Still pushing the swine flu vax - June 2010

[mama1803]

Yesterday we received a copy of our county's quarterly newsletter. There was an article stating that the H1N1 vax campaign was a success (42% of the registered school kids received the vax). It stated that the swine flu was still a threat and that there were lots of leftover vaccines and that everyone who wasn't vaccinated was strongly advised to get the vax because of the possbility of a third wave.

Is swine flu still on anyone's radar these days???

[Deborah]

Not on mine.

And where I live there don't seem to be any outbreaks of influenza at all.

But perhaps everyone was vaccinated except me.

[SuburbanHippie]

No, but I hear the commercials on the radio that it's still available and that you should get one.

I chuckle every time I hear it.

[Amatullah0]

a little while ago I got a letter from the state saying ds still needs "his" swine flu vax. funny thing is, according to their schedule, my partially vaxed kid is missing a lot more than that, and swine flu is all they mentioned!

[Turquesa]

WHO and Pharma Linked in H1N1 "Pandemic"

It looks like we're no longer doing month-by-month H1N1 threads, so I hope it's OK to start this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...060403034.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/SwineFl...ry?id=10829940

What's really sad is that the public probably isn't going to catch wind of these articles in the same way that it learned about evil, horrid swine flu and the wonderful salvation that was the vaccine.

I, for one, would like a public apology from the vaccine dogmatists who denounced us skeptics as "conspiracy theorists."

As proven by these reports, these conflicts of interest are not a "conspiracy theory," but a well established fact. Public health authorities would do well to address this ethical breech if they have any hope of regaining our trust.

[Bea]

"The idea that we declared a pandemic when there wasn't a pandemic is both historically inaccurate and downright irresponsible," said WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl in a telephone interview. "There is no doubt that this was a pandemic. To insinuate that this was not a pandemic is very disrespectful to the people who died from it."

Huh? It's not like someone is 'insinuating' that it isn't a disease with the potential to kill, just that the extent of the disease was greatly exagerated for financial gain.

Nice shaming language.

[Deborah]

Yeah, two or three people put up copies of the actual WHO web page where they changed the language defining pandemic about a month before the pandemic was declared.

I'll see if I can find a link...

[amnesiac]

Yes, we're still doing monthly threads so I'm merging these together.

[jeanine123]

Oh yeah, the local county health dept has ads all over the radio the past week urging folks to get vaccinated, that H1N1 is still around. Makes me want to puke.

[Deborah]

Yep, that is your science-based medicine!

Step right up folks and get your magic vaccine which will save you from an illness which isn't currently around!

Snake oil, anyone?

[jeanine123]

Originally Posted by Deborah

Yep, that is your science-based medicine!

Step right up folks and get your magic vaccine which will save you from an illness which isn't currently around!

Snake oil, anyone?

And which could very well mutate to a point where the current vax is useless when it does come back around again!

[Deborah]

Originally Posted by jeanine123

And which could very well mutate to a point where the current vax is useless when it does come back around again!

Yes, that makes it an even better deal...

toxic? check
irrelevant? possibly
needed right now? nope
relevant when the next round of influenza arrives? who knows?

but pharma feels like this:

[Sileree]

Well they are sitting on millions of doses that are set to expire this month, so I am not surprised.

I agree it's dumb though.

[Deborah]

the picture of a pharma exec literally sitting on millions of doses (with needles?) made my evening. Unfortunately it isn't pharma which is getting stuck, but our governments. Which means us, the lowly taxpayers. Ouch!

[nia82]

Last month we went to San Francisco and they had pink posters all over the Bay Area to get your swine flu shot (different posters with different reasons, bla bla bla). Back in february they were advertising in Michigan (weekend trip) and Colorado as well, haven't heard it since March though.
DH's family (SFO) are all up to date on their piggy shots of course (apart from the stray sheep that like natural living, lol).

[BeckyBird]

I am disgusted by the way pregnant women and children were targeted to get the vax. I was pregnant during the hype, and no, I did not get the vax. One day the truth will come out about this. It has to. I can't stand the way our world is sometimes, full of lies and corruption. Why do so many people believe the lies? Grrrr!

[laohaire]

I'm disgusted with how the vaccines are now being "disposed of" into citizens of "third world countries."

[katiegrace]

Ok...this freaks me out...insight please!

Let me start off by saying I fully admit to being a hypochondriac. So, when someone told me the other day that the swine flu was going to be back this winter, I immediately started freaking out because we want to try to get pregnant this summer. Now, I'm terrified to get pregnant for fear of getting the swine flu and dying because I'd be pregnant. Then I heard that it's only dangerous in the 3rd trimester? Does anyone have some info on it? I really don't feel comfortable getting that vaccine....especially WHILE pregnant. It just really makes me nervous...Katie's never had a vaccine, and I NEVER get flu shots. I wasn't so worried last winter about it,but it seems SO much more risky for pregnant women, that I'm really scared to get pregnant now if the swine flu is gonna be back....ugh So THEN I thought maybe I could start trying at the beginning of next year so I would mostly miss flu season...anyways, it's driving me crazy, and I needs somebody to either talk sense into me or validate my freaking out. Thanks mamas!!

[m0xxie]

I got the swine flu vaccine last year, with no apparent ill effects. I'm 8w pregnant now, and I don't know how long that vaccine lasts, but I wouldn't hesitate to get it again if I had to, even while pregnant... getting that flu is just too big of a risk in my mind, with perfectly healthy pregnant women dying from it. Aside from total isolation, there's no sure way to avoid being exposed, and any risk from the vaccine appears to be very small.

If the time is right for you to get pregnant now, I wouldn't wait... there are too many unpredictable things in this world, and I would seize this opportunity with both hands if it honestly feels right to you. Also, while the flu might be easier to catch in the winter, you can get the flu any time of year, and it could well be Murphy's Law that you could wait, and then get exposed anyway. You have to make your own decision, but if you weigh the risk of possible DEATH over whatever tiny risk the vaccine may have, the choice seems clear to me.

[RedOakMomma]

If you're really worried about it, so much so that you might not feel safe getting pregnant, get the vax now. You have to wait to ttc for a month after getting the vax, but then you should be fine.

I felt similarly (though not out of fear for myself, but out of fear of 1) my immuno-compromised son getting it from me and 2) I knew I'd want to be pregnant soon and 3) I really didn't want to worry about the struggle to avoid the vax while pregnant...I DO NOT vax while pregnant). Rather than stress about it, I went and got the vax a few months before getting pregnant. I was healthy, I knew my body would have time to process it, and now I don't have to worry about it.