Posted on 11/13/2009 10:25:02 PM PST by 444Flyer
A 14-year-old Virginia boy is weak and struggling to walk after coming down with a reported case of Guillain-Barre syndrome within hours after receiving the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu.
Jordan McFarland, a high school athlete from Alexandria, Va., left Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children Tuesday night in a wheelchair nearly a week after developing severe headaches, muscle spasms and weakness in his legs following a swine flu shot. He will likely need the assistance of a walker for four to six weeks, plus extensive physical therapy.
“The doctor said I’ll recover fully, but it’s going to take some time,” the teenager said.
Jordan is among the first people in the nation to report developing the potentially life-threatening muscle disorder after receiving the H1N1 vaccine this fall. His alarming reaction was submitted via msnbc.com's reader reporting tool, First Person, by his stepmother, Arlene Connin.
Increased cases of GBS were found in patients who received a 1976 swine flu vaccine, but government health officials say they've seen no rise in the condition associated with the current outbreak.
So far, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received five reports of GBS in people who received the H1N1 vaccine since Oct. 6, not including Jordan’s case, said Dr. Claudia J. Vellozzi, deputy director for immunization safety.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I’m 54 and I just hate needles....
;-)
Take the shot at your own risk. Congress has already passed legislation outlawing any lawsuits against the manufacturers of the vaccine. Wonder why? I don’t.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/282042
I’d rather be waterboarded than stuck with a needle....
Vile things...
*shudder*
Obviously.
When it looked liked the H1N1 vaccine wouldn’t be ready in time for school, my daughters and I all got the pneumonia shot. We all have asthma. As of today, all of us have now all had the H1N1 vaccine.
There is some risk with any vaccine. This one is new, and there have been conflicting claims about whether it's the same exact process or not as the seasonal flu. And there may be some truth to eggs possibly having other viruses. Just don't know.
We do know that the flu frequently kills. The flu shot very very rarely kills. Whether or not it causes any long term ill effects has not been proven.
I’m not injecting Obama’s Kool-Aid. No way, no how.
There is some risk with any vaccine. This one is new, and there have been conflicting claims about whether it's the same exact process or not as the seasonal flu. And there may be some truth to eggs possibly having other viruses. Just don't know.
We do know that the flu frequently kills. The flu shot very very rarely kills. Whether or not it causes any long term ill effects has not been proven.
Rare? Didn’t this just happen to a woman a few weeks ago?
Not that I'm aware of. You might be thinking of a woman who had a psychogenic case of something like dystonia, which is completely unrelated except as another case study for science-hating anti-vaccine fear mongers. She got herself treated by a quack and recovered. (Psychogenic symptoms can disappear rapidly if the patient thinks they are receiving an effective treatment.)
That said, I wouldn't be surprised if a woman somewhere did get GBS after getting a flu shot a few weeks ago. Three to six thousand people get it every year in the US, odds are some are going to come down with it around the time they get their flu shots.
Because Obama is in office, there isn't enough vaccine for those who want it and people are dying would who not have died had there been vaccine in time.
That is the only reason we are seeing an above average amount of anti-vaccine rhetoric.
Dang and I have to get my MANDATORY shot on Monday...The military is making us get it beginning Monday. Fun!!!
They said that Anthrax had numerous side effects and when I got the series, I did not have anything effects at all. I think it depends on the person. I am a little nervous about getting H1N1 shot on Monday, but NOTHING like how nervous I was getting Anthrax. People were willing to get kicked out of the military to keep from getting Anthrax because they feared side affects so much. I don’t hear that with this shot which puts me more at ease. We in the military often don’t have a choice in these matters.
Why is that so many desire a vaccine for relatively minor problems? Swine flu isn’t going to kill any more people than regular flu. From what I’ve read, it’s going to kill considerably less.
I’ve gotten the flu a time or two. BFD.
A friend of mine years ago ,took the swine flu shot after the big scare then(late 70’s?). She contacted Gullian Barr Syndrome because of it.
thats a good point, people dont die of swine flu, they die of pneumonia as a complication
“A lot of people I know have gotten sick the past week with some sort of flu but not me.”
It’s really hard to know what’s the best thing to do with all the hoopla.
I have NOT had any flu shots. I haven’t had any sickness yet this season, and I’ve been surrounded by others who are sick for the last 2 months. Maybe I have built up my own immunity. Knock on wood!
guys... aside from the swine/flu shot debate
i would all get the pnemonuia shot.. It’s good for 10 yrs..
[[Why is that so many desire a vaccine for relatively minor problems? Swine flu isn’t going to kill any more people than regular flu.]]
This isn’t true- more people have already died from this than regular flu for the amount of time it’s been around. The US alone already has 3200 deaths, and flu season hasn’t even really started yet- not to mention they are predicting this could mutate later on to more severe form.
While most people hwo get htis will get it mildly, it’s the people with health problems (any problems where breathign is difficult- Asthma, MS Parkisons etc) and children who have never been exposed to I think it was the bird flu, or perhaps Spanish flu, in the past, are the ones who are goign to get problems with this flu- Even healthy people can develop severe problems with this flu- or any flu for that matter- My neighbor whom I mentioned yesterday, is a 21 year old athelete- good physical condition, and healthy (no breathign problems.) but she developped pneumonia, and got Guillian Barre none-the-less- GB can happen whenever you get any flu that affects either the intestines or lungs- but this particular flu is especially virulent in the lungs if you have health problems to start with, or if you’re a young child without previous exposure to past flu of similar nature (can’t remember now which flu it was)
I’m not tryign to suggest one way or the other what people should do- but I just think we need to keep things in perspective, and get asll the facts when something liek htis flu comes along- I’ve seen numerous scare reports that simpyl aren’t true, which cause people to mistrust the shots- but the facts show an excellent track record safety-wise for flu shots- Far safer than many popular medications that peopel take without a second thought- Heck- Aspirin is more likely to cause problems in more people than the flu shot is, and people don’t give aspirin a second htought.
As well, we do need to htink of those arojund us in my opinion- While we might survive just fine without gettign hte flu shot- someone down hte street whom we come into contact with, might not be so lucky, and as I pointed out last night, the risk of getting GB fro mthe flu shot is very very minor compared to the risk of people who will die, and infact are dying, from this flu, and again, flu season hasn’t even really beguin yet, and already there are a great many peole dying. IF we can help prevent the spread, I personally htink we should (and I’m sorry- but hand wipes, and handwashing and sneezing into our arms isn’t goign to do a dang hting to prevent the spread of flus- the flu is just too virulent- any flu is)
People are gunshy (understandably I suppose) due to the fiasco durign hte spanish flu when that vacinnation truly was rushed out and poorly understood- but we’ve coem a long long way with current flu shots, and htis swine flu shot is no different than other flu shots- the only thing that happens is that the inactive virus of the old flu shot is taken out, and hte new swien flu one ‘plugged in’.
Also- there’s been undue alarm over the mercury i nthe shots- however, researchign hte issue, the maount is less than the amount you get from eating 1/2 can of tuna fish, and you can also request mercury free flu shots if they are available
GB is idneed a lousy thing to get, and noone wants it to be sure, however, again, keepign things in perspective, the common flu causes GB, and htere is evidence that the hsots actualyl protect people from GB, and that those who develop GB after gettign hte flu shot show that they get GB not fro mthe shot itself, but from the flu- Remember, you still get the flu after gettign hte shots, but just milder- but can still develop GB in rare cases from even the milder case of a flu. as well, GB is very very rare, but dying from the flu is not rare, and people with health problems to begin with, are at much higher risk of dying fro mflu AND of developing GB fro mthe flu, and in my opinion, it’s far more ‘others oriented’ to try to help prevent hte spread of flu to the sick by gettign the shot.
[[Maybe I have built up my own immunity. Knock on wood!]]
It’s possible- those hwo were exposed to a previous flu (can’t remember which one now) do have soem imunity- but please remember, that other people may not have such immunity, and won’t fare well if you get hte flu- try to do what you can to try to prevent the spread if you get it- avoid contact with people as much as possible until you feel you’re over it- Especially when it coems to children- they are the most susceptible- The CDC and various reports are alarmed at how many children are dying fro mthis compared to ‘normal’ flus, so please be careful.
Mosy people won’t suffer much fro mthe flu, uyou’ll probably do fine if you get it (I’m not suggestiung one way or hte other if you should get shot or not- you have to decide that), but do please to to prevent spreadign it if you get it, as others aren’t goign to be as lucky- people with health problems, and youg children
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