Posts tagged More

By now everyone has heard of the swine flu and many are concerned that a deadly pandemic is spreading at an alarming rate around the globe. In the midst of the media reporting an increasing trend and televising crowds of people wearing face masks on their way to work and families wearing them in their own home, a fearful population had begun closing schools and canceling many events where a high density of people would gather. Many citizens, weary of the growing pandemic, are seeking the vaccine as a wise precaution. The vaccinations are now being administered in droves and for some groups the immunization has even been mandated.

But there has been some controversy stemming from side effects of the swine flu vaccine. Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is suspected of being caused by the H1N1 vaccine and is causing serious health problems and even death. Concerned citizens are weighing the risks and wondering if they are better off taking the risk of contracting swine flu by passing on the flu shot or to get the vaccinations and take their chances with the painful and lethal Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

The mainstream media would have you know that the first outbreak of the H1N1 strain occurred in Mexico at a pig farm in early 2009 simply by failing to report, or ignoring earlier outbreaks of the same strain at least as far back as 1918. Another detail the major news networks may have forgotten to report is that the swine flu is very rarely transferred from pigs to humans, or perhaps they were unaware of this, and they most certainly didn’t give the 1976 swine flu outbreak much airtime.

The mainstream media had been, and still is, providing extensive and overwhelming coverage of the swine flu outbreak for months before the H1N1 virus had reached the US and while the number of reported cases , let alone related deaths, were (and still are to this day) quite low. Furthermore, Doctors everywhere agree that the swine flu virus causes the same symptoms of the standard influenza virus, a fact that could account for widespread misdiagnoses of swine flu. In one newspaper article, published in early 2009, the large headline read “First American Dies of Swine Flu in the United States” although the report stated that the first casualty of the virus was a Mexican child who had contracted it in Mexico before his mother brought him into the US to be treated at a Texas hospital only the day prior to his death.

The common influenza kills about 50,000 people every year, while the H1N1 strain has reportedly killed less than 8,000 since its outbreak. The problem with the 2009 swine flu debacle, however, is not so much the idea that the media is creating a great deal of fear over a virus that isn’t much of a threat. The idea that the fear of pandemic leads the people to beg for a vaccine that may be more harmful than the swine flu itself is the source of distrust in government over the issue. In this case it may very well be that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

In 1976 there was an outbreak of swine flu at Fort Dix, infections of the strain were only detected for about 20 days-between January 19 to February 9 and did not spread beyond Fort Dix. The outbreak resulted in only one death and 13 other cases but public health officials decided the situation was alarming, prompting them to urge President Gerald Ford to vaccinate the entire country. The vaccine caused over 500 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and 25 deaths. Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a paralyzing neuromuscular disorder. One might wonder if the initially alarmed public health officials were later equally alarmed that the swine flue vaccine killed 25 times more people than the swine flu virus.

Another questionable aspect of the 1976 swine flu fiasco concerns the timing of the H1N1 outbreak in relation to the point at which the vaccine finally started being administered. As previously stated, the outbreak at Fort Dix was first realized on January 19, 1976 and was only detected until February 9th. Also, the virus never spread outside of Fort Dix but the mass vaccinations did not begin until October 1, 1976 due to strong public opposition. During this span of 7 1/2 months, between outbreak and vaccination, there was not one additional death and not one more reported case of the H1N1 virus anywhere at all, and public relations problems were delaying the government from commencing the nation-wide vaccinations all the while.

Despite the public and the considerable lapse of no further indication of an H1N1 outbreak, the initial sense of urgency that led to the vaccinations apparently did not subside during this time. The government wanted everyone to get vaccinate but the epidemic never really broke out. It was a threat that never materialized. Why did the government still feel the need to conduct mass nation-wide vaccinations on October 1st?

The concern of a potential pandemic would be understandable on January 19th, even more so on February 5th when the first death, an army recruit, occurred and also as 13 more cases were reported on the same army post up until February 9th. But why was the government still so adamant about the massive vaccinations after all the opposition and the lack of spreading of the virus after nearly 8 months?

After the fallout from the vaccinations in 1976, which were halted 10 weeks later because of the public’s reaction, the government paid out millions in settlements for damage caused by the swine flu vaccine. However, U.S. federal legislation has, since the 1980s, protected vaccine makers against lawsuits related to childhood vaccines. In July, that protection was extended to makers of H1N1 vaccine. To some, this may be the smoking gun that clearly indicates the government was aware the vaccine would be damaging and this time decided to protect themselves first.

Now in 2009 several cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome have already been reported in recent months. A high school athlete from Virginia was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome hours after receiving a swine flu shot and a French woman was diagnosed with GBS six days after she received the swine flu shot, according to the French health ministry. The US military has made it mandatory for all service members to be vaccinated and deployed soldiers are being told they will not be allowed to go home until they are vaccinated against H1N1.

There are many valid arguments among both supporters and skeptics alike on whether the vaccination is worth the inherent risk that comes with any vaccine. When dealing with one’s own health and welfare, no one source, neither government nor irrational skeptic, should be trusted as a greater authority than one’s own personal investigation and judgment. Only independent and in-depth research conducted by individuals should influence their decision-making process.