Vaccine shortage = WMD

[screembloodymurder]

On average 36,000 Americans die each year from the flue. How many more will die w/o enough vaccine? Bush outsourced our health protection to England and now we're told we get no protection. This is the third year in a row we have a shortage. Maybe we need a Department of Homeland "Health" Security to insure we produce the medicine we need here at home.

[LeftyMom]

1. mmmmmm pharma koolaid

The CDC, AMA and the big pharma companies hnow how to generate demand for the vax. They scare the shit out of people on purpose, to generate demand for a vax which they know isn't very effective and which few people would get otherwise. They get the media to hype the story so people will be fearful.


Here's the AMA's presentation on how to sell lots of flu shots by scaring the pants off people.
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/36/2004_flu_nowak.pdf

BTW, look at the effectiveness stats for last year's flu vax.

The reason there's a shortage is that the CDC keeps expanding thier recommendations for who should get it. If they eliminated all the bogus risk groups like non-athsmatic kids (and kids with mild and well controlled athsma probably don't need it either,) pregnant women and healthy adults than all the old people and athsmatics would have plenty.

PS We have three people in this house who could make a good case for getting the shot, due to age or athsma. None of us will do so as my child is a vaccine reaction victim (our beliefs would not allow us to get a shot cultured in eggs anyhow) so feel free to get out share. :)

[Ms. Toad]

2. Thanks for a sorely needed dose of reality re flu shots

Most folks don't need the flu shots, and the vaccine is only a guess at what flu might be coming around anyway. It's wrong almost as often as it is correct. In the mean time the immunization push (flu and other) is not necessarily really good for our overtaxed immune systems.

I had a bias against vaccines for normal childhood diseases and flu before the MMR vaccine likely acted as a catalyst (or caused) my daughter's chronic auto-immune disorder. (They have now discovered an animal link with vaccines and compromised auto-immune systems, which they expect to be able to link to humans and autism. The MMR has been specifically associated with one variation of the autoimmune disorder my daughter has.)

I'm even more of an advocate for cautious use of vaccinations now. That doesn't mean I avoid all vaccinations - I just use them with extreme caution when they are designed to prevent relatively routine childhood illnesses and flu unless there is a compelling medical reason why the illness is riskier than messing with my families' immune system.

[MercutioATC]

3. Using "WMD" to describe every undesirable thing is what's hurting us...

WMD has a specific meaning. Vaccine shortages do not fall under that definition. Every time we draw a parallel between "WMD" and something that's NOT a WMD, we weaken our position on the lack of WMD in Iraq.

[Justice]

4. Funny How We were okay with importing that drug from England

yet can't import other drugs.