To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

Now that I have your attention, I will clarify that I’m specifically referring to the H1N1 vaccination, not all vaccinations. In keeping with the fact that I am a moderate (I actually fall at the intersection where the Left/Right axis intersects with the Authoritarian/Libertarian axis on the Political Spectrum Quiz – it says that I am a centrist social moderate, am a slight non-interventionalist and somewhat culturally conservative just in case you were wondering), I fall somewhat in the middle on the vaccine debate. I am not pro-vaccine nor am I anti-vaccine, but I am pro-research. Every vaccine must be weighed individually and an educated decision should be made based on the risks of the vaccine vs. the risks of the disease.

As you might have guessed, my concern with the H1N1 vaccine (which people in my area are rushing out to get in record numbers; the clinics run out of vaccine before they run out of people waiting in line) is that the potential risk from the vaccine may be greater than the potential risk from the virus. Although I have seen plenty of warnings about the risks of complications from H1N1 in certain population groups, I haven’t seen any hard evidence documenting that the flu is as dangerous as we have been led to believe. What I have seen is huge benefits for the pharmaceutical companies that make Tamiflu and the H1N1 vaccinations. And since the vaccine manufacturers have been granted total legal immunity from lawsuits, there is only the guarantee of enormous profits for them to look forward to. As of July, the US federal government had spent about $1 billion on pandemic flu vaccine, with about $7 billion available for more purchases and pandemic countermeasures. When there is that much money to be made on a product that has total legal immunity from legitimate lawsuits, I see huge red flags. If people were dropping dead at the rate of 20-30% of those infected I could possibly see waiving those legal repercussions, but to avoid a run of the mill virus with such a low rate of complications? Even if the vaccine works and poses little risk, there is something foul when Health and Human Services is this friendly with vaccine producers. It’s almost as if the fox were guarding the hen house…

[UPDATE: In a look back at the declared pandemic, a June 2010 article in the UK Daily Mail sheds some light on this very issue. An investigation by the British Medical Journal and the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism "found that key scientists behind the WHO's advice on stockpiling pandemic flu pills such as Tamiflu had financial ties with the drug companies that stood to profit." The article also declares that "declaring a swine flu pandemic was a 'monumental error', driven by profit-hungry drug companies spreading fear", a point that should not have been difficult to figure out at the time. Alas, the blind obedience to the recommendations of the WHO led to "huge amounts of taxpayers' money being wasted in stockpiling vaccines, it added." Not to mention the significant health problems suffered by many who received the vaccine at the recommendation of various government health organizations.]

Vaccine makers are rushing to try to fill the vacuum created by low production so that they can be assured of some of the vast profits to be made from the vaccine. And if they miss the boat on getting the vaccine out there in time for human use, there is always another market to tap.

Back to my original point about evidence of complications from H1N1, pregnant women are an example of one of the groups that is said to be at high risk for complications. The CDC seems to be basing the recommendation to vaccinate pregnant women on the fact that an excess of influenza-associated deaths among pregnant women were reported during the pandemics of 1918–1919 and 1957–1958 combined with the little bit of data on H1N1 collected so far (of the 266 H1N1 deaths investigated by the CDC to date, 15, or 6%, were among pregnant women). “In addition, pregnant women infected with H1N1 were four times as likely as sick people in the general population to be hospitalized for it, she said. But the study cautioned that part of that increase may be because of doctors being more likely to hospitalize a pregnant woman than a nonpregnant person with similar symptoms.” (CNN)

Here is what the CDC says:

Pregnant women with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection would be expected to present with typical acute respiratory influenza-like illness (e.g., cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea) and fever. Other symptoms can include body aches, headache, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea. Many pregnant women will go on to have a typical course of uncomplicated influenza. However, for some pregnant women, illness might progress rapidly, and might be complicated by secondary bacterial infections including pneumonia. Fetal distress associated with severe maternal illness can occur. Case reports of adverse pregnancy outcomes and maternal deaths have been associated with severe illness. Ideally, pregnant women who have suspected novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection should be tested for influenza. However, treatment should not be delayed pending results of testing and treatment should not be withheld in the absence of testing. This is because antiviral treatment is most effective when started as early as possible after the onset of symptoms (i.e. within the first 2 days). Testing is not available in many instances and, when available, results of novel H1N1 testing often take several days. Clinicians should be aware of circulation of H1N1 in their area and not wait for test results to initiate influenza treatment in women who have symptoms consistent with influenza illness. [emphasis mine]

It seems to me that lacking historical evidence, the CDC is basing the entire recommendation on a big collection of “somes”, “mights” and “cans”. They say that the vaccine is safe because it is based on the seasonal flu vaccine, but since this flu is supposedly very different from the seasonal flu, I can only think that the vaccine must also be significantly different. With only a few weeks of testing, I would have to ask myself if the risk of complications from getting H1N1 outweighs the risk of an unproven vaccine.

Watch this video for a very visual testimony to the fact that complications, while possibly rare, do exist. Research the facts, know the motives of those who promote each vaccine, then make an educated, prayerful decision for yourself and your family.