Replies

Oh, my goodness. It seems this particular article you posted brought the nuts out of the woodwork.

Rather than try to answer each one separately, I will list the responses here (in no particular order):

1) Guillain-Barré syndrome is caused by influenza. The chance of getting GB from influenza is far higher than the chance of getting it from a vaccine, for a couple of reasons. a—The flu shot is a dead virus that cannot cause infection. b—Traditional flu vaccines are made using a specific vaccine virus as a backbone; these vaccine viruses have been used for decades and have an excellent safety profile. Keep in mind that a flu vaccine has the same proteins in it as the flu virus that makes you sick, but in far lower quantities. It is those flu proteins that cause GB, but we don’t know how yet.

2) Although some “natural” compounds have demonstrable anti-viral activity, to my knowledge, garlic, magnesium, zinc, etc., have no effect on the influenza virus.

3) You can avoid influenza (maybe) if you never leave your house. Your best bet is to practice good sanitation—wash hands frequently, use the little hand sanitizers frequently, avoid touching your face, stay away from people with respiratory symptoms, and get vaccinated.

4) Yes, vaccines are tested. There isn’t a single vaccine allowed to be sold without FDA approval, which is only granted after clinical trials have demonstrated their safety. You can check the status of clinical studies yourself over at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

5) No synthetically made organisms were injected into oil wells or anywhere else. To do such a thing without extensive safety and environmental studies would be a horrible breach of scientific ethics.

6) Narcolepsy cases were noticed after the vaccination of children with an adjuvanted H1N1(pdm)2009 vaccine. I’ve seen the data; I’m not convinced. Studies are still on-going into this putative link. It seems to me that the relationship between the narcolepsy and the vaccine is more correlative than causative.

how nice of you to call me a nut. as I schlep along half crippled with flu shot caused GB and auto immune triggered demyelinating peripheral neuropathy.

You don’t sound like an ExDem at all. sounds like you are dragging big government control over here to FR.

I have had various types of flu virus from birth till age 50 in 1999 without getting these diseases....my immune system up till then took care of the viruses.

If immunocompromized child dies of flu, it does not mean that a flu shot is a solution. Healthy children are not expected to die of flu. On the contrary, they are expected to built up their immune system. Only 105 children die even though some of them were vaccinated? Do you know about serious complication of flu shot? 1 out of 100,000 vaccinated develops GB. There are 55 millions of school age children in US. If you vaccinate all of them you will have 50 + paralyzed children as a result of GB. Plus some of the vaccinated still die of flu. What is the benefit? And do not forget to add preschoolers to those 55 millions... So my conclusion is: risk outweighs benefits.

Nothing you wrote would change my mind about getting a flu vaccination. All the tests you do of what happens NOW with a new flu vaccine don't address long-term effects. They also don't evaluate how any vaccine will interact with other vaccines and medications. It's a math thing. As people take more and more vaccines and pharmaceuticals, the chances for negative inter-reactions increase exponentially.

But if you want to take vaccines and pharmaceuticals, hey, go for it. If you're correct about how great they are, it'll make the world safer for the rest of us.