Swine Flu Vaccine - Pros & Cons

Posted by Thomas Alan Gray Oct 28, 2009

My wife is a registered nurse (RN) and knows very well the benefits of vaccination. The near eradication of polio and smallpox, the virtual elimination of most childhood diseases, all are wonderful benefits of vaccines.

However, the H1N1 pandemic, hyped by media hysteria, has resulted in the creation of vaccines by new and relatively untested methods that have bypassed the usual checks and authorities. The argument was that this had to be done now, by dammit, before the vile virus has struck.

• When I started looking into the vaccines, I was astonished. A thirty minute search of the Health Canada site produced some particularly disturbing information about the total lack of testing.
• Information from various web sites about how this vaccine bypassed the normal regulatory process is scary too.
• The fact that some drug companies are making a pile of money (out of citizens' pockets, I might add) is no surprise. They're in it for their health, not yours.
• But what is surprising is that many of the same public health officials who are pushing for mass vaccinations are allegedly also getting a cut of the money because they're also on the boards or executive of the drug companies (the usual conflict-of-interest rules have also been bypassed). Okay, that's not so surprising. But it is distressing.

Two hours of review of authoritative web sites (I'm talking Health Canada, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization) has made me even more convinced that this is one flu shot I will miss.

BTW, before you attack me for complaining of media-induced hysteria, consider this:

• Your chance of dying from swine flu is so far about 1 in 1.2 million (5000 reported deaths worldwide, to 6 billion people). This will no doubt rise before the flu season is over.
• Your chance of dying from a car accident in America is about 1 in 7600 (40,000 deaths in 2008, population 304 million) or about 170 times greater than the chance of death by swine flu.
• Your chance of being struck by lightning, says USA Today, is 1 in 700,000. That's about twice as likely as your chance of dying by swine flu.

And which life-threatening event is getting all the media attention, hmm?

Swine Flu Vaccine - Inadequate Testing?

Swine Flu Vaccination - Reasons for Refusing

Swine Flu Vaccine – Why People Refuse the Shot

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Flu Prevention – Preparatory Measures

Flu Prevention – Social Measures

Proactive Measures for Flu Prevention

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