Free Republic

Singapore has temporarily halted the use of two influenza vaccines as a precaution after some people who received them in South Korea died, becoming among the first countries to publicly announce a halt of the vaccines' usage. South Korea reported that 48 have died as of Saturday after getting flu shots, but said it would carry on with the state-run vaccination programme as they found no direct link between the deaths and the shots. No deaths associated with influenza vaccination have been reported in Singapore to date, but the decision to halt the use of SKYCellflu Quadrivalent and VaxigripTetra was...

Vaccination is central to the government’s plan for preventing deaths from swine flu. The CDC has recommended that some 159 million adults and children receive either a swine flu shot or a dose of MedImmune’s nasal vaccine this year. Shots are offered in doctors’ offices, hospitals, airports, pharmacies, schools, polling places, shopping malls, and big-box stores like Wal-Mart. In August, New York state required all health-care workers to get both seasonal and swine flu shots. To further protect the populace, the federal government has spent upwards of $3billion stockpiling millions of doses of antiviral drugs like Tamiflu—which are being used...

H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccines Don't Rely on Cells From Babies Killed in Abortion Washington, DC -- A pro-life group that monitors vaccinations is pleased to report that the new H1N1 swine flu vaccines the federal government will be distributing next month do not rely on cells from babies killed in abortions. Other vaccinations have been condemned for relying on such cells to formulate the vaccines.

The inoculation for the swine flu strain, officially known as H1N1, will be distributed as a separate shot from the shot designed to protect against the seasonal flu, according to Los Angeles County’s top public health official, Dr. Jonathan Fielding, at a press conference today. But, after those two shots, you then may need a third shot. Get this, according to Fielding preliminary studies have suggested the swine-flu shot does not provoke as strong an immune response as does the seasonal flu vaccine, thus, it may be necessary to administer two doses of the swine-flu inoculation for it to be...

Anthony Fauci.J. Reed/Reuters The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced last week that it will begin five clinical trials for two pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccines in early August. These trials will help inform a likely US mass-vaccination campaign beginning in September. NIAID director Anthony Fauci talks about what vaccines were chosen, and why.To increase the amount of flu vaccine available, the World Health Organization recommends using adjuvants, which boost the body's immune response to the drug. But the five trials you announced last week are for non-adjuvanted vaccines. Why? We have planned seven priority trials. The...

All U.S. children aged 6 months to 18 years should get a seasonal influenza vaccine every year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said the agency was strengthening recommendations for children to get the vaccination against seasonal influenza, especially with fears that the new H1N1 virus will be added to the already expected burden of seasonal flu.

The immune system uses antibodies (that is, proteins that attach specifically to the virus) and T cells (which encourage the production of antibodies and also destroy cells infected with the virus) to clear the virus from the body, but often not before it has been passed on to other people. Introduction When a normal healthy person becomes infected for the first time with a particular flu virus, their immune system takes several days to 'recognize' and attack it, by which point it will have multiplied millions of times. The immune system uses antibodies (that is, proteins that attach specifically...

Evans/Associated Press PROTEST Hundreds objected to the mandated flu vaccinations. THE state’s new law requiring young children attending licensed pre-school and child care centers to get flu vaccinations will be tested this week when thousands of children return to classrooms and playrooms after the long holiday break. New Jersey, the first state in the nation to require flu shots for young schoolchildren, set a Dec. 31 deadline for parents to obtain flu vaccinations for their children. It was part of a new policy requiring a total of four additional immunizations for schoolchildren over the objections of some parents who...

Vaccine opponents, a scattered though potent force, have been gearing up in recent weeks to fight state health officials who are pushing for new immunization rules for babies and young children. This latest vaccine skirmish centers on proposals to require that young children in child care centers or preschool get vaccinated against both the flu and pneumonia. The shots would be for children over 6 months old and would include the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), and the influenza vaccine. Health officials said the mandates, not yet final, would prevent as many as 300 hospitalizations each year -- and possibly several...

In the second and final debate in the race for the United States Senate seat in New York, Senator Charles E. Schumer found himself under sharp attack from his Republican and Conservative opponents last night over his record on everything from homeland security and the appointment of federal judges to the availability of flu vaccines. But for most of the hourlong debate in Ithaca, N.Y., Mr. Schumer pointedly ignored the jabs and instead sought to portray himself as an effective senator with a long record of accomplishment that includes helping secure billions of dollars in aid for New York in...

Fla. Oct. 16, 2004 — President Bush accused Sen. John Kerry on Saturday of bowing to the "shifting sands of political convenience" when it comes to the war on terror. The Democrat stuck to domestic issues, blaming Bush for a shortage of flu vaccines. "Millions of Americans won't get their flu shots, including seniors and children," Kerry said while also blasting Bush on joblessness. "We've got people standing in line for hours on end, some of them in their 70s and 80s, hoping to be among the lucky ones to get it." With new polls showing the race tied or...