H1 N1 Vaccinations

[SledMamma]

As a Respiratory Therapist and front line medical worker who is routinely exposed to sick patients who are coughing all over me, I really debated whether or not to get the shot. (Usually, I have been called to assess the patient 3 or 4 times before they decide it could be TB or H1N1 and then put the patient on isolation precautions. Meanwhile, I have been exposed and unprotected except for good hygiene... GRRR!!!)

In the end, I decided on "NO" and here's why:

a) I am a very healthy person with no high risk factors.
b) Too much controversy about safety and how quickly the drug was produced. Just 4 years ago, I couldnt be vaccinated while pregnant because the effects on the fetus were not known. Now, they are saying that pregnant women should be vaccinated with these drugs that contain all sorts of harmful adjuvants... I just don't think the science is sound and the involvement of big business makes it even more suspect.
c) The incidence of auto-immune diseases in our population is rising heavily in cultures that are heavily vaccine dependant. If we continually challenge our immune system with these vaccines that are rife with controversial adjuvants, are we not teaching our immune system to over-react continually. This could be a huge factor in the increases we are seeing in these diseases.
d) Risk vs. reward: How many people actually die from swine-flu vs other diseases and flus and accidents that are preventable? I think we are using scare tactics to promote big profits for big pharma. It doesnt hurt to get sick once in a while and build an immune system naturally. (Yes, I vaccinate against meningitis and measles etc., where the risks and chances of serious morbity and/or mortality is exceedingly high- but I don't feel that swine flu falls into this category)

[cat girl]

those are my reason's also. I work in PH

[Longhorn]

I spent 7 yrs on a Fire & Rescue crew and worked on an ambulance as an attendent (EMR) for 5, and during that time none of us EVER got the regular flu shot...

This year I had 2 people that I know nearly die from complications of H1N1, same age as me, and seemingly healthy only days before, both had to be placed in drug-induced comas, both made it, and both are still fighting the effects.

For this reason, I got both shots this year for the first time...not advocating the shot, just explaining my reasons.

[buck50]

Originally Posted by eattheweak

Well here some thoughts, the flu kills people every year. Mostly the sick and old, natural selection some say. However that does not stop the pain for those who loose someone. You may have a strong immune system and you body fights it off or not H1N1 is killing healthy people too, that is why the medical world worries. Even if you fight it of you may spead it to someone else, who looses the battle. Every year apx 70% fellow Canadians protect us from the flu by getting the shot. Basically it is a heard theory, more of the heard protected; less get sick; less sick less spread. Is it 100% no show me something in life that is, like any other shot there is a small chance of something. So by protecting yourself you may save someone you love. Lastly the flu is the flu, it is how it masks itself to trick your body, kind of like camoflag, H1N1 has good cam. I'm a army guy and we had to do a brief on the shot by a doctor on getting the shot, these are basically his words watered down (I'm not a doctor). Why does the army get this brief??

Because it the army lol; just kidding in the past only 30% of the military gets the shot. Using the heard theroy we are getting protected by the people we swore to protect. The military wants to change this.

Just some food for thought, the decision lies with you, expect a sore arm for a day or so

i would really like to see some data that supports those numbers. not saying you are wrong, but every report i hear is that only 1/3 of the population has got the H1N1 shot this year, and they are pushing it HARD. in normal years, there isn't near as much pressure to get the shot, and i highly doubt that utilization rates are anywhere near that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CR500R]

220 days since being declared a pandemic I must truly be a living miracle because I'm still alive and healthy!!!

[Mike270412]

Originally Posted by CR500R

220 days since being declared a pandemic I must truly be a living miracle because I'm still alive and healthy!!!

Me too!!!!!

[doohead]

I believe most of the hype is a crock of chit too. There is so much bad chit in the vaccine, I was watching something on TV one night where they were saying that it was proven people that get those type of shots will have that chit in their system for years. Could cause some sort of disease 10 yrs from now. And once you get the shot your hooped, they say you are more vulnerable so you NEED to get it again, and again. Come on people think BIG OIL is bad, it's all a money grab. Though I am still 50-50 on whether or not you should get if you have underlying health issues. I don't know enough. Is keeping clean enough for them? Also hasn't the normal flu killed more people in a year then the "swine flu" has.

[Cyle]

Originally Posted by Mike270412

Me too!!!!!

Still kicking here to.....Never got a flu shot before, never will.

[ZRrrr]

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The decision seemed fraught with risk: a government refusing to import swine flu vaccines amid worldwide warnings of a spreading epidemic.

But Poland did just that, becoming the only country worldwide known to reject the vaccines over safety fears and distrust in the drug companies producing them — concerns international health experts reject as unfounded.

Now that the current outbreak appears to have peaked in much of Europe, many Poles feel their government has been vindicated: Countries with large stockpiles often saw low public interest in the vaccines and face financial loss from unused doses now set to expire. But Poland's government didn't spend a cent fighting the epidemic.

All along, the decision by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Health Minister Ewa Kopacz met with broad support. Even with 145 swine flu deaths in Poland to date, many Poles view the rejection of the vaccines as a laudable gesture of defiance against pharmaceutical companies, sentiment shaped by a strengthening anti-vaccine movement and conspiracy theories about the vaccines circulating on the Internet.

"I had the impression that the information about swine flu was manipulated in order to create a panic," said Barbara Lazniewska, a 38-year-old architect who was among the many Poles to applaud the government's stance.

Poles take pride in having a strong independent streak and many respect the government for defying the EU, the World Health Organization and other international groups that urged countries to implement vaccination programs — advice that smacked to some of meddling in internal affairs.

The prime minister described Poland as a country with the rare "courage" to refuse a vaccine that he believes has not undergone sufficient testing.

"We are making this decision only in the interest of the Polish patient and the taxpayer," Tusk insisted in December. "We will not take part because it's not honest and it's not safe for the patient."

The anti-vaccine movement argues it is untested or contains risky ingredients, like the preservative thimerosal. However, there is little difference in the swine flu vaccine's formulation from the regular flu vaccine, which is available in Poland, and all evidence so far suggests it is safe and effective. The WHO says more than 150 million people have been vaccinated in more than 40 countries and that no unusual or dangerous side effects have been seen.

"The saving grace for Poland is that this swine flu pandemic is so far very mild. It would be a big scandal if this were a virus that would cause many deaths," said Andrew McMichael, an immunologist and the director of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford.

Other conspiracy theories claim the drug companies making the vaccine secretly lobbied the WHO to declare swine flu a global epidemic to fatten their own pockets, a theory unproven but which some Europeans seem inclined to believe. Even the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recently recommended that the EU investigate WHO's swine flu pandemic declaration to see if the body acted under undue influence.

In an e-mailed statement, WHO said its members "guard against the influence of any vested interests" but declined any other comment on the allegations, saying the group's flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, will address them during a news conference Thursday.

WHO spokeswoman Karen Mah said the organization has no reports of other countries rejecting the vaccine outright. Some countries, however, haven't launched vaccine programs because they lack the money.

Poland's approach contrasts sharply with steps taken by countries such as the United States — where President Barack Obama and his family got swine flu shots to set an example — and European countries like Austria and Sweden that stockpiled enough for their entire populations.

Other eastern EU members have also embraced inoculation, with Hungary and Romania even producing their own domestic vaccines against H1N1, the official name of the current swine flu strain. Romania has seen a burst of interest in vaccines in recent days following the death from swine flu of a well known TV actor, 37-year-old Toni Tecuceanu, on Jan. 5. Over the weekend, 13,000 people got vaccinated in Bucharest alone, the Health Ministry said Monday — vastly more than previous weekends that saw a few dozen at most ask for the jab.

But no well-known Pole has died, and flu fears failed to take root in the country of 38 million people.

Only one leading official, Janusz Kochanowski, the ombudsman for civil rights, has waged a prominent public fight against the government over vaccines, condemning its stance as irrational and irresponsible. He vowed to sue the health minister for a symbolic 1 zloty (35 U.S. cents/25 euro cents) for what he describes as a human rights offense: unnecessarily risking the health of the population by refusing to make vaccines available or take any other steps to fight the spread of swine flu.

Kochanowski came down with swine flu himself over the Christmas holidays, a turn of bad luck he viewed as deeply ironic. During a recent interview in his office he sneezed into a tissue from time to time, and his voice was raspy as he strongly denounced the government.

"In a normal country the media would attack a government that doesn't want to buy vaccines and which doesn't give citizens the right to choose. It's a basic right," Kochanowski told The Associated Press. "The constitution obliges the government to counteract and prevent epidemics. But rather than attacking the government, the media are attacking me."

Though there have been no recent opinion surveys on the matter, Kochanowski and several doctors say there is abundant anecdotal evidence showing that most Poles support the government's approach.

"Unfortunately most people are on the side of the government," Kochanowski said.
Kochanowski says he worries that the government's luck in dodging massive problems with swine flu will only encourage it to ignore future epidemics as well. "This flu will pass, but there is a new flu every year and the government should prepare every year. However, this government is not only not preparing, but it's making a special point of not being prepared and then claims glory," he said. In Poland, doctors are deeply divided on the matter, but some are clearly critical of the government. "It should be the patient's rights to choose — that would be democracy in health care," said Maria Ciesielska, a family doctor whose disapproval only intensified when her 7-year-old son was laid up for a week with swine flu in November. "Even Hippocrates said it's not ethical to not offer a cure if you know that one exists."

[ZRrrr]

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's health officials say they will stop the purchase of swine flu vaccines from a Swiss pharmaceutical company because of the lack of demand.

Serbia last year ordered 3 million doses, of the vaccine from Novartis AG worth an estimated euro24 million ($35 million).

Health officials said Wednesday that so far Serbia has received and paid for about 850,000 doses, while only some 135,000 people — about 2 percent of the population — have been vaccinated.

the director of the state health insurance company, Svetlana Vukajlovic, says the Serbian importer of the vaccines will be told to stop further purchases.

The health ministry has recorded about 670 swine flu cases in Serbia and 68 deaths.

[ZRrrr]

Market Forecast Report: Vaccines Market Revenue To Double By 2016


Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "The Future of Global Vaccines - Market Forecasts to 2016, Stockpile Analysis, Competitive Benchmarking and Pipeline Analysis" report to their offering.

By 2016, the Global Vaccines Market is Expected to Generate More Than Twice the Annual Revenue of 2009

The global vaccines industry was valued at $24 billion in 2009 and is expected to reach $52 billion in 2016 at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.5%. The vaccines market, which was once considered a low-profit segment of the top players' portfolios, showed a turnaround after the resounding success of Prevnar, the first blockbuster vaccine. The ability of vaccines to generate high revenue and profits despite being priced at a premium has proven attractive to both existing players in the market and to big pharmaceutical companies who have been watching the development of the market with interest.

The surge in revenues and growth rates came at a time when the pharmaceutical industry was under huge pressure from patent expiries and weakened pipelines. The pharmaceutical industry has been intent on strengthening their revenue streams and streamlining operations through lay-offs and shutdowns of manufacturing and R&D operations. The success of premium priced vaccines such as Prevnar, Gardasil, and Cervarix has prompted big pharmaceutical players such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca to invest in the vaccines industry which promises safe revenues due to a lack of threat from generics.

The Vaccines Industry is Looking to Increase its Revenues Through the Introduction of Novel Vaccines and Indication Expansions for Established Products

The global vaccines industry is a difficult industry for smaller companies to succeed in due to the high development costs required for licensing, acquisitions, marketing and manufacturing. Vaccine companies with promising candidates in the pipeline engage in out-licensing agreements with the top players, who in turn provide marketing, sales, and regulatory support. However, the vaccines industry remains an attractive one for large and small companies alike due to its potential to generate revenues from smaller disease populations too. Hence, the vaccines industry is expected to remain highly active in the future fuelled by the encouragement and financing from governments and other health organizations.

[Mike270412]

Originally Posted by Cyle

Still kicking here to.....Never got a flu shot before, never will.

I boycotted H1N1!!!!Won't have any part of it!!!

[buck50]

Originally Posted by doohead

I believe most of the hype is a crock of chit too. There is so much bad chit in the vaccine, I was watching something on TV one night where they were saying that it was proven people that get those type of shots will have that chit in their system for years. Could cause some sort of disease 10 yrs from now. And once you get the shot your hooped, they say you are more vulnerable so you NEED to get it again, and again. Come on people think BIG OIL is bad, it's all a money grab. Though I am still 50-50 on whether or not you should get if you have underlying health issues. I don't know enough. Is keeping clean enough for them? Also hasn't the normal flu killed more people in a year then the "swine flu" has.

actually, "swine flu" or H1N1 IS part of the normal flu, it's just a new strain(not really new) that the masses happen to know the name of. can you name any of the 155 or so other flu viruses that make up the normal flu?

[ZRrrr]

Anyone see Bob Layton on Global tonight.

False Pandemic Posted 1/19/2010 1:00:00 AM

You’ve probably never heard of Doctor Wolfgang Wodarg. He is the chairman of the Council of Europe Health Committee, and he is highly critical of the so-called H1N1 pandemic. The Parma Times reports Doctor Wodarg says when about a hundred normal flu cases were announced in April in Mexico City, they were, in his words, “rashly described as the beginning of a new pandemic, with little scientific evidence.” He charges the World health Organization, in concert with some big drug companies, re-defined pandemics and lowered the alarm threshold, forcing many countries to sign marketing commitments based on the alarming scenario Big Pharma and the WHO were spreading through the media. Doctor Wodarg says this exposed millions of healthy people to unknown side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines. The Council of Europe is calling for an emergency debate and inquiry into the degree of influence drug companies wield over the World Health organization. The doctor calls the quote “false pandemic” one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century.

[Pinner]

Yep, we showed them drug companies...

They're gona have to release a way stronger virus next time they need some cash.

[eattheweak]

Where the 70% stats come from I don't know, I never asked that question when it was told to us. I never put to much into stats because they can be worked so many ways, in my mind they are always just ballpark figures. The only part that reall stuck to me about he brief was the transmission to someone else. I have some high risk family members, that I would not want to take the chance of spreading it to them. End of the day it each persons choice........I love freedom