Do I trust the pharmaceutical companies wholeheartedly in everything they do? No, but the manufacturing process used for creating flu vaccine is not a secret. It's not something new. The only thing different about the swine flu vaccination is that the virus used to create it is new to most of us. Any physician should know and understand very well the basics of how flu vaccine is made and what it contains. If your physician doesn't know these things, I suggest finding another physician as fast as you can. Flu vaccine manufacturing is standardized and it is a well-documented and well-known process. It's not a mystery. It's not a government conspiracy. It's not big business out to get us. Most importantly, few if any ordinary citizens are being forced to get flu vaccinations of any kind. Everyone has a choice. Actually I don't have a choice since neither the vaccination for H1N1 nor for the seasonal flu has been made available to me yet.
Landmark has out it exactly how it is
I must admit I need to smile everytime I read that there are not enough tests done to show the efficacy of this "new" vaccine
and I am sure that if at the end some people who were vaccinated get the swine flu, the press will make a big shwo around it...
now some facts that most people forget or just ignore:
1.- Flu virus is extremely infectious, and although it is recommended as a good practice to keep good hygiene, this is also not a 100% warranty you will not be infected. A good health is more important in this case than washing your hands! Good nutrition and strong inmune system are the key! however, not yet 100%.
2.- Flu vaccine is effective only in about 60% of the population (keep this in mind, as you probably will belong to the 40% which does not get 100% inmunity!) Please do not blame the Pharma industry for this if you get the Flu even though you had a flu shot!! Blame your Phycisian for not telling you this!!
3.- Flu kills a couple of thousands people every year ("and nobody cares!" <- common argument given by people thinking of Swine Flu and tammiflu and Co as a "XXXX" conspiracy to reduce world population or making money) Swine Flu has killed just less than a couple of hundreds.... hhhmmm.. true, but needs to be seen in detail
If you see plain numbers, I agree totall with these statements. However, if you check percentages, we have a different story. At the very beginning, the Swine Flu was very aggresive and "deadly". If that virus train would have infected the same number of people infected every season with "Normal" Flu virus, we would have a couple of millions instead of a couple of thousands death cases. That's the reasons why the WHO was so alarmed, and everybody was running around to increase the production of Tamiflu and create the vaccine.
4.- The scenario changed within a short time, but the risk is still very high that we come back to the original one. As has been already mentioned here, flu virus mutate a lot, and this is teh reason why youcan get the Flu every year. You do not have a new virus species every year, but a variation of the previous ones. Swine Flu virus mutated very quick, and became a lot less aggressive and almost no lethal (I can testify of 5 confirmed cases in my office, which went with swine flu but even milder than normal flu, almost like a regular cold!) What doe sthis all mean? ONLY, that we have had more time to get ready... same wway as the virus mutated to become less aggressive, it can mutate to become even more aggressive. Even worst, we still have some strains of avian flu "fyling" around. Ifthis two viruses get mixed, then we have a big BIG problem here, as the avian virus is extremely aggressive and lethal (remember the spanish Flu, which has been confirmed long ago to be avian flu)
5.- Pharmaceuticals, Secondary Effects and Press... All, and I say ALL, medicines have secondary effects, and there is no, I say NO, medicine, which provides 100% protection! This is a fact, which cannot be denied. All medicines are tested before the are authorized by Health Authorities to go into the market. The rules are very strict, the test are strongly regulated, and this applies to almost everywhere in the world (some countries don't have these rules, but all big Pharma companies work under these rules, otherwise tehy will not be allowed to launch their product in the most important markets) In the case of USA, it is the FDA who decideds which product is allowed and which not. Authorization for marketing is given after putting on the balance Benefits Vs. Risk.
You would probably be surprised to know that some over the counter products you buy are even more lethal than those "finger pointed" by the press as dangerous. It all depends on the coverage given by the press to specific events. The swine Flu is the current "Gold mine" for yellow press: "Not enough tests done"; "Adjuvants used are deadly"; "Guvernamental Conspiration to reduce world population"; "BIG business between Goverment and Pharma Companies", and so on.... easy, people are not well informed about Swine Flu, and are extremelly afraid of it. Anything new in the press, sells! And we must accept, that humans are sensationalists by nature! news like "100000000000 people save by Tamiflu" are much less interesting than "
YOUR Neighbour died after taking Tamiflu and 3 bottles of Tequila!"
For example, and going to extrems, did you know that a lot of people die or have very serious adverse events after taking Aspirin or acetaminophen (Paracetamol) but almost not a single case is ever covered by the press (same for many of the anti-depressive and pain killers sold over the counter in the USA), but the few cases of people dying after taking Ecstasy are almost always covered by the press? Note: I am not saying that Ecstasy is not dangerous! I am giving an example of over devilization of a prodcut by the press!!
Final Note: if someone wants to know... yes... I work for one of the Pharmas involved in the swine flu pandemia control... and no, I do not use all our products, have never taken Tamiflu and will also not get the Swine Flu shot - even though I had the regular flu shot this year. I do not believe in world conspiracy to reduce the world population (as the half known none in Spain said in her video) and do agree that some people have used the pandemia to make more money (business is busines and that rules the world!), but I do not fingerpoint at any of the pharma companies involved, as most of them have been over criminalized by the press in this case: Press releases the bad side ofthe story more often than teh good side (No, I am not saying Pharma Companies are angels! but also not devils!)
