Submitted by Cathy Shaffer R.N., Geneseo
Are you getting the H1N1 vaccine? Please, before you make your final decision, do some research on your own. And please do it looking at both sides of the information.
Dr. M.J. Bovo wrote a lengthy article for our paper last week, listing reasons people should get the vaccine. I am an RN in our local area and have many health care professional friends. The Commissioner of the Dept. of Health, Richard Daines, has attempted to mandate the health care professionals to get the vaccine to protect the public.
If for one minute I thought the vaccine was safe, because of my concern for the public i work with daily, i would do it for the people. But the vaccine is far from even remotely being tested enough to assure any of us that it is safe.
Some of the H1N1 vaccine coming into our country has adjuvants added. These ingre dients are mercury, (which is being linked to the high rate of autism in our children) and squalene (used in the anthrax vaccines our Gulf war vets were injected with and subsequently suffered high rates of neurological damage, and Lou Gehrigs disease).
The children's dose of the H1N1 vaccine in a neighboring county has thimerosal in it. It is for the children under age 3. Thimerosal is mercury. We all know the effects of mercury from the studies being done on it.T
he ingredients are written on the paperwork inside the boxes the vaccines are arriving in. It also states "Novartis, safety and effectiveness of H1N1Influenza A Monovalent Vaccine is not established for pregnant women, nursing mothers or children under 4.It is also not known if it can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or affect reproductive capacity.
It should be given to pregnant women, if only clearly needed.It is not known if it is transferred via breast milk. It has not been tested for carcin ogenic or mutagenesis, or impairment of fertility. It is inactivated with formaldehyde.
The Flumist that goes up the nose, is actually a live weakened attenuated virus, so you will very possibly develop symptoms of the swine flu, and guess what, you will transmit it to others.
Dr. Bovo also suggests that people over 65 are more susceptible to the flu, due to a "weakened immune system." All the research i have done, states that those of us who are over 65 are going to fare pretty well with this round, because we had similar strains as younger people, before everyone started getting immunized for everything. Some of us have an acquired immunity.
I believe we are living with an epidemic all right. It is an epidemic of fear. This particular round of swine flu did not mutate as the country was fearful it would. It is serious, I will not deny that, but I believe, the vaccine is possibly more dangerous, or at the very least as dangerous as the swine flu.
The doctor's offices aren't even diagnosing numbers of swine flu. They are determining, if you go for an office visit, and have a fever, aches and pains, respiratory symptoms, chills, that you have the swine flu. So where are the numbers coming from in the media showing all of the swine flu deaths, when we aren't even getting diagnosed with specific blood tests to confirm that is what it truly is?
Our doctor's offices are swamped, vaccines are coming to the offices from all over the place, and people are scared. And to beat it all the drug companies, such as Novartis, Glaxo Smith Kline, etc. have been granted immunity by the government from repercussions from individuals should they develop neurological or any body system damage from this vaccine that has been fast tracked and pushed on the American public.
What is wrong with that picture? I remember the Swine Flu epidemic in 1976 when thousands of people got immunized against it, and many developed auto immune diseases and guillain-barre syndrome.
So, for me, the issue is multi faceted. Should the Department of Health Commissioner be able to mandate a segment of population to be injected with a substance that many of them do not want, and cannot refuse based on religious or cultural beliefs?
Nurses and doctors care about their patients. We are vomited on, urinated on, bled on, and much more that i will not share here. We have great immunities. I am concerned that if we are forced to take a flu mist up our noses, or an injection that has the potential to make us ill, we won't be able to care for our people
And then what, in a state where there is already a huge nursing shortage? I believe this is unconstitutional and many nurses will be fired because the Department of Health is mandating hospitals to also make sure their employees are vaccinated or let them go.,and hospitals will be fined if they don't comply
And the other issue, that is just as large to me, is I feel the American public has not been told the truth. And until I know beyond a doubt, that there has been significant testing done on a vaccine, and i am privy as a private individual to be able to know what is being injected into me, and that it is safe, I will take my chances with my own immune system.
I believe in our bodies' abilities to heal .And i for one, will not be part of the epidemic of fear. Make your own decision. But be careful, friends.
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To comment on the post by David Watkins – who is not a NURSE – not that i don't trust the drug companies, but being a NURSE I was there when the reps were instructed to tell all the docs that the "NEW PILL OXYCONTIN" was safe and non addictive and could be rx'd for migraines to broken bones with no risk of addiction. Not really interested in what the pharmaceutical industry is promising on the safety and effectiveness of the H1N1 vaccine. Since I work in Drug and Alcohol detox for clients who were given oxy to "help" them.
Thanks but no thanks on the H1N1. Keep focusing on the drug to fight breast cancer since that seems to be elusive with all the millions and millions of dollars poured into research. how can a vaccine for H1N1 come sooo quick and drugs to fight disease that are truly killing people need more and more money……….?? hmmmm need some rethinking there or maybe some new researchers.!
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I dont think their is a right or wrong answer to this question. It is up to the individuals to decide for them and their family whether the risks outweigh the benefits or vice versa. The research is often contradictory and a bit confusing. Most of us are not medical professionals and are left with a tough decision. I feel the vaccine is not quite researched enough and will pass for myself and my family. I have 2 children allergic to egg and although I am aware that even this may not be reason enough according to research to refuse the vaccine, this along with other questions it raises is enough to make my decision to stay away from this vaccine.
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David, I for one am a Nurse who also agrees with this article and many others on here. I went to the website article link in your response and totally agree with William Lowe on here. There has not been any studies on the current Vaccine for the H1N1. REREAD the article. before I even read the article I felt that this has not been adequately tested. While the H1N1 is a serious threat to our children, how can we sit here and inject them with something that may cause them health issues down the road, some issues are sometimes not found until many years later. I am torn regarding this issue because of the fact that there may be reprecussions of not getting the shot. Each individual needs all the facts that are available prior to receiving any flu shot so that they may make or give an informed decision/consent, that is what it is called in the health care field. Higher education does not make you smarter or more knowledgable. When you think you know everything then that is when you will screw up.
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I think it's sad that the author says "The Flumist that goes up the nose, is actually a live weakened attenuated virus, so you will very possibly develop symptoms of the swine flu, and guess what, you will transmit it to others." While this is correct, this is a nurse writing this article people, wake up! She's not a medical expert. She's a person just like we are and she's not spreading thorough medical information. She merely talks about the nasal vaccine and not the regular vaccine that doesn't do the same thing. The link directly below explains the benefits of the nasal versus the shot and in most cases, you won't receive the nasal vaccine anyways. Now the other thing regards autism. Children get their first teeth after receiving their first immunizations…. does that mean that the immunization gave them their teeth? Nothing has been proven to be linked to receiving immunizations with autism.
And here's an article from an actual hospital (not an individual nurse) and they explain things very well too.
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I find it interesting that this site deleted my links to factual medical research articles versus just relying on this opinion from 1 nurse……. Hmmmmm
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This is a great article that talks about the process of this vaccine (which by the way is being done just like other vaccines).
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2010113336_swinevaccine22.html
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Go Momma! And thanks for the vitamin C and pro-biotics…
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Everybody,
Yes, I agree with Watkins that we should take emotion out of our discourse as much as possible. That applies to you too, Watkins. You call everybody "genius" and deride them as second-rate, uneducated thinkers. The fact is, even if we know less than you about the theories and practices of vaccine production (which I, admittedly, do), the concerns and questions we raise are valid. That means that these questions measure what they are meant to measure. We can be concerned and not be "quacks," as you so objectively put it, and this often means filtering through a whole lot of information by way of asking questions and raising concerns. Or I suppose we could just go get our MS in pharm chem to avoid ridicule in public debate.
Luke Daly
Son of Cathy
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Cathy,
YOU MAKE ME PROUD! Although, my daughter Lily DID get the H1N1 vaccine – I appreciate your wisdom and opinion. I miss you and thank God that you are taking care of our "folks". You're one of the BEST nurses I have ever known – even when I don't always agree with everything you say! Isn't that the beauty of America. Take care…
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Their is a revolving door between corporations, financial institutions, and government appointments. The folks in position to shape and dictate policy move freely back and forth. It's good business- for them. Hear that whooshing sound? That's the door spinning- very quickly.
How can anyone have faith in what the government deems safe for human consumption/exposure (drugs, food, pesticides)? Follow the money folks. David Watkins and most like him, have altruistic ideals that drive their research- and thank goodness for that spirit. They care about people. But the real tools are in the hands of corporate bottom feeders who could not give two shats about us. They want money and lots of it.
If the truth was exposed, the world would crack open, and common folks like you and me would be so angry we'd be dangerous. The systems that were in place to protect us have been dismantled. We're on our own, friends.
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Wow! Lots of good debate. I'd like to add my 2 cents here, if I may. I have been a nurse for 21 years and am also a Certified Traditional Naturopath. So, I have experience on both sides of this issue.
Part of my job is to vaccinate people, and though they have been telling me for years that you can't get the flu from the vaccine, people have been telling me they have gotten the flu after the shot time and time again. Most recently, a man came down with flu symptoms 1 and a half hours after I vaccinated him. Coincidence? Probably not.
Second, I have been vaccinating people with H1N1 for a couple of weeks now. Today, I gave a 4 year the vaccine and within 1 hour he vomited twice.
Side effects are not being documented because we are told that these people were sick to begin with, and that they could not have gotten sick from the vaccine. I know the mother of this child personally and she knows her child better than any bureaucrat in Albany. She says her child was NOT sick today. I will be filling out Vaccine Adverse Event Reports for every one of these stories I hear about so that these people will be counted as having had an adverse event.
I'm hearing that next year there will still be 2 shots: seasonal and H1N1. They tell us that H1N1 would have been included in this years vaccine if they had known about it sooner. Why, then won't it be included in next year's seasonal cocktail?
We did get a reprieve this year from the mandate, but next year the mandate will be back per a letter written by Comm. Daines on October 23rd.
Studies are done by manufacturers. Period, the end.
Thimerosal is being removed for a reason. Do you really think they would tell you that it actually is linked to autism? What a class action suit that would be!
Tobacco companies did their own research too. Period, the end.
Someone above said that most people probably won't get FluMist – FALSE! There is twice the amount of FluMist out there than injectable. And, you will be required to get FluMist unless you are like the many people out there lying about chronic illness in order to not be required to get FluMist.
Adjuvants? not so far. But, I've heard that GSK has it in their vaccine and so far they have not been licensed due to this fact. But, if we don't have enough vaccine – who knows?
We seem to be at polar opposites of this issue, but I believe that we all want the same things no matter what side we are on. We all care about the people we serve. But, both side of this issue have recognized scientific research.
I have known Cathy for years – she is one of the finest nurses I know and she is one of the most committed advocates for her patients. Her message is simple – do your own research. People and companies can have their own agendas. Is that really so hard to believe? Take Cathy's advice – do your own research.
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I've been researching flu shots and immunizations, in general, since my son was one year old. In 2003, I received my first (and ONLY) flu shot because they were offering them at my son's daycare, and after I received it, I was sick for two to three months. And not just a little sick, a whole heck of a lot sick. I had been a perfect speciman of health prior to the flu shot. I've never completely recovered. That following spring, I ran into a friend who had an autistic child, and she was convinced that her son became autistic due to his immunizations being given all at the same time. That started my research. Some may call it being worried about "conspiracy theory," but others might call it becoming better informed. Although I did have my son immunized (although spread out over a very considerable time frame), I think if I were to be able to do it over again, I would have opted for "religious reasons." In all the research I've done, I find no proof that immunizations have done anything to prevent or reduce the cases of measles, etc.. In fact, from what I've read, usually the "pandemic" scenarios were already on the way out by the time the immunizations were used. I'm thankful my son did not develop autism, but I now have 3 friends who have autistic children, and they are convinced that the immunizations were the cause due to the mercury content.
I've read all of the posts here, and I'm not in the medical profession, although I did work in the Investment area for 18 years, so I am familiar with many industries. I am a concerned wife and mother.
I disagree with David Watkins. Pharmaceutical Companies are completely working for profit, period. If not, then no one would buy their stock! In fact, profit is what drives research and development. I don't care if David does think he's smarter than the rest of us. I don't care if David does have his degree in blah, blah, blah. Fact is, pharmaceutical companies LOVE vaccinations. Fact is, our government loves vaccinations. It is all about money, people! There are also theories out there that some of the pandemics were started by those people researching diseases. Some people even think the government started the pandemics on purpose.
Recently, my husband became sick. He went to the Walgreen's Take Care clinic Before they even asked him why he was there, they stuck him with the flu shot! (He entered his information on their touch screen, and because he was feeling so poorly, missed the fact that they were asking him if he was there for the flu shot versus flu like symptoms). I mean, the nurse didn't even ask him if he was allergic to eggs!!! He ended up going to the Emergency Room, and being diagnosed with pneumonia. I mean, give me a break! Only healthy people are supposed to be administered the flu shot, and here was this shot happy nurse not even noticing that my husband was about to keel over! Thankfully, my husband is on the mend, but you know what, if something did happen to him, I'd have no reproach because the pharma companies ARE released from responsibility if there is a reaction to a shot/immunization. During the course of my husbands illness, I asked every single health worker if they had had the flu shot… only one out of ten said yes. When I asked the nurse at the Walgreen's Take Care Clinic if my husband's flu shot had mercury or not in it, she said that some do and some don't (you basically have to know to ask for the one without the mercury). She's the only one who said she's had the flu shot, and then she admitted she'd gotten the one without mercury. Since the '90's, it was supposed to be a priority that mercury was taken out of vaccinations and immunizations. Yeah, we can see that that's happening. Why doesn't Dave Watkin's start working on ways to make that happen?
Have you all seen the YOU TUBE video where a healthy, young woman, after having a flu shot, can now only walk backwards. I'm not even joking.
I almost feel lucky that I got so sick after the one flu shot I had. I'm so glad I wasn't a sheep lining up year in and year out. I'm hearing now that there are reports that people who had flu shots more than 6-10 years consecutively are at a higher risk of alzheimers.
Yeah, let's inject mercury, formaldehyde, and chicken bits into our body based on no proof that these carcinogens are doing any good. There's a reason that health care providers are trying to stay under the radar and hide from their employers so that they don't have to get the flu shot.
Bottom line. I absolutely agree that you MUST do research and decide for yourself. You couldn't get me to take another flu shot for $1,000,000 and I'm not even exaggerating~
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Folks, Please "listen up" – this is worth your attention.
My expertise comes from analyzing and writing on controversial medical issues for many years, with decades of experience regarding medical patents, drugs' efficacy, and epidemiological studies. I have no medical degrees, but 40 years of scientific analyses in many areas.
It's pertinent to quickly comment on the New York Governor's order mandating nurses and related health professionals get the H1N1 vaccine or risk being fired.
The NY Governor's order has been rescinded not because of a lack of vaccine, but because all hell broke loose, due in part because of a hearing of the New York State Assy Health Committee that heard testimony on how risky the vaccine could be, and also after a large demonstration of nurses in Albany on the steps of the State Capitol, with the nurses protesting the Governor's order. .
Additionally, the regular 'seasonal' flu vaccination' campaign in almost all of Canadian Provinces has been abruptly suspended due to a sweeping Study by Doctors Skowronski (scientist at the British Columbia Centre of Disease Control) and De Serres (scientist at Laval University in Quebec) revealing Canadians that get their annual flu shots are actually twice as likely to come down with flu sickness.
The Skowronski/De Serres Study has been widely publicized in Canada, but totally ignored (repressed would be more accurate in m personal experience) by U.S. media and the U.S. CDC, clearly because this dramatic finding flatly contradicts the benefits of annual flu vaccinations.
In an astounding world-wide teleconference held by WHO official on Oct 3 to discuss the Skowronski/De Derres findings, the comments from U.S. officials were typical, to paraphrase: "we don't think their Canada Study is valid, but we can't figure out yet why, but we're sure their Study must have had confounding factors skewing their results." Judge for yourselves.
One last enlightening bit of news: In the Fall of 2003, a greatly enhanced publicity campaign took place to push parents to get their kids vaccinated for seasonal flu: The result – right from the CDC website – was 152 flu-associated pediatric** deaths for the 2003-04 flu season. The next flu season of 2004-05 there was a dramatic shortage of flu vaccine because the vaccine factory in England was shut down due to contamination, the result: With far less American kids vaccinated due to the great shortage of flu vaccine, the flu-associated pediatric deaths fell to 39 for 2004-05
So, extra vaccination participation in 2003-04 correlated with 152 flu-associated pediatric deaths, the highest on record.
Greatly reduced vaccination participation in 2004-05 correlated with the lowest pediatric flu-associated deaths on record: 39.
**pediatric is defined by the CDC as under 18 years of age.
The data (and and the many reports I have read on this) comes from sources including the U.S. CDC, the California Dept of Health, etc. I hope this has been useful.
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i have one question! if the flu shot is so safe why isnt obama and his family getting one!
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Hi Everyone,
I got the vaccine yesterday and feel fine. My kids got it three weeks ago and there have been so many kids out with the flu except my kids. My kids also had no side effects. Also, just to point out, the cheerleader who is disabled got the "flu" after getting the vaccine. So, she most likely is disabled due to the Swine flu, not the vaccine. Go research this, this is true. One other thing, the US version of the shot is made exactly as the seasonal flu which has been used for decades and does not show long term health problems, so why would this vaccine pose that kind of risk? I think not. The only thing different in the US vaccine is the virus particle of H1N1. If you want to read something disturbing, go read the dead children thread on flu trackers forum. It goes on about all the kids dying around the US from this flu and a majority of them had no underlying health conditions. I am thanking the government, that I have the option to protect myself and my children unlike other plagues that people were not so fortunate. I think the fear people are placing on others regarding this vaccine is a disgrace. It is okay to feel nervous about the vaccine but to spread fear to others is just plain wrong and dangerous.
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first off, me or anyone in my family will not be getting the h1n1 or seasonal vaccine. you can beat anything naturally. we use oregeno oil, olive leaf, beta glucan, vitamin d-4000iu and etc.. why don't people talk about the real problem with this swine flu epidemic — mrsa infection. research and you will find out that is what is killing people. person gets sick, goes to hospital, gets antiviral drugs and iv and possibly catheter. how do you think they contract mrsa? in the hospital. and why are people dying soon after getting antiviral drugs. do the math. if this mrsa bacteria supposevly lives on each of us according to experts, which i don't believe-if your immune system is high it can't. you have bacteria and fungus and virus organisms in your body and they are all oppurtunists. give one a chance and they will take control. back to the vaccine. research states that if you got the seasonal vaccine last year, you have a greater chance of getting h1n1. if this is such an epidemic, why are they short on vaccines. i read an article in feb. 2008 that the swine flu could be spreading among pig farmers. regarding adjuvants-they might not be dangerous if you ingest them, but to inject them is to put your immune system in hyperdrive and start attacking not only the dead virus but your body also–sounds like autoimmune disease.
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I went back and looked at your original post. There was no link included. We have a spam filter that automatically blocks messages that contain lots of links (a sign of spam ads), but I think it lets messages through that contain five or less. You should have been asked to do a simple math problem if your message had more than five links.
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According to CBS News, they are.
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