My concerns about the swine flu vaccine.
As a health care practitioner I never give advice to people about whether to vaccinate or not. To me it is a very personal choice and one that everyone needs to make for themselves. My goal is always to inform people of both sides of the issue so that they can make their own informed choice. No-one could argue that the pros of the vaccine have not been shared this week in every major paper and news outlet, so I won't repeat that information. What I would like to share, though, is some of my concerns that have often not been covered in these news reports. So here they are.
- Given that swine flu is a mild illness (less virulent than seasonal flu), is a vaccine really needed? With the concerns about the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, it doesn't seem worth the risk. Some people will say that the virus may mutate and become more virulent. Well, maybe, but if it does there is no guarantee that these mutations will not render the current vaccine entirely useless. After all, it is these very mutations that dictate that a new seasonal vaccine needs to be released each and every year.
- Previous swine flu vaccination programs have caused more problems than they solved. In 1976 when there was a swine flu ‘outbreak' in America more people died from the vaccine than the flu. It increased the risk of contracting the nerve disease Guilllain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) by eight times leading to 500 cases and $1.3 million in pay-outs. A recent letter sent out by the United Kingdom Health Protection Agency (and published in the Daily Mail) was sent to neurologists warning them to watch out for an increase in GBS as a result of swine flu vaccination. The vaccine was withdrawn after 10 weeks.
- Whilst the Government are recommending pregnant women be amongst the first vaccinated, CSL's own package insert states "It is also not known whether these vaccines can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity". And "Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 ...vaccine is administered to a nursing woman".
- The vaccine ingredients include amongst other chemicals Thiomersal (mercury, which was removed from other Australian vaccines due to safety concerns) and Beta-Propiolactone which according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in America is "reasonably expected to be a human carcinogen".
- The studies so far conducted on swine flu contained only 240 participants - nowhere near enough for statistically significant results. The definition of common reactions is 1 in 100 and even for these 240 is not a big enough group to be certain, let alone to pick up uncommon, rare or very rare side-effects.
- Whilst the vaccine has been shown to induce antibodies in response to the vaccine, we do not know whether these antibodies will be effective against the live vaccine in the human body. In other words the vaccine has never been shown to actually prevent a real life flu.
- The expected rates of rarer side-effects are not known and have only been ‘anticipated' to be "similar to those spontaneously reported during post approval use of CSL's seasonal influenza vaccine". These include anaphylactic shock, neuralgia, convulsions, encephalitis and GBS. We won't actually know which of these or other side-effects will actually eventuate and in what numbers until after the vaccine has been rolled out and people used as guinea pigs.
- The multi-dose vials of this vaccine mean that there are potential risks of transmission of blood borne diseases. Of course every effort will be made to minimise this risk but as has been shown before, every effort isn't always enough.
Given the lack of adequate testing both of the effectiveness and the safety of the vaccine and the acknowledged side-effects both known and ‘anticipated', I will be choosing not to have this vaccine. I encourage you to do your own independent research into this shot, using reliable, resources and decide for yourself. After all: that is your right.
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written by Vegan Lou, February 16, 2010
A well researched and well presented argument. Unlike the health 'experts' who get paid to tell us that vaccinations are safe and beneficial, without providing us with any documented evidence to back up their assertions. I find it hard to fathom how so many people (formerly including myself) blindly put their faith in GPs and Dept of Health talking heads when it comes to injecting a cocktail of live viruses, blood and animal products, and chemicals such as mercury and formaldehyde, straight into their (and particularly their young children's) bloodstream. We are kept totally in the dark by health authorities to the risks and side effects of vaccinations and, as stated in this article, there is no evidence that proves vaccinations actually work at all. Why in the world would anyone want to infect your body with a 'mild' form of a virus (which your body never actually get's over and so has to fight it for the rest of your life, compromising you immune system), on the unproven premise that it will protect you from the natural form?
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