Re: Making a Case Against Flu Shot Vaccinations
"Robert" <writer7777@gmail . com > wrote in message
news:1193883080.148656.98840@i38g2000prf.googlegroups . com ...
> On Oct 27, 8:21 pm, "Jan Drew" <jdrew1...@sbcglobal . net > wrote:
>> Saturday | October 27, 2007
>> Making a Case Against Flu Shot Vaccinations
>> By [ * ezinearticles . com /?expert=Patsy Hamilton] Patsy Hamilton For
>> those who want to make a case against flu shot vaccinations, the first
>> item
>> to start with is the flu shot autism link. This year (2006) New York
>> state
>> passed a law banning vaccines and flu shots containing thimerosal (a
>> mercury
>> based preservative). But, the ban only applies to flu shots for children
>> and
>> pregnant women. Those who try to make a case against flu shot
>> vaccinations
>> wonder if thimerosal presence is safe for anyone. The flu shot autism
>> link
>> is related to the presence of abnormally high and unsafe levels of
>> mercury
>> in blood and tissue samples of children with autism. It is believed that
>> while most children may be unaffected by mercury present in flu shots and
>> other vaccines, other children do not have the ability to shed the
>> mercury
>> from their systems, so it builds up and damages nerve and brain cells.
>> Having no way to tell which children can and which cannot shed the
>> mercury,
>> researchers and others have been making a case against flu shot
>> vaccinations
>> and other childhood vaccinations that contain thimerosal as a
>> preservative.
>> Even though many public health groups maintain that thimerosal as a
>> preservative is safe, several pharmaceutical companies now have
>> thimerosal
>> free or preservative free flu shots, but you may need to request them
>> specifically. In addition to the flu shot autism link, some researchers
>> and
>> medical doctors believe that there is also a link between Alzheimer's and
>> flu shots, again because of mercury build up. Those who are trying to
>> make a
>> case against flu shot vaccinations containing mercury for anyone, not
>> just
>> children and pregnant women, quote a prominent medical doctor. This
>> doctor
>> states that, according to his research, individuals who had five
>> consecutive
>> flu shots between the years 1970 and 1980 were ten times more likely to
>> develop Alzheimer's than individuals who had none, one or two. And, in
>> fact,
>> the number of deaths caused by Alzheimer's rose from less than one
>> percent
>> of all deaths in 1980 to 2.6% of all deaths in 2003. As a point of
>> comparison, 2.7% of all deaths in 2003 were attributed to influenza and
>> pneumonia. Both the flu shot autism link and the Alzheimers connection
>> are
>> related to the presence of mercury or other metals in flu shots. It is
>> harder to make a case against flu shots that are preservative free. For
>> some
>> people the benefits of the flu shot may out weigh the possible risks.
>> Most
>> deaths related to influenza occur when people with weaker immune systems
>> contract the virus, cannot fight it off and develop complications like
>> viral
>> or bacterial pneumonia. Most of the deaths occur in the elderly (those
>> over
>> 70) and babies (under 1 year of age). Those who would make a case against
>> flu shot vaccinations say that a person with a healthy immune system can
>> easily fight off a case of the flu, and that the risks including the flu
>> shot autism and Alzheimers connections, outweigh the possible benefits of
>> an
>> annual flu shot. Naturalists and others who make the
>> [ * w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com ] case against flu shot
>> vaccinations recommend herbs, botanicals and vitamins that are known to
>> boost the immune system. To learn more about immune system boosters and
>> for
>> more information about the common cold, influenza and other viruses,
>> visit
>> [ * w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com ]w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com .
>> Patsy Hamilton has more than twenty
>> years experience as a health care professional and currently writes
>> informational articles for the Immune System Booster Guide. Visit
>> [ * w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com ] * w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com to
>> learn more about natural
>> immunity boosting products. Article Source:
>> [ * ezinearticles . com /?expert=Patsy Hamilton] * EzineArticles . com /?expert=Patsy Hamilton
>> [ * ezinearticles . com /?Making-a-Case-Against-Flu-Shot-Vaccinations...
>> ] * EzineArticles . com /?Making-a-Case-Against-Flu-Shot-Vaccinations...
>> buy ultram pay by cod pharmacy ultram buy cheap tramadol hydrochloride
>> ultram no prescription saturdaydelivery tramadol
>
> Balderdash.
>
"Robert" <writer7777@gmail . com > wrote in message
news:1193883080.148656.98840@i38g2000prf.googlegroups . com ...
> On Oct 27, 8:21 pm, "Jan Drew" <jdrew1...@sbcglobal . net > wrote:
>> Saturday | October 27, 2007
>> Making a Case Against Flu Shot Vaccinations
>> By [ * ezinearticles . com /?expert=Patsy Hamilton] Patsy Hamilton For
>> those who want to make a case against flu shot vaccinations, the first
>> item
>> to start with is the flu shot autism link. This year (2006) New York
>> state
>> passed a law banning vaccines and flu shots containing thimerosal (a
>> mercury
>> based preservative). But, the ban only applies to flu shots for children
>> and
>> pregnant women. Those who try to make a case against flu shot
>> vaccinations
>> wonder if thimerosal presence is safe for anyone. The flu shot autism
>> link
>> is related to the presence of abnormally high and unsafe levels of
>> mercury
>> in blood and tissue samples of children with autism. It is believed that
>> while most children may be unaffected by mercury present in flu shots and
>> other vaccines, other children do not have the ability to shed the
>> mercury
>> from their systems, so it builds up and damages nerve and brain cells.
>> Having no way to tell which children can and which cannot shed the
>> mercury,
>> researchers and others have been making a case against flu shot
>> vaccinations
>> and other childhood vaccinations that contain thimerosal as a
>> preservative.
>> Even though many public health groups maintain that thimerosal as a
>> preservative is safe, several pharmaceutical companies now have
>> thimerosal
>> free or preservative free flu shots, but you may need to request them
>> specifically. In addition to the flu shot autism link, some researchers
>> and
>> medical doctors believe that there is also a link between Alzheimer's and
>> flu shots, again because of mercury build up. Those who are trying to
>> make a
>> case against flu shot vaccinations containing mercury for anyone, not
>> just
>> children and pregnant women, quote a prominent medical doctor. This
>> doctor
>> states that, according to his research, individuals who had five
>> consecutive
>> flu shots between the years 1970 and 1980 were ten times more likely to
>> develop Alzheimer's than individuals who had none, one or two. And, in
>> fact,
>> the number of deaths caused by Alzheimer's rose from less than one
>> percent
>> of all deaths in 1980 to 2.6% of all deaths in 2003. As a point of
>> comparison, 2.7% of all deaths in 2003 were attributed to influenza and
>> pneumonia. Both the flu shot autism link and the Alzheimers connection
>> are
>> related to the presence of mercury or other metals in flu shots. It is
>> harder to make a case against flu shots that are preservative free. For
>> some
>> people the benefits of the flu shot may out weigh the possible risks.
>> Most
>> deaths related to influenza occur when people with weaker immune systems
>> contract the virus, cannot fight it off and develop complications like
>> viral
>> or bacterial pneumonia. Most of the deaths occur in the elderly (those
>> over
>> 70) and babies (under 1 year of age). Those who would make a case against
>> flu shot vaccinations say that a person with a healthy immune system can
>> easily fight off a case of the flu, and that the risks including the flu
>> shot autism and Alzheimers connections, outweigh the possible benefits of
>> an
>> annual flu shot. Naturalists and others who make the
>> [ * w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com ] case against flu shot
>> vaccinations recommend herbs, botanicals and vitamins that are known to
>> boost the immune system. To learn more about immune system boosters and
>> for
>> more information about the common cold, influenza and other viruses,
>> visit
>> [ * w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com ]w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com .
>> Patsy Hamilton has more than twenty
>> years experience as a health care professional and currently writes
>> informational articles for the Immune System Booster Guide. Visit
>> [ * w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com ] * w w w .immune-system-booster-guide . com to
>> learn more about natural
>> immunity boosting products. Article Source:
>> [ * ezinearticles . com /?expert=Patsy Hamilton] * EzineArticles . com /?expert=Patsy Hamilton
>> [ * ezinearticles . com /?Making-a-Case-Against-Flu-Shot-Vaccinations...
>> ] * EzineArticles . com /?Making-a-Case-Against-Flu-Shot-Vaccinations...
>> buy ultram pay by cod pharmacy ultram buy cheap tramadol hydrochloride
>> ultram no prescription saturdaydelivery tramadol
>
> Balderdash.
>
* w w w .post-gazette . com /pg/07297/827773-51.stm
It still takes work to find thimerosal-free flu shots
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By Amy McConnell Schaarsmith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Flu shots can save kids from coughing, feverish misery and potentially
deadly complications such as pneumonia. So Elena Geil was willing to devote
"a very intense few weeks" of her time last October to finding her two
children and her unborn baby flu shots free of the mercury-containing
preservative thimerosal.
Although most scientific studies say otherwise, some doctors, researchers
and parents including Ms. Geil worry thimerosal might cause autism or other
brain damage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flu shots
Brands of mercury-free flu shots:
Fluzone. Sanofi Pasteur. Inactivated virus. Mercury-free version, approved
for adults and for children ages 6 months and older.
FluMist. MedImmune. Live virus. Mercury-free, approved for most adults (not
pregnant women and some others) and for children ages 2 and older.
Fluarix. GlaxoSmithKline. Inactivated virus. Trace thimerosal, approved for
adults ages 18 and older.
For more information and to locate mercury-free shots:
Allegheny County Health Department. 412-687-ACHD
State Department of Health. 1-877-724-3258.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Geil called pediatricians, primary care doctors, her obstetrician, the
Visiting Nurses Association, and flu clinics at grocery stores and drug
stores around her hometown of Mars, and then around greater Pittsburgh. Many
people didn't know what she was talking about when she asked for
thimerosal-free flu shots.
Others, such as several of her children's pediatricians, dismissed her
worries and resisted her attempts to get preservative-free shots. And when
she went through a similar process again this month, one doctor even said
worries about a link between thimerosal and autism were "hogwash," according
to Ms. Geil.
Her practice, the pediatrician said, refused to order mercury-free shots on
principle because that would be admitting concerned parents were right to
worry.
"For me, the verdict was still out," said Ms. Geil, who ultimately got two
mercury-free flu shots from a relative's primary care doctor and transported
them in an ice-packed cooler to her children's pediatrician. "I'm told as a
pregnant woman not to eat tuna because of the mercury in tuna -- although I
know it's a different kind -- so why would I want to put it into my body and
my children's bodies even if a doctor is telling me it's OK? Why would I
want to take that chance?"
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which most
doctors look to as a guide for their treatment policies, say thimerosal is
safe and that the risk of serious complications from the flu is much greater
than the risk, if any, of complications from thimerosal.
More than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year from flu-related
illnesses, and about 36,000 people die from flu-related complications,
according to the CDC. During the 2003-04 flu season, 157 children -- about
60 percent of whom were under the age of 5 -- died from the flu. Last year,
about 60 children died.
While it's important for high-risk people such as young children, the
elderly and their caregivers to get an annual flu shot, the CDC takes no
position on whether consumers should get the version with or without
thimerosal, according to spokesman Curtis Allen. If patients are concerned
about mercury in the shots, they should ask their doctors for the
mercury-free version, he said.
"As consumers, if the patients demand a product, providers would recognize
that," Mr. Allen said. "At the same time, we're neutral on that issue
because there is no scientific evidence that there's a causal relationship
between thimerosal and autism."
Some doctors and public health agencies, however, have bowed to parents'
concerns in recent years and begun ordering mercury-free flu shots.
The Allegheny County Health Department, for instance, has ordered 200
preservative-free doses for children this year, although it has none this
year for pregnant and breastfeeding women because of previous lack of
demand. Last year, the health department ordered about 1,000 thimerosal-free
adult shots but did not publicize the mercury-free vaccines. Many went
unused.
The state Department of Health also has ordered mercury-free doses for poor
and uninsured children who visit its clinics.
But most parents take their children to pediatricians, not a county health
department or state clinic, to get an annual flu shot. And years after
thimerosal was removed from most children's vaccines as a precaution, many
of those doctors are still ordering versions of flu shots that contain the
chemical.
Children's Hospital, for instance, orders both versions to offer patients a
choice, according to spokesman Marc Lukasiak.
For providers, mercury-containing pediatric vaccine shots are about $4 per
dose cheaper than mercury-free versions, and they also are easier to store.
Both versions of the flu shot must be kept refrigerated. But while
mercury-free versions of the vaccine are produced in bulky single-dose
shots, the mercury-containing vaccine is kept in vials that contain 10
doses, allowing more vaccine to be stored in less space.
Because they are used more than once, such vials can be contaminated by
bacteria and funguses. Thimerosal has been used since the 1930s as a
preservative for such multi-use vials of vaccine.
And while many doctors say there is no reason to go through the extra hassle
of ordering and storing preservative-free flu shots and the CDC continues to
stand by the use of thimerosal, public health officials have worked to
remove the preservative from most other childhood vaccines.
In 1999, the U.S. Public Health Service and the American Academy of
Pediatrics asked drug makers as a precaution to voluntarily reduce or
eliminate thimerosal in the other vaccines routinely given to children.
Other vaccines in the recommended childhood immunization schedule, such as
those for whooping cough, tuberculosis and diphtheria, have been free of
mercury since 2002.
And in a study released Sept. 26 and published in the New England Jou