[JGatti]

It seems so convenient that last year they attempted to scare the hell out of the world with the swine flu. Fast forward several months and low and behold the FDA has approved the swine flu vaccine. Oh and they will have enough for EVERYONE. So the question is who and how many have made how much off of this scare? Oh obviously the drug companies are going to rake it in first, but you have to wonder how wide it spreads.

[preferentialtreatment]

Well for one thing it made people`s movement into the south pause.It also stopped many to eat pork too.I don`t know who benefited,but it is not the farmers or the food corporations.

[Cliffie]

The Health Department and CDC, doing the bulk of the work on this, are nonprofit. If the vaccine is being manufactured and sold by one of the big operators, of course they are going to try to make a profit. The vaccine is ready right when they said it would be, but they won't make any money on me; I think the whole thing is stupid.

[hhwtm]

Actually, it's not stupid. This is prevention at its best, although mixing science and politics is not always a great idea. The companies making the vaccine don't usually make that much money due to lawsuits. You may notice that few companies are now involved in vaccine manufacture.

[tjay]

while i think that this vaccine might have a place for some people (if its proven safe, which it will not be), there's too much fear behind it.
vaccines can do good, like polio for instance, it is now wiped out in the united states. but here in america we think we should never have to get sick. so now there are a plethora of vaccines, most of which have no long term studies, and new ones coming out every day. its excessive. i got the flu several times in childhood, and guess what? i have not had it since. i do not get flu vaccines. i believe these flu vaccines only make our species more weak. i also believe that there are so many strains of flu due to these vaccines. you block a strain or two and the virus mutates and forms another.
we are human, we are not meant to be healthy all the time, we are not meant to be clean and bacteria free all the time. to live like this makes us sicker. just like all the hubub over 'probiotics' in yogurt. see if we didn't pasteurize all the good bacteria out of dairy we wouldn't need to add it back in. we're so clean we make ourselves sick.
medicine has its place, don't get me wrong. but we are going overboard. turn off the tv and take responsibility for your own health.

[Coldjensens]

My understanding is as follows:

1. Swine Flu as it is being called (it is actually not swine flu) is no more severe and is probably less severe than the ordinary strains of Flu

2. Swine flu did nto spread as hyped and is not currently spreading in the US.

3. Two people in the US died from swine flu.

4. Swine flu, like pretty much all flus is pretty much only a threat to weak elderly people and infants.

5. THe vaccine only works in abut 30% of the people who get vaccinated.

6. The government appropriated $1 billion to study/combat swine flu and they need to justify the expenditure by innoculating everyone agaisnt something that is not a serious threat, so that they ar enot embarrassed by panicing over nothing and spending so much money on a media hype that really amounted to nothing.

7. I am far better off getting inncolulated against the normal strains fo flu that are anticipated this year than agaisnt swine flu (if I were to choose one over the other).

8. The innoculation itself carries health risks.

9. There is some question whether any flu vaccine does any good whatsoever (i.e. it may not work at all) The studies are inconclusive.


Are any of these things incorrect? I have no idea whether these things are true or untrue, but that was my understanding of the state of things. Thus, I was somewhat mystified by the sudden appearance of signs everywhere telling everyone to get innoculated agasint swine flu. I figured that it was the government just trying to spend the money that they appropriated while the panic was in full gear. They could hardly just say, "oops, we do not need to spend that moeny after all"

Is swine flu still around? I have not heard one thing about it after the panic petered out, until the signs suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

[tjay]

AskDrSears - The Vaccine Book

good info right here.

[JGatti]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

My understanding is as follows:

1. Swine Flu as it is being called (it is actually not swine flu) is no more severe and is probably less severe than the ordinary strains of Flu

2. Swine flu did nto spread as hyped and is not currently spreading in the US.

3. Two people in the US died from swine flu.

4. Swine flu, like pretty much all flus is pretty much only a threat to weak elderly people and infants.

5. THe vaccine only works in abut 30% of the people who get vaccinated.

6. The government appropriated $1 billion to study/combat swine flu and they need to justify the expenditure by innoculating everyone agaisnt something that is not a serious threat, so that they ar enot embarrassed by panicing over nothing and spending so much money on a media hype that really amounted to nothing.

7. I am far better off getting inncolulated against the normal strains fo flu that are anticipated this year than agaisnt swine flu (if I were to choose one over the other).

8. The innoculation itself carries health risks.

9. There is some question whether any flu vaccine does any good whatsoever (i.e. it may not work at all) The studies are inconclusive.


Are any of these things incorrect? I have no idea whether these things are true or untrue, but that was my understanding of the state of things. Thus, I was somewhat mystified by the sudden appearance of signs everywhere telling everyone to get innoculated agasint swine flu. I figured that it was the government just trying to spend the money that they appropriated while the panic was in full gear. They could hardly just say, "oops, we do not need to spend that moeny after all"

Is swine flu still around? I have not heard one thing about it after the panic petered out, until the signs suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

I have no problems with people posting opinions. But you really should check the facts before you post them in a forum as fact. Read the following please.

The first analysis of children who have died of the new H1N1 flu virus shows that two-thirds had severe existing medical conditions, nearly half also got bacterial infections and a dozen were never treated with Tamiflu, the government reported Thursday.
INTERACTIVE: Track swine flu across U.S., worldNOVARTIS: H1N1 vaccine may work on fewer doses Q&A: H1N1 and seasonal flu: Multiple doses, many questions

At least 477 people, 40 of whom were children, have died of H1N1 influenza, also called swine flu, since it emerged in the United States in April. An analysis of 36 of the children's deaths found that 81% were age 5 or older, and 67% had high-risk medical conditions, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other neuro-developmental disorders, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

In a typical flu season, half or more of children who die are 4 years old or younger. And about a third of children who die suffer from neurological disorders.

CDC Director Thomas Frieden said Thursday that the study highlights the importance of treating children with special needs and neurological disorders promptly with antiviral drugs if they develop flu symptoms.

It's also critical, he said, that "they're at the front of the line for flu vaccination when it becomes available." The first doses of flu vaccine are still expected to be ready for distribution by mid-October, Frieden said.

At least 12 of the children who died between April and August never received the best available flu treatment, oseltamivir, sold as Tamiflu, the study found. In another five cases, CDC officials couldn't determine whether the children got Tamiflu. Other children weren't given Tamiflu until long after they became ill. A 1-year-old African-American boy, for instance, didn't get Tamiflu for 23 days after his symptoms began, CDC reported.

Lena Napolitano, an intensive care specialist at the University of Michigan who has treated more than a dozen severely ill swine flu patients, says the analysis suggests that many physicians didn't suspect H1N1 virus caused the children's illness, adding that doctors shouldn't wait until test results come in before starting treatment.

Ten of 23 children for whom test results were available developed bacterial infections on top of their viral infections, a double blow that can lead to toxic shock and death, CDC reported.

Frieden noted that the pandemic, which simmered all summer, is heating up again, especially in the Southeast, where many schools began early. Flu has already forced school closures in two states. Twenty-three schools have closed in Tennessee and another in Indiana, affecting a total of 13,299 students, Justin Hamilton of the Department of Education said Thursday. Nineteen of the schools are in Blount County, Tenn., south of Knoxville.

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

My understanding is as follows:

1. Swine Flu as it is being called (it is actually not swine flu) is no more severe and is probably less severe than the ordinary strains of Flu

2. Swine flu did nto spread as hyped and is not currently spreading in the US.

3. Two people in the US died from swine flu.

4. Swine flu, like pretty much all flus is pretty much only a threat to weak elderly people and infants.

5. THe vaccine only works in abut 30% of the people who get vaccinated.

6. The government appropriated $1 billion to study/combat swine flu and they need to justify the expenditure by innoculating everyone agaisnt something that is not a serious threat, so that they ar enot embarrassed by panicing over nothing and spending so much money on a media hype that really amounted to nothing.

7. I am far better off getting inncolulated against the normal strains fo flu that are anticipated this year than agaisnt swine flu (if I were to choose one over the other).

8. The innoculation itself carries health risks.

9. There is some question whether any flu vaccine does any good whatsoever (i.e. it may not work at all) The studies are inconclusive.


Are any of these things incorrect? I have no idea whether these things are true or untrue, but that was my understanding of the state of things. Thus, I was somewhat mystified by the sudden appearance of signs everywhere telling everyone to get innoculated agasint swine flu. I figured that it was the government just trying to spend the money that they appropriated while the panic was in full gear. They could hardly just say, "oops, we do not need to spend that moeny after all"

Is swine flu still around? I have not heard one thing about it after the panic petered out, until the signs suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Most of the reasons above I agree with, but all the panic about this year's Swine Flu is the possibility that it will be too much like the epidemic of 1918, which preferentially infected and killed healthy people between 20 and 40, especially pregnant women. I think the odds against another 1918 happening in our lifetimes is ridiculously small, and certainly no reason to panic.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by JGatti

I have no problems with people posting opinions. But you really should check the facts before you post them in a forum as fact. Read the following please.

The first analysis of children who have died of the new H1N1 flu virus shows that two-thirds had severe existing medical conditions, nearly half also got bacterial infections and a dozen were never treated with Tamiflu, the government reported Thursday.
INTERACTIVE: Track swine flu across U.S., worldNOVARTIS: H1N1 vaccine may work on fewer doses Q&A: H1N1 and seasonal flu: Multiple doses, many questions

At least 477 people, 40 of whom were children, have died of H1N1 influenza, also called swine flu, since it emerged in the United States in April. An analysis of 36 of the children's deaths found that 81% were age 5 or older, and 67% had high-risk medical conditions, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other neuro-developmental disorders, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

In a typical flu season, half or more of children who die are 4 years old or younger. And about a third of children who die suffer from neurological disorders.

CDC Director Thomas Frieden said Thursday that the study highlights the importance of treating children with special needs and neurological disorders promptly with antiviral drugs if they develop flu symptoms.

It's also critical, he said, that "they're at the front of the line for flu vaccination when it becomes available." The first doses of flu vaccine are still expected to be ready for distribution by mid-October, Frieden said.

At least 12 of the children who died between April and August never received the best available flu treatment, oseltamivir, sold as Tamiflu, the study found. In another five cases, CDC officials couldn't determine whether the children got Tamiflu. Other children weren't given Tamiflu until long after they became ill. A 1-year-old African-American boy, for instance, didn't get Tamiflu for 23 days after his symptoms began, CDC reported.

Lena Napolitano, an intensive care specialist at the University of Michigan who has treated more than a dozen severely ill swine flu patients, says the analysis suggests that many physicians didn't suspect H1N1 virus caused the children's illness, adding that doctors shouldn't wait until test results come in before starting treatment.

Ten of 23 children for whom test results were available developed bacterial infections on top of their viral infections, a double blow that can lead to toxic shock and death, CDC reported.

Frieden noted that the pandemic, which simmered all summer, is heating up again, especially in the Southeast, where many schools began early. Flu has already forced school closures in two states. Twenty-three schools have closed in Tennessee and another in Indiana, affecting a total of 13,299 students, Justin Hamilton of the Department of Education said Thursday. Nineteen of the schools are in Blount County, Tenn., south of Knoxville.

Umm You really should read the post before accusing a poster of posting incorrect facts. Please read the post again. I did not make any assertion of facts or opinions, but simply said this is my understanding, is it right or wrong? I am seeking facts or opinions from better informed people.

You think that at least part of it is wrong. That is your perogative and it is intersteing to know. I do nto see a lot of conflict between the article that you posted and my understanding of the situation.

I am amazed to learn that 477 people have died of swine flu in the US this year. There was nothing on the news about that. Are you sure that this is correct? The news reported 2 people ding of swine flu and they were all over those two deaths. It is surprising that another 475 deaths were ignored. However it is not impossible, it is just curious.

However apparently the media just lost interest. Every case of somone contracting Swine flu in michigan was all over the news. They shut down schools if someone got it. However there were nto a dozen cases reported, it was closer to 4. Maybe the guy from U-M travelled around to different places to treat the severely infected kids that are mentions, or maybe they were flown in to U-M hospital from other places.

However I do not see that the article conflict with what my understanding is other than the numbers are somewhat different (477 is a bigger number but still not that significant).

I did go and look at a couple of articles but none of them said anything abotu deaths in the US except one that mentioned a 24 year old woman in Missouri who died just recently. One article was just a buynch of quotes from CDC people who kept contraditcing each other and themselves (e.g. H1N! typically has less severe symptoms than seasonal flu . . . . Later they said that they are concerned that there may be 50,000 or more deaths this season becasue swine flu is more severe than regulat seasonal flu. There were a few other contradictions). I also noticed that one of the articles switched back and forth between discussions of H1N1 in the US and stastics about the virus worldwide without distinguishing, thus creating the appearance without really lying that the statistics in the us were actually much higher than they really are.

This is why I am seeking more information. Clearly there is some BS going on in an effort to over hype this issues once again. There is just as clearly some truth in there somewhere. I do not have time or a strong enough interest in doing so to read and compare 100 articles and try to figure out who is making sense and who is either lying, or trying to further their agenda or justify their expenditure. This past spring, they were saying that this flu would sweep through the country infecting millions and killing tens of thousands, and then it just kind of petered out. Now they are saying the same thing. Will it just peter out again? Are they just hyping it to keep the money flowing?

One or two articles simply cannot give you an idea of what is truely going on here. It was obviously over hyped this spring, so I am skeptical about the current hype. I do not trust the government. I suspect that they are trying to get everyone to get the shots so that when nothing happens again, they can say "See nothing happened, we saved you all" They seem to lie as often as they provide acurate meaningful information. However I am sure that there is someone on CD who has read all of the hundreds of articles and is smart enough to compare and find the contradictions and may have sorted out what real and true facts are. I would like to hear what such a person has to say and perhaps get the benefit of their effort.

Personally I think that I may have already had H1N1. At least I got a flu with very similar symptoms this spring immediately after a long trip to California. My doctor suggested that I not get tested to find out what kind of flu it was, what difference would it make? However they would have shut down our kids' school (even though my kids did not get sick) and plastered my name all over the papers. No thank you. There is no different treatment for H1N1 or any other flu, and H1N1 apparently has more milid symptoms than other strains of flu so there is no real need to know which strain of flu you have.

Regardless, I will probably not get the H1N1 vaccination. I may get the seasonal flu shot, but I have not had much luck with it. (I get the seasonal vaccination and still get the flu a half dozen times, just like when I do nto get the shot, so what did it accomplish?). If I die of H1N1 then you can laguh at me and feel vindicated.