What do we really know about the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine? What do we really not know?

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Questions about the safety of the vaccine persist. Surf the Internet or flip through TV stations and you'll encounter a multitude of myths and a whole lot of hype.

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What are the facts? Straightforward answers follow these questions:

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• Is the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine safe?
• Isn't the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine too new to trust?
• Why should I believe what government scientists say about swine flu?
• Does the H1N1 swine flu vaccine contain thimerosal?
• The 1976 swine flu vaccine wasn't safe. Why should I trust this one?
• Do we really know what drugmakers are putting in the swine flu vaccine?

Is the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine safe?

No vaccine is 100% safe for everyone. People with allergies to eggs, for example, can't take flu vaccines because eggs are involved in the manufacturing process.

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And flu vaccines cause mild but common reactions. About one in three people get a sore arm from the shot, some with a little redness or even swelling. Some 10% to 15% of people feel tired or get a headache; some may even run a low fever.

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And vaccines can trigger rare but serious reactions, even among people with no apparent allergies or sensitivities.

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So if vaccines aren't 100% safe, why risk them?

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Approved vaccines -- including the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine -- are calculated to be much, much less risky than the diseases they prevent. For example, out of every million people who get a flu shot, one or two will get a serious neurological reaction called Guillain-Barre syndrome ( GBS ).

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But flu itself causes serious problems, including GBS, in far more than two in a million cases. And since a large proportion of the population will get swine flu, the vaccine risk is far smaller than the disease risk.

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In clinical trials, 10,000 to 15,000 children and adults have received various manufacturers' brands of H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Nothing serious happened to any of them, including this reporter, who received a double dose of the Sanofi-Pasteur swine flu vaccine.

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That's still not proof that no harm will come from the vaccine. Clinical trials cannot detect something bad that happens to one or two out of every 100,000 people vaccinated.

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"There could be unknown side effects. Something could happen. But we think that is highly unlikely," says infectious disease and vaccine expert Mark Mulligan, MD, executive director of the Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta.

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"The CDC, FDA, HHS [Health and Human Services Department], the Department of Defense, and several large HMOs with great medical records are all collaborating in enhanced surveillance for this national 2009 H1N1 vaccine campaign," Mulligan tells WebMD. "If there is a signal for a rare or late adverse event, we will identify it as early and as quickly as we can."

Isn't the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine too new to trust?

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Is the swine flu vaccine brand new? Yes and no. The 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine is made exactly the same way as the seasonal flu vaccine, by the same manufacturers using the same materials -- except for one shiny new piece.

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What has changed is the piece of the virus the vaccine uses to prime the immune system.

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Vaccine experts tell WebMD this change isn't all that new. Every couple of years or so, a new variant of a seasonal flu virus comes along. When that happens, a "new" vaccine is made using the relevant part of the variant virus.

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And even though the 2009 H1N1 swine flu is a genuinely new virus, it's still closely related to seasonal flu bugs. One of the vaccines in the three-in-one seasonal flu vaccine protects against seasonal H1N1 flu, which is about 75% similar to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu -- although it offers no protection against the pandemic flu.

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Last year, some 100 million people got the seasonal flu vaccine. No safety issues appeared. That's reassuring, but it's no proof that something rare and unexpected can't happen.

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There's no denying that the virus particle used in the vaccine has never been used before. No scientific calculation can rule out the chance that something unexpected might happen.

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But one can calculate that this chance will be small. And the chance that the vaccine will prevent serious illness and deaths is very, very large.

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The public health agenda is to promote healthy practices -- such as eating wholesome foods and quitting smoking -- that not everyone likes. Why? Science suggests that these policies save lives and cut health care costs.

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The public health agenda also promotes vaccination against disease -- even though the rare individual is harmed by a vaccine. Why? Science suggests such a policy saves lives and cuts health care costs, as long as disease risks outweigh vaccination risks. A good example is the smallpox vaccine, which eradicated one of the scourges of mankind, even though a number of people were harmed by the vaccine.

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After weighing the benefits vs. the risks, the health agencies of the U.S. government have launched the most massive vaccination campaign in history to fight the 2009 H1N1 swine flu. The CDC is using simple, direct messages -- including advertising and press conferences -- to encourage people to get the vaccine.

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"In public health, you have to have campaigns and try to talk people into things," Mulligan tells WebMD. "The question about the government is a very important one. But things have changed since the old days of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. Now we have very strict regulation of government research. People can trust and believe that this is not politicians talking, but researchers presenting evidence-based recommendations."

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In many ways I am not sure what I would suggest for general public when it comes to vaccines as there seems to be evidence that vaccines have stopped the spread of certain diseases. So I leave it to each to make their own decision.

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On the other hand I would not want to be the one in a million; see this true story:  http://bit.ly/3zMVfO 

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I sent that link to a number of my collegues and this is what came back from one of them who happens to be a good friend:

Dear Diana,

This is heart wrenching! 

I had a flu shot in 1990 and spent the next 6 years in a really bad flare up of Lupus!  Boy, do I know how this girl feels.  I reached a point where I couldn’t walk without assistance.  I would drool down my chin and not even know it.  My heart was in irregular heart beat and my left kidney was being split apart with cysts.  I had cysts all over my body.  Pain was my constant companion.  I could go on and on.  I was dying.

In 1996 I started eating Sunrider foods and it took my body 6 good months to regenerate enough for me to go back to work part time.  In that 6 months I struggled to learn to walk again, and my body had to clean out some pretty major toxins for me to get well.  Yes, the doctors said that I was one in a million and they wouldn’t agree with me that the flu shot is what triggered the Lupus.  Well, I am starting to think that there are a lot more of us out there that they are not talking about. 

I believe with all my heart that for persons like myself that these flu shots are deadly.  They would have to sneak up on me with a full anaesthetic  for me to every get another one!!  So how does a person tell if they are going to be that one in a million?  I say, stay away from the flu shot and go buy a lottery ticket instead.  If I am going to be a one in a million then I want to be winning the lotto not suffering with a neurological disorder brought on by a flu shot!!

Thanks for sending this,

Trudy

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and how does one tell the other 999,999 who will benifit not to take it?

Lupus is an auto-immune disorder I certianly feel for your friend, but I do not believe any dead virus triggered her lupus, if she revieved a live virus with a disgnosis of lupus she should have sued the MD that Rx'ed it for her.

I have seen dystonia many times over my 30 yrs of practice and never seen anyone who could run and walk backwards with normal gait and motion but exibit severe dyskentic motion walking.  To be clear I am not saying it is not true or fraud, just so unique I doubt anyone will ever be able to say what caused it.

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"In many ways I am not sure what I would suggest for general public when it comes to vaccines as there seems to be evidence that vaccines have stopped the spread of certain diseases. So I leave it to each to make their own decision."

"You cannot currently send a star to Diana because you have done so within the last week."

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You know Elena, when I read the quotes above, I thought that is something I would say and then I see that you were quoting me.

Thank you for the virtual star.....got it.

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Although they say it is one in  million  I actually do not believe could possibly be true since I personally have come into contact with a number of people and I do not know 5 million people. 

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Here is my reply to my friend Trudy above:

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Lately I have been thinking about all the vaccinations I had as a child and then again in my late 20’s; the travel ones.  As I was ill all of my childhood and got very ill in my 30’s I have been thinking that those vaccines could very easily have contributed to a weak immune system and a generally run down state. 

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It makes sense, as to this day if I take any medication and there are possible side effects; I get them.  When I was sick for all of those years I just could not take anything because of the side effects.  I do not know for sure and never will but it seems that vaccinations are a big factor in why I was ill. By my mid 30’s I stopped having them and still to this day…I will not get a vaccination.  I do not think my body can handle it so I will not take any chances.

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I will reapeat what I said above:

"In many ways I am not sure what I would suggest for general public when it comes to vaccines as there seems to be evidence that vaccines have stopped the spread of certain diseases. So I leave it to each to make their own decision."

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And to add, we all have different constitutions so truly you get in touch with your own body and see what you need to do.

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Who knows, maybe it's because of vaccinations that I have Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthrits, Fibromyalgia, Pernicious Anemia, Hypothyroidism, cysts in far too many places...there's too much overlap with these issues. 

All I myself know for certain, that unless I am high risk for something guarranteed to cause death I will not get vaccinated...

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Poland Won't Buy H1N1 Vaccine Until 'Properly Tested'

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Yes, Elena there are a lot of people who are concerned about the Hype as the tiltle of this discussion aptly put is.

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Here is one that spoke to me.

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Doctor Admits Vaccine Is More Deadly Than Swine Flu Itself & Will Not Give It To His Kids  

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Ok, like, the governments and pharmaceutical companies haven't fouled up enough lives with their miracle drugs...ask any thalidamide victim and their families.  That's just ONE example.  And, the doctors deemed that drug safe at the time.  Now, apparently it's a great treatment for other diseases.  And, it prompted people being extra careful what they do while pregnant.

I do not and will never advocate blind trust.  We only know what we are told and if we are told lies, then all we know are lies...until the truth comes out by which time it is usually too late.

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I agree blind trust is foolish...just as foolish as trusting youtube or any single source either pro or con.  Read real research from studies from all over the world, different governments and read why the choices as made not just the headline.  Understand what your reading, there is no shame in not understanding medical lingo anymore than their is not being able to read sheet music, it is a learned skill.  So learn.

It is your health.

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