By Dr. Mercola www.mercola.com
By Dr. Mercola
Colds are a leading cause of doctor visits and missed days from work and school, and this season is no exception. Americans suffer from approximately 1 billion colds per year, or about two to four colds per year for the average adult.
But why do people start getting sick as the leaves start to fall?
Unfortunately in the US, thanks to the CDC, nearly anyone seeing their doctor for a cold will be told that they are infected with H1N1 and will be added to the already inflated CDC statistics.
However, according to the CBS News study, when you come down with chills, fever, cough, runny nose, malaise and all those other "flu-like" symptoms, the illness is likely caused by influenza at most, 17 percent of the time, and as little as 3 percent! The other 83 to 97 percent of the time it's caused by other viruses or bacteria.
So remember that not every illness that appears to be the flu, actually IS the flu. In fact, most of the time it's not.
Nevertheless, as temperatures drop, we begin to congregate indoors and spend less time in the sun. This means our vitamin D levels begin to drop, and we are more apt to spread viruses from one person to another.
It isn’t that these opportunistic pathogens magically appear at certain times of the year—they’re always around. It’s your ability to respond to them that changes with the seasons.
It is important to understand the causes of viral upper respiratory syndromes if you want to avoid them.
The Real Cause of Colds and Flu
Many people believe that colds and flu are caused by bacteria, but this is simply incorrect. Colds and flu are caused by viruses, and using antibiotics to treat a viral infection is inappropriate and completely ineffective.
Viruses are orders of magnitude smaller than bacteria and have entirely different structures that make antibiotics useless. (Occasionally antibiotics are required if there is a secondary bacterial sinus infection or bronchitis/pneumonia, but this is the rare exception.)
It is also important to recognize that, although a virus triggers your cold or flu symptoms, it is not the real cause of the illness.
So, what is the real cause of colds and flu?
My simple and short answer has always been that it’s due to an impaired immune system. That’s still true. However, research has confirmed that “catching” colds and flu may be a symptom of an underlying vitamin D deficiency! Less than optimal vitamin D levels will significantly impair your immune response and make you far more susceptible to contracting colds, influenza, and other respiratory infections.
Although there are many ways you might end up with a weakened immune system, the more common contributing factors are:
Vitamin D deficiency, as previously mentioned
Eating too much sugar and too many grains
Not getting enough sleep
Insufficient exercise
Inadequately managing emotional stressors in your life
Any combination of the above
THE Number One Way to Conquer a Cold or Flu: Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an amazingly effective antimicrobial agent, producing 200 to 300 different antimicrobial peptides in your body that kill bacteria, viruses and fungi.
In the United States, the late winter average vitamin D level is only about 15-18 ng/ml, which is considered a very serious deficiency state. It’s estimated that over 95 percent of U.S. senior citizens may be deficient, along with 85 percent of the American public.
In 2009, a team of researcher’s from Children’s Hospital Boston analyzed blood samples taken from 5,000 children under age 12 and found that nearly one out of five children in the U.S. have low blood levels of less than 50 nanomoles per liter, the level recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They also found that two out of three children have a level below 75 nmol/L--which is still insufficient, based on most of the research coming out today.
No wonder colds and flu run rampant each year.
The best source for vitamin D is direct sun exposure. But for many of us, this just isn’t practical during the winter. The next best thing to sunlight is the use of a safe indoor tanning device. If neither natural nor artificial sunlight is an option, then using oral supplements is your best bet.
Remarkably, researchers have found that 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day abolished seasonal influenza. This is somewhat surprising, as it is half the dose of what most adults need to achieve ideal levels of vitamin D
Please note that this is far greater than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) advised by public health agencies like the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recently doubled the RDA of vitamin D for children to 400 IU. This new guidance still falls absurdly short of what’s needed to keep kids healthy, especially during flu season.
In order to prevent the flu, children and adults need 35 IU of vitamin D per pound of body weight. So, for example, a child weighing 57 pounds would need 2,000 IU a day of vitamin D.
Adults typically need an average of 5,000 IU per day—but some adults have to take 20,000 to 30,000 IU daily to get their vitamin D level up to optimal levels. Exactly how adults absorb and process vitamin D so differently is still somewhat of a mystery, so the only way to know if your vitamin D level is therapeutic and nontoxic is by having your blood tested.
Not all vitamin D testing is accurate, so make sure your health care provider is ordering the correct test.
Lifestyle Options: Choose Wisely
As you know, I’m not an extremist. I advocate balancing healthful choices with enjoying life, which includes celebrating from time to time.
That said, if you feel yourself coming down with a cold or flu, this is NOT the time to be eating sugar, artificial sweeteners or processed foods. Sugar is particularly damaging to your immune system--which needs to be ramped up, not suppressed, in order to combat an emerging infection.
You must address nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress issues the moment you first feel yourself getting a bug. This is when immune-enhancing strategies will be most effective.
When people come down with a cold or flu, it’s because some combination of factors has weakened their defenses. You might be able to get away with one or two transgressions, but a bucketful of poor choices will cause your immune system to crash. And then suddenly…you’re sick.
When you’re coming down with a cold, it’s time to address ALL of the contributing factors immediately.
This would be a good time to tweak your diet in favor of foods that will strengthen your immune response. Good choices include:
Raw, grass-fed organic milk, and/or high-quality whey protein
Fermented foods such as kefir, kimchee, miso, pickles, sauerkraut, etc.
Raw, organic eggs from free-ranging chickens
Grass-fed beef
Coconuts and coconut oil
Locally grown fruits and vegetables, appropriate for your nutritional type
Mushrooms, especially Reishi, Shiitake, and Maitake, which contain beta glucans (which have immune-enhancing properties)
Garlic, a potent antimicrobial that kills bacteria, viruses AND fungi
Herbs and spices with high ORAC scores: Turmeric, oregano, cinnamon, cloves (for more on ORAC, visit www.oracvalues.com)
Make sure you are drinking plenty of fresh, pure water. Water is essential for the optimal function of every system in your body.
Pay attention to how you are sleeping. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, or enough restorative sleep, you’ll be at increased risk for a hostile viral takeover.
And don’t underestimate the importance of regular exercise for increasing your resistance to illness. There is evidence that regular, moderate exercise can reduce your risk for respiratory illness by boosting your immune system.
But at the same time, don’t overdo it. Over-exercising can actually place more stress on the body, which can suppress the immune system--and you don’t want that either. You might just go for a walk if you are coming down with something. Any rise in body temperature will be an unwelcome climate for a viral invader.
Emotional stressors can also predispose you to an infection. Finding ways to manage daily stress as well as your reactions to circumstances beyond your control will contribute to a strong and resilient immune system.
Most of the people incorporating a significant number of these wise lifestyle choices into their daily lives simply don’t get sick. And when they do, it’s mild and short-lived.
Supplements That Send Pathogens Packin’
Supplements can be beneficial, but they should be used only as an adjunct to the lifestyle measures already discussed.
Some of the more helpful ones for cold and flu are:
Vitamin C: A very potent antioxidant; use a natural form such as acerola, which contains associated micronutrients. (By the way, intravenous vitamin C was recently used by a physician in New Zealand to cure a man with “terminal” swine flu.)
Oregano Oil: The higher the carvacrol concentration, the more effective it is. Carvacrol is the most active antimicrobial agent in oregano oil.
Propolis: A bee resin and one of the most broad-spectrum antimicrobial compounds in the world; propolis is also the richest source of caffeic acid and apigenin, two very important compounds that aid in immune response and even fight cancer.
A tea made from a combination of elderflower, yarrow, boneset, linden, peppermint and ginger; drink it hot and often for combating a cold or flu. It causes you to sweat, which is helpful for eradicating a virus from your system.
Olive leaf extract: Ancient Egyptians and Mediterranean cultures used it for a variety of health-promoting uses and it is widely known as a natural, non-toxic immune system builder.
Another treatment that is surprisingly effective against upper respiratory infections is hydrogen peroxide.
My patients have had remarkable results in curing the colds and flu within 12 to 14 hours when administering a few drops of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into each ear. You will hear some bubbling, which is completely normal, and possibly slight stinging.
Wait until the bubbling and stinging subside (usually 5 to 10 minutes), then drain onto a tissue and repeat with the other ear. A bottle of hydrogen peroxide in 3 percent solution is available at any drug store for a couple of dollars. It is simply amazing how many people respond to this simple, inexpensive treatment.
By incorporating these strategies, you’ll be able to nip that nasty little virus in the bud--before it can say, “Big Pharma.”
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Mounting Debilities and Deaths from H1N1 Vaccine
By Dr. Mercola
Jordan McFarland, a 14-year-old boy from Virginia, is weak and struggling to walk after coming down with a reported case of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) within hours after receiving the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu.
McFarland left Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children in a wheelchair nearly a week after developing severe headaches, muscle spasms and weakness in his legs following a swine flu shot.
Jordan is among the first people in the U.S. to report developing the potentially life-threatening muscle disorder after receiving the H1N1 vaccine this fall. Increased cases of GBS were found in patients who received a 1976 swine flu vaccine.
Likewise, a young woman in France has also been diagnosed with GBS after a swine flu shot. The woman, identified only as a health worker, was diagnosed with GBS six days after she received the swine flu shot, according to the French health ministry
Swedish, Japanese, and Chinese health officials have also reported a number of serious side effects, including deaths of people who received the H1N1 vaccine.
In China, the Ministry of Health announced that the two people, including one teacher from Hunan province, died hours after receiving their inoculations.
Chinese health officials have pulled all vaccines manufactured in the same batch used to inoculate the teacher.
Fifty-four percent of Chinese residents reported in a China Daily survey that they would not get the H1N1 vaccine because of concerns about the shot's safety. Among those inoculated so far in China, more than 1,200 have complained of side effects ranging from sore arms, rashes, and headaches, to anaphylactic shock and sudden drops in blood pressure.
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Oh, how short our memories are.
It was only four short years ago when President Bush projected that TWO MILLION Americans would die from the bird flu . Guess how many in the US died from bird flu?
Zero, not one person…
I actually wrote a NY Times best seller on this called The Great Bird Flu Hoax.
With the H1N1 flu we have yet another example of how the CDC and the World Health Organization brazenly distort reality.
In addition, they ignore and deny the dangerous and life-threatening side effects of their expensive solution, encouraging innocent people to suffer for the cause of “herd immunity” – the idea that the benefits of vaccinating everyone outweigh the rights of those who are harmed by the vaccine.
And even though reports of severe adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine, including deaths, are streaming in from countries around the world, these two governing bodies are continuing their campaign in the U.S. and around the world to promote a vaccine that has not been proven safe – or even necessary.
H1N1 is the Pandemic that Never Materialized Just Like Bird Flu
I’ve already addressed the non-necessity of this vaccine in previous articles revealing that H1N1 is nothing but a hyped-up blip on the radar. In fact, a former Ontario, Canada, chief medical officer of health went on CBC/TV and called H1N1 a “dud” as far as a pandemic goes.
Sadly, you’re not hearing this in the mainstream media, although stunning coverage by CBS Chicago has finally blown the lid off the hype. In an investigation by reporter Sharyl Attkisson, this station recently revealed that only a fraction of reported H1N1 cases actually are H1N1!
Sharyl found this out by doggedly pursuing the numbers, first through a Freedom of Information Act request from the CDC, and then by contacting each state individually when the CDC refused to respond.
The states’ responses were shocking: The vast majority of cases being reported as H1N1 actually are not flu at all – instead, they are some other kind of respiratory infection!
To read about this report and listen to an interview I did with Attkisson on this topic, please see this previous article.
No Vaccine is Completely Safe
This is an important message that needs to get out. But just as important is the safety issue. Because no matter what vaccine officials say in public, they know that no vaccine is completely safe.
They admit this among themselves. For example, a 2001 article in the American Journal of Epidemiology , on how much risk U.S. parents were willing to accept in exchange for a vaccine’s benefits, was prefaced with the statement, “Despite the obvious benefits of vaccination, no vaccine is completely safe.”
What the authors of the article found – the extent of risk that parents are willing to assume to obtain a vaccine’s benefits – is another story for a different day. But the point is, vaccine officials would like you to think that the worst a person could suffer from a vaccine is a sore arm and maybe a headache or a general feeling of tiredness.
The truth is far more sinister: NO VACCINE IS COMPLETELY SAFE. Yet, in public, health officials continue to play H1N1 Russian roulette with people’s lives. For example:
Quebec Woman Dies
At the beginning of November, a 42-year-old Quebec woman died two days after receiving the H1N1 vaccine. But did authorities report it as an adverse reaction to the vaccine?
No! Instead, they attributed her death to complications resulting from the H1N1 virus!
I suppose they did this because she developed flu-like symptoms. What they didn’t say was that flu-like symptoms are also some of the adverse reactions you get from receiving a flu shot.
They also didn’t say that other reactions can include Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) convulsions, syncope (fainting), blood and lymphatic system disorders, and immune disorders such as anaphylaxis, just to name a few – all events that can be life-threatening enough to end in death.
It’s no surprise, then, that when an 80-year-old man died in Quebec after getting his H1N1 vaccine, health officials dismissed that too, saying it was too soon to link his death to the shot.
Instead, they stressed that adverse reactions to this vaccine are “rare” and that “there is no evidence that the vaccine is dangerous”.
But is that true?
When pressed for proof that the vaccine is safe, Canada officials point to GSK’s pre-marketing clinical tests, which show minor reactions in all but four cases. Of those four, only one was believed to be vaccine-related.
What they don’t explain is that the total number of people studied was just 253.
And that puts safety in a whole different perspective, because 1 out of 253 translates into a rate of 395 severe adverse reactions in every 100,000 people!
Safety Data Just Not There
Again, the mainstream press has not picked up on this. However, www.Straight.com , an online news source in Vancouver, not only is trying to get the word out, but also interviewed several health scientists who are alarmed by the terrifying truth about this vaccine.
“Where is the safety data that the government used to license this vaccine?” asked Chris Shaw, a neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia. Shaw is not allowing his 6-year-old daughter to get the shot.
Calling GSK’s package insert “a shocking document,” Shaw pointed out that there is “no safety data at all for several groups of people,” including pregnant women and certain age groups of children – all of whom are on the front lines for getting this vaccine.
Another scientist, Sucharit Bhakdi, a professor of medical microbiology at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany, also spoke with Straight. He cited a paper he coauthored in October in the journal Medical Microbiology, where he warned of a possible uptick in heart problems due to mass H1N1 vaccination.
Bhadki also called Canada’s monitoring of the vaccine “flimsy” and pointed out that most vaccine safety studies only follow patients for a few days or months, when most serious vaccine reactions can take years to develop.
But again, you’re not hearing that in the mainstream media.
Vaccine Pulled in Manitoba
In the meantime, GSK’s H1N1 vaccine (which was granted FDA approval for use in the US as recently as November 10) was pulled in Manitoba, Canada after too many life-threatening reactions occurred there.
As reported on CTV/Canada on November 20, the vaccine was triggering so many anaphylactic reactions that health officials and GSK pulled more than 170,000 doses of one batch. They tried to downplay their actions by saying this was merely a “precaution,” perhaps because much of this batch had already been disbursed.They admitted that 36 severe adverse events had been reported, most of which were allergic reactions that occurred within minutes of the shot, and all of which were treated “promptly.”
But they glossed over the fact that one person died from an anaphylactic reaction, saying “the death hasn't been conclusively linked to the flu shot.”
Now, 36 severe allergic reactions may not sound like a lot to some people, but consider this: Manitoba health officials stated that severe allergic reactions from the batch in question was observed at a ratio of 1 in 20,000, which is FIVE TIMES higher than the typical rate of 1 in 100,000.
Turkish Republic Issues Warning
Five days earlier, on November 15, the Turkish Republic had already released an anaphylactic reaction memorandum to its vaccine centers, warning them to watch out for “frightening side effects” to this vaccine. It seems that a doctor there went into a coma after his H1N1vaccination, the Turkish press said.
The doctor was saved in the hospital where he works, and afterward he advised that these shots be given only in hospitals from now on.
Similar events are happening all over the world, but for the most part are not being reported in the mainstream press. For example, did you hear that in Japan, at the end of October, seven of 22,000 medical workers vaccinated with H1N1 had developed side effects, four of them considered serious? Or that 25 patients there had also reported side effects that included vomiting, allergic reactions and diminished consciousness?
No? Well, it’s true.
Ask for the Truth
The mainstream press just keeps plugging the same old propaganda, disregarding what is actually happening.
The truth is, while the mortality rate of swine flu is extremely low, what is happening is that people are dying or suffering life-altering disabilities shortly after receiving the flu vaccine, whether it’s seasonal or H1N1 – and officials accept this as the cost of doing business.
But do you?
I suggest that before you take this shot, ask your doctor to supply you with a package insert from the vaccine, and to discuss all the possible adverse reactions with you. Any health professional should be able to do this – in fact, it is part of something called “informed consent,” which is required for any medical procedure, including each and every vaccination.
But just in case your doctor doesn’t have the insert handy, or has forgotten about informed consent, you can find four of the five inserts here. I predict that what you learn there will not be something you read in your local newspaper.
Adverse Reactions Listed in Package Inserts
Here are just a few adverse reactions listed in the package insert from MedImmune’s Intranasal “live” vaccine (the one you see being administered up children’s noses on TV):
Guillian-Barre syndrome
Exacerbation of symptoms of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy
Gastrointestinal disorders
Immune system disorders, including anaphylactic reaction
The insert includes a disclaimer that it’s not possible to “reliably estimate” the frequency of these reactions or to establish a “causal relationship” to the vaccine, but the point is, they were reported reactions that the manufacture was required to list.
Sanofi Pasteur’s package insert is very interesting too, first, because it uses trials from its seasonal vaccine, Fluzone, as the comparison to its H1N1 vaccine. The reasoning for this is that they are manufactured by the same process, the insert says.
So, with that in mind, know that this insert also says that the total number of children studied for the 2003-2004 formulation of Fluzone was just 19 in the age group 6 to 23 months and only 12 for ages 24 to 36 months old!
Using that data, Sanofi reported only “mild” reactions to its vaccine. In the post-marketing of it, however, the company reported:
Guillian-Barre Syndrome
Anaphylaxis
Convulsions
Vasculitis
And more…
But again, since these reactions were not recorded under a carefully-controlled study with representative numbers – groups of 19 and 12 are hardly reflective of an entire population – the company doesn’t have to consider these reactions as significant or even connected with the vaccine.
This is just plain criminal, especially when you consider that the package inserts also tell you that these vaccines have not been tested for safety in pregnant or nursing women!
What this amounts to is that everyone receiving these vaccines is part of a big public health experiment – one that allows officials to play up the numbers of people who don’t report bad reactions, and to dismiss anything else, including deaths.
The good thing is, the H1N1 vaccine has not been mandated for the general public in the U.S. – yet. So, even if the mainstream press continues to ignore the adverse reactions, you can still be an informed consumer by doing your homework and deciding for yourself whether the risks are worth it to you.
And remember while you’re doing this homework, as I’ve said before, it is the state of your immune system that determines whether or not you will get sick if you come in contact with this virus. The virus itself has no special powers to kill or maim.
More Vaccines – and Their Adverse Effects – Coming
Learning everything you can about vaccines will become increasingly essential in the coming months and years, as vaccines are becoming all the rave, and more lucrative than drugs.
The pharmaceutical industry, with government officials’ blessings, are planning to roll out vaccines for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and AIDS. They’re even working on vaccines for addictions to cocaine and nicotine, as if they were infectious diseases!
Then again, we’re talking about neither logic nor true medicine here. We’re talking about dollars and cents and satisfying shareholders.
In fact, as reported by MSNBC, vaccines now are viewed as “a crucial path to growth,” due to lagging prescription drug sales. The article goes on to say:
“Investment in partnerships and other deals to develop and manufacture vaccines has been on a tear — and accelerating since the swine flu pandemic began. Billions in government grants are bringing better, faster ways to develop and manufacture vaccines. Rising worldwide emphasis on preventive health care, plus the advent of the first multibillion-dollar vaccines, have further boosted their appeal.
While prescription drug sales are forecast to rise by a third in five years, vaccine sales should double, from $19 billion last year to $39 billion in 2013, according to market research firm Kalorama Information. That's five times the $8 billion in vaccine sales in 2004.
Success on some vaccines in development, particularly for Alzheimer's and AIDS, likely would bring billions a year in sales.”
Emphasis on preventive health care… my foot.
This is one of the most crucial problems with our health care system. Many conventionally trained physicians, not to mention politicians and elected health officials, have NO IDEA what preventive health care is all about.
Vaccines certainly do not qualify.
Just five years ago, pharmaceutical companies abandoned the vaccine business in droves. Now, with the fresh lure of massive profits, companies are flocking back. Multi-million dollar government grants are already being used to test out new technology for the next pandemic, including the “holy grail of flu vaccines” – a universal flu vaccine that targets some part of the flu virus that doesn’t change year to year.
I, for one, can wait.
Jordan McFarland, a 14-year-old boy from Virginia, is weak and struggling to walk after coming down with a reported case of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) within hours after receiving the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu.
McFarland left Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children in a wheelchair nearly a week after developing severe headaches, muscle spasms and weakness in his legs following a swine flu shot.
Jordan is among the first people in the U.S. to report developing the potentially life-threatening muscle disorder after receiving the H1N1 vaccine this fall. Increased cases of GBS were found in patients who received a 1976 swine flu vaccine.
Likewise, a young woman in France has also been diagnosed with GBS after a swine flu shot. The woman, identified only as a health worker, was diagnosed with GBS six days after she received the swine flu shot, according to the French health ministry
Swedish, Japanese, and Chinese health officials have also reported a number of serious side effects, including deaths of people who received the H1N1 vaccine.
In China, the Ministry of Health announced that the two people, including one teacher from Hunan province, died hours after receiving their inoculations.
Chinese health officials have pulled all vaccines manufactured in the same batch used to inoculate the teacher.
Fifty-four percent of Chinese residents reported in a China Daily survey that they would not get the H1N1 vaccine because of concerns about the shot's safety. Among those inoculated so far in China, more than 1,200 have complained of side effects ranging from sore arms, rashes, and headaches, to anaphylactic shock and sudden drops in blood pressure.
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Oh, how short our memories are.
It was only four short years ago when President Bush projected that TWO MILLION Americans would die from the bird flu . Guess how many in the US died from bird flu?
Zero, not one person…
I actually wrote a NY Times best seller on this called The Great Bird Flu Hoax.
With the H1N1 flu we have yet another example of how the CDC and the World Health Organization brazenly distort reality.
In addition, they ignore and deny the dangerous and life-threatening side effects of their expensive solution, encouraging innocent people to suffer for the cause of “herd immunity” – the idea that the benefits of vaccinating everyone outweigh the rights of those who are harmed by the vaccine.
And even though reports of severe adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine, including deaths, are streaming in from countries around the world, these two governing bodies are continuing their campaign in the U.S. and around the world to promote a vaccine that has not been proven safe – or even necessary.
H1N1 is the Pandemic that Never Materialized Just Like Bird Flu
I’ve already addressed the non-necessity of this vaccine in previous articles revealing that H1N1 is nothing but a hyped-up blip on the radar. In fact, a former Ontario, Canada, chief medical officer of health went on CBC/TV and called H1N1 a “dud” as far as a pandemic goes.
Sadly, you’re not hearing this in the mainstream media, although stunning coverage by CBS Chicago has finally blown the lid off the hype. In an investigation by reporter Sharyl Attkisson, this station recently revealed that only a fraction of reported H1N1 cases actually are H1N1!
Sharyl found this out by doggedly pursuing the numbers, first through a Freedom of Information Act request from the CDC, and then by contacting each state individually when the CDC refused to respond.
The states’ responses were shocking: The vast majority of cases being reported as H1N1 actually are not flu at all – instead, they are some other kind of respiratory infection!
To read about this report and listen to an interview I did with Attkisson on this topic, please see this previous article.
No Vaccine is Completely Safe
This is an important message that needs to get out. But just as important is the safety issue. Because no matter what vaccine officials say in public, they know that no vaccine is completely safe.
They admit this among themselves. For example, a 2001 article in the American Journal of Epidemiology , on how much risk U.S. parents were willing to accept in exchange for a vaccine’s benefits, was prefaced with the statement, “Despite the obvious benefits of vaccination, no vaccine is completely safe.”
What the authors of the article found – the extent of risk that parents are willing to assume to obtain a vaccine’s benefits – is another story for a different day. But the point is, vaccine officials would like you to think that the worst a person could suffer from a vaccine is a sore arm and maybe a headache or a general feeling of tiredness.
The truth is far more sinister: NO VACCINE IS COMPLETELY SAFE. Yet, in public, health officials continue to play H1N1 Russian roulette with people’s lives. For example:
Quebec Woman Dies
At the beginning of November, a 42-year-old Quebec woman died two days after receiving the H1N1 vaccine. But did authorities report it as an adverse reaction to the vaccine?
No! Instead, they attributed her death to complications resulting from the H1N1 virus!
I suppose they did this because she developed flu-like symptoms. What they didn’t say was that flu-like symptoms are also some of the adverse reactions you get from receiving a flu shot.
They also didn’t say that other reactions can include Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) convulsions, syncope (fainting), blood and lymphatic system disorders, and immune disorders such as anaphylaxis, just to name a few – all events that can be life-threatening enough to end in death.
It’s no surprise, then, that when an 80-year-old man died in Quebec after getting his H1N1 vaccine, health officials dismissed that too, saying it was too soon to link his death to the shot.
Instead, they stressed that adverse reactions to this vaccine are “rare” and that “there is no evidence that the vaccine is dangerous”.
But is that true?
When pressed for proof that the vaccine is safe, Canada officials point to GSK’s pre-marketing clinical tests, which show minor reactions in all but four cases. Of those four, only one was believed to be vaccine-related.
What they don’t explain is that the total number of people studied was just 253.
And that puts safety in a whole different perspective, because 1 out of 253 translates into a rate of 395 severe adverse reactions in every 100,000 people!
Safety Data Just Not There
Again, the mainstream press has not picked up on this. However, www.Straight.com , an online news source in Vancouver, not only is trying to get the word out, but also interviewed several health scientists who are alarmed by the terrifying truth about this vaccine.
“Where is the safety data that the government used to license this vaccine?” asked Chris Shaw, a neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia. Shaw is not allowing his 6-year-old daughter to get the shot.
Calling GSK’s package insert “a shocking document,” Shaw pointed out that there is “no safety data at all for several groups of people,” including pregnant women and certain age groups of children – all of whom are on the front lines for getting this vaccine.
Another scientist, Sucharit Bhakdi, a professor of medical microbiology at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany, also spoke with Straight. He cited a paper he coauthored in October in the journal Medical Microbiology, where he warned of a possible uptick in heart problems due to mass H1N1 vaccination.
Bhadki also called Canada’s monitoring of the vaccine “flimsy” and pointed out that most vaccine safety studies only follow patients for a few days or months, when most serious vaccine reactions can take years to develop.
But again, you’re not hearing that in the mainstream media.
Vaccine Pulled in Manitoba
In the meantime, GSK’s H1N1 vaccine (which was granted FDA approval for use in the US as recently as November 10) was pulled in Manitoba, Canada after too many life-threatening reactions occurred there.
As reported on CTV/Canada on November 20, the vaccine was triggering so many anaphylactic reactions that health officials and GSK pulled more than 170,000 doses of one batch. They tried to downplay their actions by saying this was merely a “precaution,” perhaps because much of this batch had already been disbursed.They admitted that 36 severe adverse events had been reported, most of which were allergic reactions that occurred within minutes of the shot, and all of which were treated “promptly.”
But they glossed over the fact that one person died from an anaphylactic reaction, saying “the death hasn't been conclusively linked to the flu shot.”
Now, 36 severe allergic reactions may not sound like a lot to some people, but consider this: Manitoba health officials stated that severe allergic reactions from the batch in question was observed at a ratio of 1 in 20,000, which is FIVE TIMES higher than the typical rate of 1 in 100,000.
Turkish Republic Issues Warning
Five days earlier, on November 15, the Turkish Republic had already released an anaphylactic reaction memorandum to its vaccine centers, warning them to watch out for “frightening side effects” to this vaccine. It seems that a doctor there went into a coma after his H1N1vaccination, the Turkish press said.
The doctor was saved in the hospital where he works, and afterward he advised that these shots be given only in hospitals from now on.
Similar events are happening all over the world, but for the most part are not being reported in the mainstream press. For example, did you hear that in Japan, at the end of October, seven of 22,000 medical workers vaccinated with H1N1 had developed side effects, four of them considered serious? Or that 25 patients there had also reported side effects that included vomiting, allergic reactions and diminished consciousness?
No? Well, it’s true.
Ask for the Truth
The mainstream press just keeps plugging the same old propaganda, disregarding what is actually happening.
The truth is, while the mortality rate of swine flu is extremely low, what is happening is that people are dying or suffering life-altering disabilities shortly after receiving the flu vaccine, whether it’s seasonal or H1N1 – and officials accept this as the cost of doing business.
But do you?
I suggest that before you take this shot, ask your doctor to supply you with a package insert from the vaccine, and to discuss all the possible adverse reactions with you. Any health professional should be able to do this – in fact, it is part of something called “informed consent,” which is required for any medical procedure, including each and every vaccination.
But just in case your doctor doesn’t have the insert handy, or has forgotten about informed consent, you can find four of the five inserts here. I predict that what you learn there will not be something you read in your local newspaper.
Adverse Reactions Listed in Package Inserts
Here are just a few adverse reactions listed in the package insert from MedImmune’s Intranasal “live” vaccine (the one you see being administered up children’s noses on TV):
Guillian-Barre syndrome
Exacerbation of symptoms of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy
Gastrointestinal disorders
Immune system disorders, including anaphylactic reaction
The insert includes a disclaimer that it’s not possible to “reliably estimate” the frequency of these reactions or to establish a “causal relationship” to the vaccine, but the point is, they were reported reactions that the manufacture was required to list.
Sanofi Pasteur’s package insert is very interesting too, first, because it uses trials from its seasonal vaccine, Fluzone, as the comparison to its H1N1 vaccine. The reasoning for this is that they are manufactured by the same process, the insert says.
So, with that in mind, know that this insert also says that the total number of children studied for the 2003-2004 formulation of Fluzone was just 19 in the age group 6 to 23 months and only 12 for ages 24 to 36 months old!
Using that data, Sanofi reported only “mild” reactions to its vaccine. In the post-marketing of it, however, the company reported:
Guillian-Barre Syndrome
Anaphylaxis
Convulsions
Vasculitis
And more…
But again, since these reactions were not recorded under a carefully-controlled study with representative numbers – groups of 19 and 12 are hardly reflective of an entire population – the company doesn’t have to consider these reactions as significant or even connected with the vaccine.
This is just plain criminal, especially when you consider that the package inserts also tell you that these vaccines have not been tested for safety in pregnant or nursing women!
What this amounts to is that everyone receiving these vaccines is part of a big public health experiment – one that allows officials to play up the numbers of people who don’t report bad reactions, and to dismiss anything else, including deaths.
The good thing is, the H1N1 vaccine has not been mandated for the general public in the U.S. – yet. So, even if the mainstream press continues to ignore the adverse reactions, you can still be an informed consumer by doing your homework and deciding for yourself whether the risks are worth it to you.
And remember while you’re doing this homework, as I’ve said before, it is the state of your immune system that determines whether or not you will get sick if you come in contact with this virus. The virus itself has no special powers to kill or maim.
More Vaccines – and Their Adverse Effects – Coming
Learning everything you can about vaccines will become increasingly essential in the coming months and years, as vaccines are becoming all the rave, and more lucrative than drugs.
The pharmaceutical industry, with government officials’ blessings, are planning to roll out vaccines for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and AIDS. They’re even working on vaccines for addictions to cocaine and nicotine, as if they were infectious diseases!
Then again, we’re talking about neither logic nor true medicine here. We’re talking about dollars and cents and satisfying shareholders.
In fact, as reported by MSNBC, vaccines now are viewed as “a crucial path to growth,” due to lagging prescription drug sales. The article goes on to say:
“Investment in partnerships and other deals to develop and manufacture vaccines has been on a tear — and accelerating since the swine flu pandemic began. Billions in government grants are bringing better, faster ways to develop and manufacture vaccines. Rising worldwide emphasis on preventive health care, plus the advent of the first multibillion-dollar vaccines, have further boosted their appeal.
While prescription drug sales are forecast to rise by a third in five years, vaccine sales should double, from $19 billion last year to $39 billion in 2013, according to market research firm Kalorama Information. That's five times the $8 billion in vaccine sales in 2004.
Success on some vaccines in development, particularly for Alzheimer's and AIDS, likely would bring billions a year in sales.”
Emphasis on preventive health care… my foot.
This is one of the most crucial problems with our health care system. Many conventionally trained physicians, not to mention politicians and elected health officials, have NO IDEA what preventive health care is all about.
Vaccines certainly do not qualify.
Just five years ago, pharmaceutical companies abandoned the vaccine business in droves. Now, with the fresh lure of massive profits, companies are flocking back. Multi-million dollar government grants are already being used to test out new technology for the next pandemic, including the “holy grail of flu vaccines” – a universal flu vaccine that targets some part of the flu virus that doesn’t change year to year.
I, for one, can wait.
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