H1NI TWO BILLION DOLLAR FAILURE

Our government in mid October, spent $1 billion to purchase 195 million units of vaccine to prevent a swine flu epidemic that never occurred.  Over 72 million vaccine doses will now be dumped.  The only winners were the six drug companies that manufactured the vaccines.


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H1NI TWO BILLION DOLLAR FAILURE

They also paid $700 million, to drug companies, for a supply of adjuvants that were to be added to the vaccines, if the vaccines were found to be too weak.Our government in mid October, spent $1 billion to purchase 195 million units of vaccine to prevent a swine flu epidemic that never occurred.  

Over 72 million vaccine doses will now be dumped.  The only winners were the six drug companies that manufactured the vaccines.

Clinical studies were not done, before production, and it was later found that one dose of swine flu vaccination gave adequate immunity rather than the two doses predicted.    Hence, the $700 million in adjuvants purchased were never used, and we had enough vaccines for every American.

The vaccine was initially given to health care workers, pregnant women, children and young adults, who are generally affected by the new virus.  Since we now had 195 million doses, everyone was encouraged to get the vaccination.

The H1N1 flu has infected about 60 million Americans, killing 12,000.  A normal flu season is usually associated with nearly three times that number of deaths and 90% are seniors over 65 who have low immunity and are chronically ill.

Interestingly, seasonal flu normally kills  the elderly, but H1N1  killed adults under the age of 65, particularly those who have underlying health conditions or who were pregnant. The death rate among adults younger than 65  was  72% (five times higher than typically seen with seasonal flu).  Perhaps the seniors were spared since many did not get the H1N1 vaccine.

With so many million doses of swine flu vaccines available, Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin is still urging everyone, especially those with underlying health issues, to get vaccinated.  This will help lower the number of participants in Medicare and thus cut out "wasteful spending".

PRE-EXISTING IMMUNITY

Most adults and older children have pre-existing immunity against influenza viruses due to prior infection or vaccination. 

A person infected or vaccinated against previously circulated influenza viruses can still get the new virus strain.   Because of this, the influenza vaccine is each year reformulated based on predictions of which virus strains will be circulating in the coming year.

T-cell responses play an important role in clearing influenza virus infection.  Yet no research has been done about the role of immune responses during influenza infection or following vaccinations. The chronically ill and most seniors over 65 are never included in clinical trials

VACCINATE EVERYONE

The CDC urges everyone to get vaccinated as a preventive measure in case a new outbreak should occurred.  The future is hard to predict because there is much we do not know. But we do know that the virus is still around.

In the early 1940s only one vaccine was given routinely: smallpox.   Later, the diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccine began to be given routinely.  By the time a newborn is 12 years of age, 30-35 doses of vaccines are given to protect against 34 diseases.  Now we are trying to duplicate this by vaccinating all adult Americans.

The push is on for all private insurers as well as Medicare to pay for all recommended adult vaccinations.

DRUG RESISTANCE

Viruses are very diverse and infect nearly all forms of life. Once inside a cell, all viruses change their coats, replicate, and transcribe their genomes. They repackage their genomes into viral progeny that are released from cells.

Viruses evolve rapidly, adapting, and constantly changing to avoid immune system detection.  In this way, the viruses are successful in infecting your body.  Disadvantages of attenuated viruses in vaccinations used  today, is that the viruses  undergo secondary mutations making them again strongly virulent. 

 SENIORS BEWARE

 In a compromised immune patient (everyone chronically ill), vaccinations can create a new disease. Recent reports show that   people with compromised immune systems develop drug-resistant strains of virus  just two weeks after vaccinations.

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Bacteria quickly develop resistance to antibiotics, and viruses develop the same resistance especially when given antiviral agents.  The antiviral agents did not work for H1N1 and do not work against seasonal flu. 

COMMENTARY

The drug companies are pushing for a national strategy to immunize all adults against infectious diseases that would be as successful as the childhood immunization program. 

Children are vaccinated because state laws require immunization as a condition of attending school or day care.  In an effort to vaccinate all adults in America, the drug industry would like such an institutional mandate for adults.   Since all adults now are required to have insurance, why not  “force everyone to be protected” by vaccinating everyone.

Today, only 2% of adults get the shingles vaccination, and the

tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough vaccinations.  Ten percent of women get the human papilloma virus vaccination.

Over 30% of seniors over 65 are not vaccinated against pneumonia, and over 30% have not been vaccinated against the seasonal influenza.

Most subspecialists don’t push immunizations.  By having everyone go to general practitioners, selling health prevention, and having insurances cover the vaccines, the hope is  that everyone will get vaccinated for everything.   That is, if adult opinion can be changed from thinking all  vaccines are unsafe, and ineffective.  Big Pharma will respond, by bringing out new and improved vaccines, as the H1N1 fiasco. 

Now that Obama care is here, our government can freely make all the 2 billion dollar mistakes it wishes, and fill the pockets of the drug companies at our expense.

What do you think?  Your comments are always appreciated.

Visit www.drneedles.com for more discussion of controversial medical subjects.

Sources:

Center Disease Control

Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices