to three weeks on a few hundred children and adults before being released for use by millions and millions of people. This is not long enough, nor a large enough patient sampling, to determine short-term side effects let alone long-term disabilities.