Link between getting H1N1 and the vaccine found

Orion · Oct 5, 2009

Study prompts provinces to rethink flu plan - The Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail said:
A “perplexing” Canadian study linking H1N1 to seasonal flu shots is throwing national influenza plans into disarray and testing public faith in the government agencies responsible for protecting the nation's health.

Distributed for peer review last week, the study confounded infectious-disease experts in suggesting that people vaccinated against seasonal flu are twice as likely to catch swine flu.

The paper is under peer review, and lead researchers Danuta Skowronski of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and Gaston De Serres of Laval University must stay mum until it's published.

Met with intense early skepticism both in Canada and abroad, the paper has since convinced several provincial health agencies to announce hasty suspensions of seasonal flu vaccinations, long-held fixtures of public-health planning.

“It has confused things very badly,” said Dr. Ethan Rubinstein, head of adult infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba. “And it has certainly cost us credibility from the public because of conflicting recommendations. Until last week, there had always been much encouragement to get the seasonal flu vaccine.”

On Sunday Quebec joined Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia in suspending seasonal flu shots for anyone under 65 years of age. Quebec's Health Ministry announced it would postpone vaccinations until January, clearing the autumn months for health professionals to focus on vaccinating against H1N1, which is expected to the more severe influenza strain this season.

For those of you not familiar with Canadian media, the Globe and Mail is a premier national paper that is seen as one of the most trusted, so this is not just some random report.

The fact that Canada's most populous provinces have suspended the H1N1 flu shot is very telling of the implications of this report. As suspected by many in health care, the H1N1 vaccine was rushed too hastily into practice before adequate studies could be performed on its immediate effects.

I thought I would post the article here so everyone would know that this shot is now, officially, controversial and has unknown risk.

ScottD · Oct 5, 2009

Quebec joined Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia in suspending seasonal flu shots for anyone under 65 years of age. Quebec's Health Ministry announced it would postpone vaccinations until January, clearing the autumn months for health professionals to focus on vaccinating against H1N1, which is expected to the more severe influenza strain this season.

You should reread the article. They aren't suspending H1N1 shots, they are suspending seasonal flu shots.

Speaking of which, I got a seasonal flu shot.

1069 · Oct 5, 2009

ScottD said:
You should reread the article. They aren't suspending H1N1 shots, they are suspending seasonal flu shots.

Speaking of which, I got a seasonal flu shot.

So did every recent military recruit.
They'll be getting swine flu shots as well.

Lita456 · Oct 5, 2009

They really should test this stuff a little bit more before handing it out to every man woman and child.....I don't think they know what they hell they're doing, sadly, there will be repercussions.....in my opinion.

Kandahar · Oct 6, 2009

Just get both shots and you'll be fine. If you can only get one, get the H1N1 vaccine and take your chances with the seasonal flu.

Color me skeptical regarding this study. Over how long of a time period did they watch these patients? I just got my seasonal flu shot about a month ago, so it can't possibly have been available for much longer than that.

It's possible that it temporarily weakens your immune system, temporarily exposing you to a wide variety of other illnesses such as swine flu. But if they only watched the patients for a couple weeks I think this would present a very distorted picture of the risks.

phattonez · Oct 6, 2009

This is why studies should really be analyzed before we draw conclusions.

Who are we vaccinating first? Those most at risk for contracting the flu. So right away it's already clear that these people before getting vaccinated will have a higher prevalence of contracting H1N1.

So let's not run off thinking that this vaccine is making people sick. You can't make that conclusion based off of this study.

Link between getting H1N1 and the vaccine found

Orion

ScottD

Well-known member

1069

Lita456

Well-known member

Kandahar

Enemy Combatant

phattonez

Catholic

Link between getting H1N1 and the vaccine found

Orion

ScottD

Well-known member

1069

Lita456

Well-known member

Kandahar

Enemy Combatant

phattonez

Catholic

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