This is an Airlines/Airport Examiner exclusive dispatch. We had previously reported on delays at San Diego International Airport over the start of a fee based vaccination program for seasonal flu, H1N1 Swine Flu, and other vaccines available to ticketed air travelers, and recently expanded to include the general public who were visiting the airport.
While investigating the late start by Pacifica Medical, the health care provider selected by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority to give flu shots, several other important related issues of vaccination safety and concerns over possible exaggeration of the H1N1 pandemic by the United Nations Swiss based World Health Organization (WHO) emerged.
CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) Brigney Polio 4, reacts after getting a swine flu vaccination at Carlin Springs Elementary School in Arlington, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010. Swine flu-shot drives for all ages are scheduled around the country for what's officially dubbed National Influenza Vaccination Week, in hopes of preventing a possible third wave of the epidemic later this winter. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon); (BELOW RIGHT TOP) Flu vaccinations are offered by Pacific Medical at San Diego International Airport to give flu and other vaccinations, January 20, 2010 (Photo Credit - Joel Siegfried); (BELOW LEFT TOP) Model of Influenza virus (Image Credit - Wikipedia/NIH - Public Domain); (BELOW RIGHT BOTTOM) Graphic shows reported weekly swine flu cases since Sept. 5, 2009. (AP/CDC); (BELOW LEFT BOTTOM) Dr. Wilma Wooten, M.D. (Photo Credit - UCSD School of Medicine); (BELOW RIGHT LOWER) Electron microscope image of the reassorted H1N1 influenza virus. The viruses are ~100 nanometres in diameter. (Image Credit - Wikipedia/CDC - Public Domain); (BELOW LEFT LOWER) A White House nurse prepares to administer the H1N1 vaccine to President Barack Obama at the White House on Sunday, December 20, 2009. (Wikipedia/The White House/Pete Souza - Public Domain)
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On February 9, 2010 we spoke with County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) spokesperson Jose Alvarez. A report of that exchange follows below.
Q. Is there a sufficient supply of both seasonal flu and H1N1 Swine Flu vaccines?
"Yes, there are currently ample supplies of H1N1 vaccines. Throughout the County, 1.3 million does of the vaccine have been given to private medical providers. HHSA currently has 80,000 doses available. 90,000 people have so far been vaccinated by SDCHHS free of charge at 6 public health clinics and one vaccination center. In addition, there have been 5 mass vaccination events at community centers in which 10,000 more persons have been vaccinated, for a total of 100,000 doses that the County has administered."
"There is a sixth mass vaccination event scheduled on Wednesday, February 10, at the San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, 3909 Center Street, in Hillcrest, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m."
Q. Figures from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) shows a dramatic decline in reported H1N1
cases, which appears to have peaked in October 2009. In view of that, is HHSA still advising H1N1 vaccinations?
"We are still advising vaccinations, although no deaths have been reported due to H1N1 in the last six weeks. The flu season, and possible spikes within it, are very unpredictable. We are encouraging people to get vaccinated because we are not sure if there is going to be a third phase of the Swine Flu, H1N1 virus."
Q. We have others questions of a specific medical nature that we'd like to ask of your Director, Dr. Wilma Wooten, M.D. May we speak with Dr. Wooten directly?
"I'll pass your questions along and have Dr. Wooten contact you."
Q. Thank you Mr. Alvarez for your help.
Following this conversation, we spoke with Dr. Wooten in an extended telephone interview.
Q. Dr. Wooten, the Council of Europe has called for an investigation of the UN Geneva, Switzerland based World Health Organization (WHO) over possible collusion with multinational pharmaceutical companies in exaggerating the public health threat by calling it a "pandemic" outbreak. Is the term "pandemic" an accurate way of describing the H1N1 outbreak?
"There are three (3) criteria which must be met for the World Health Organization (WHO) to call a viral outbreak a pandemic:
(1) The influenza virus must be new or novel, never previously detected in the human population.
(2) The virus must have caused persistent human to human spread.
(3) The virus must spread globally, across borders.
The H1N1 virus met all pandemic criteria both initially, and in its progression."
Q. In another matter, the British medical journal The Lancet, has just issued a retraction over a
previously published report linking the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine (MMR) with childhood autism, citing possible conflict of interest of one of the scientific investigators. The original 1998 Lancet article added fuel to the anti-vaccine movement for years. What is your reaction in this matter?
"Regarding the original Lancet study on MMR and autism, it was flawed because it was based on only 12 cases of MMR vaccination and autism. The CDC has removed mercury preservatives (thimerosal) from all vaccines including MMR, except for small traces in multi dose vials of influenza vaccine. There is no link of mercury as an agent in causing autism. Unknown environmental factors may be responsible, but more research is needed."
Q. Are vaccinations provided by San Diego HHSA safe?
"The vaccines which we provide are safe. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) conducts tight surveillance of vaccine manufacture. H1N1 or Influenza Type A, is produced in the same way as the seasonal flu. It is a strain of the seasonal flu virus."
Q. What caused the delay of H1N1 vaccines distributed by your agency earlier in the flu season?
"There were limited supplies and priority dispensing them following California and CDC guidelines:
Tier 1 - First to be vaccinated:
Pregnant women
Households and care givers who contact infants under 6 months of age
Children from 6 months of age to adults 24 years of age
All adults 24-64 years old with underlying medical problems
Tier 2 - Adults 25-64 without medical problems
Tier 3 - Adults 65 and older
On December 21, 2009 I directed the vaccine to be made available to persons in Tier 2 and 3.
Orders were placed from HHSA to the State of California, which transmitted them to the CDC, which processed and forwarded them to manufacturers, who delivered vaccines to individual health care providers. First orders were to private providers and public health departments. Finally, orders were placed for commercial and retail providers, such as Pacifica Medical, and others."
Q. What caused the original supply shortages?
"Production of the H1N1 vaccines were delayed due to manufacturing challenges. The virus culture was not growing as fast as expected. As a result, some manufacturers decreased the dosages available. There are five manufacturers which produce the H1N1 vaccine under tight FDA supervision and quality control. These include:
Sanofi Pasteur (Lyons, France)
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) (London, UK)
MedImmune which produces FluMist (Gaithersburg, Maryland)
CSL, Ltd. (Melbourne, Australia)
Novartis (Basel, Switzerland)"
Q. What message do you most want the public to hear?
"We have a real pandemic in the H1N1 virus. It is not over yet. The good news is that it hasn't mutated, making it easier to obtain immunity through vaccinations. Nobody can predict if there will be a third wave of H1N1 outbreaks this flu season. About 50% of the U.S. population does not have immunity. It's not too late to get vaccinated. The only thing predictable about the flu is that it is unpredictable."
Q. Thank you Dr. Wooten for your availability, expertise, and advice.
"You're most welcome."
We would like to hear your thoughts. Please leave comments below or by email and subscribe to get future updates.
Comments
The H1N1 story has really declined due to Super Bowl, Haiti, and other stories. It is good to go back and warn us that the outbreak is not over just because it is out of the spotlight and advise us on getting a vaccination.
I agree with Ted Nelson. We have lost site of this and now with Flu season in our midst, things could get scary. Great report, Joel. It is good that you are bringing this into light.
Great article. I have just gotten over the worst flu of my life- and so this is timely, for me and a lot of people.
i received a flu shot last fall but did not get the one for H1N1. most people i know do not get flu shots.
Thanks for the complete report. This is something we should all be aware of.
There IS a great, safe and drug-free germ-prevention method to keep away cold and flu - Germ Smarts for Kids. The kids learn how to both avoid AND keep from spreading germs. Since my child learned this at daycare, we no longer play the "pass the germs" game! We have only had 1 cold all fall after our child learned with this program – last year same time 3.
The WHO changed the definition of a 'pandemic' last year, conviently just before the swine flu appeared.
WHO is also being investigated for exagerating the 'swine flu pandemic' as funnily enough all major governments have lucrative contracts with big pharma to buy millions of pounds worth of vaccine as soon as WHO declares a pandemic.
Countries such as Japan, Germany and France have been trying to get out of the contracts due to the false panic created by the WHOs declaration of a pandemic.
I find it disturbing that the examiner would only interview one source for this article, why not interview multiple sources to get a fair and balaned view?
i would like to know if Dr. Wooten has any ties to vaccine manufacturers as do alot of the countries health advisors.
Swine flu was a mild flu at best and did not warrant this hysteria according to the European body investigating this, not to mention the fact that vitamin C, D a healthy diet etc, are more effective than vaccines.
Swine Flu Vaccine Hoax Has Fallen Apart At The Seams already.... stop trying to sell their pointless and dangerous vaccines.
just google 'Swine Flu Vaccine Hoax Falls Apart' and you will get some information, im unable to post links on here.
I would like to offer several corrections to the information contained in this interview:
1. The Lancet paper never claimed to be anything other than a case series of 12 children-an accepted contribution to medical literature . The paper never claimed to prove an association between the MMR vaccine and autism. The study did show a possible association between gastrointestinal disease and children diagnosed with autism. This finding has been replicated many times since the original paper.
2. The MMR vaccine never contained thimerosal because it is a live virus vaccine. The bacteriostatic thimerosal would inactivate the attenuated virus and is therefore incompatible with the vaccine's efficacy.
3. Flu vaccines contain the full complement of 25 micrograms of mercury. To minimize this as a "trace"amount is to ignore the government standards for exposure to mercury, a metal that is extremely toxic.
4. Many studies have shown a link between mercury & neurodevelopmental disorders
Does this product have a warranty?
Gave up flu shots when people died from the Swine Flu shots years ago. Figured I'd take my chances with the flu. I have had flu two times in all those years- once it was really bad, the other mild. There are flu homeopathics from Heel and others and there are natural ways to boost the immune system. Choose wisely!
Joel, you pose a thought-provoking question re: are flu shots safe. Good article, and an important one since H1N1 has obviously declined (I wonder why?) but it's still out there. I bet Jaimie would go back and get a flu shot if she had a chance to do it over again.
To Mr. Han, Sharon, Ask First, and others who have left their comments below, we are not trying to disagree or challenge what you are saying, or to discourage alternate approaches to personal health matters. We know that in many cases vaccinations touch on one's belief system and are a "hot button" and controversial subject. We would encourage further reading and exploration. We don't think that this is a case of "one size fits all". We know several people who were not vaccinated, who got severe cases of the flu, and afterwards wished they had been vaccinated. We also know several people who did not get vaccinated, and did not get the flu. You may draw whatever conclusions from this that you wish, although it is unclear that such data is scientifically relevant.
Thank you all for your comments. We appreciate that you took the time to offer them, and hope that you will continue to follow our reports, which are written without support from the pharmaceutical industry.
I wouldn't hesitate to reduce my risk of flu with the annual shot, but some people really get into a hundred reasons why not to give them to the young, the elderly, the middle aged, the breathing. Keeping me alive is what it's all about.Great research and article.
Concerning a comment below by Robert Krakow posted on February 11, 2010 at 11:59 A.M., thank you very much for your thoughtful remarks.
According to a Harvard trained family medicine physician whom we contacted for background information, California has a law requiring that vaccines given to children must be thimerosal free. However, the H1N1 vaccine delivered in multiple dosage containers is preserved with thimerosal. According to the physician with whom we spoke, the vaccine was prepared under time pressure expeditiously, and was preserved to avoid possible bacterial contamination. We haven't checked on this point, but believe that the FluMist nasal version of the vaccine given to children is thimerosal free.
You are absolutely correct in stating that there is a link between mercury & neurological developmental disorders.
The causes of autism are still unknown. Lancet decided that implying even a tenuous link between the MMR vaccine and autism was misleading.
This continues our response to Keltik posted on February 11, 2010 at 2:49 A.M.
It is true that WHO changed their definition of "pandemic", but this was not done covertly, secretly, or underhandedly without full discussion by the medical community and health care providers.
Responsible journalists, including those writing in the New York Times, and elsewhere, have pointed out that nobody is able to predict with certainty the severity of a flu outbreak.
As we mentioned in our story, H1N1 met the pandemic criteria because the virus was a new strain, it was transmitted from human to human, and it was spreading across national borders.
Medical experts concede that they do not know if there will be a new outbreak of H1N1 cases.
To be vaccinated is always a personal health care decision. We sincerely hope that it is made intelligently, based on facts. Therefore, we cannot agree with your statement, "that vitamin C, D, a healthy diet, etc., are more effective than vaccines."
Regarding comments below by Keltik posted on February 11, 2010 at 2:49 A.M., thank you for your comments, but we must take issue with some of them.
First of all, we did interview multiple sources, several for background information. One Family Medicine physician spoke of a dichotomy between highly educated patients and their persistent mistrust of vaccines. The vaccines that were available 30+ years ago were crudely prepared from horse serum. The manufacturing process and standards have changed radically and are much higher today, yet fears persist. Children are also subjected to as many as 24 different vaccines today. We are certainly not trying to defend the pharmaceutical industry, nor to educate and persuade those opposed to vaccinations in this single article.
Nor do we debunk homeopathic remedies, herbal supplements, vitamins, or other holistic approaches, including acupuncture, exercise, diet, and environmental concerns.
We will continue this reply below.
Mr. Joel Siegfried,
Vaccines are still highly unsafe, especially the new h1n1 vaccines that were rapidly manufactured.
Where are the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies proving flu vaccines are both safe and effective?
Where, then, is the so-called "science" backing the idea that flu vaccines work at all?
The CDC says that mercury in multi-vile vaccines is safe, how can methyl mercury (Thimerosal, a preservative used in flu vaccines) be safe for injecting into the human body when mercury is an extremely toxic heavy metal?
Why do reports keep surfacing of children and teens suffering debilitating neurological disorders, brain swelling, seizures and even death following flu vaccines or HPV vaccines?
Why don't doctors recommend vitamin D for flu protection, especially when vitamin D activates the immune response far better than a vaccine?
If human beings need flu vaccines to survive, then how did humans survive through all of Earth's history?
Continued..
If the flu vaccine really works, then why was there no huge increase in flu death rates in 2004, the year when flu vaccines were in short supply and vaccination rates dropped by 40%?
How can flu vaccines reduce mortality by 50% (as is claimed) when only about 10% of winter deaths are related to the flu in the first place?
If flu vaccines work so well, then why are drug makers and health authorities so reluctant to subject them to scientific scrutiny with randomized, placebo-controlled studies?
And your comment that living a healthy life style and mainting adequate levels of vitamin C,D etc.. are not as good as vaccines is ridiculous. If you dont maintain your immune system the way that nature designed it then you have no chance not even if you inject yourself with attenuated live viruses.
Not to mention the adjuvants in the vaccines, im sure you have heard of squalene and its dangers? squalene was used in the recent H1N1 vaccines.
Well researched and presented piece, Joel..per norm. For whatever reasons, weeding out the hysteria influences is a key factor regarding this issue. I personally don't take flu vaccines because I'm not in a high risk group and the pandemic situation that surfaced at the outset of H1N1 appears to have subsided.
Cheers...
Still no response to my questions below...
Its interesting that people like Charles Higgins blindly accept the mantra that vaccines are safe and work even though there is no scientific evidence to show that these vaccines work i.e. no peer reviewed data, double blind studies etc. especially for the H1N1 vaccines that were rushed out, not to mention the dangerous ingredients (adjuvants, RNA, Methyl-Mercury etc.)
So why no article on The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mr. Joel Sigfried? Headed by a Mr. Wolfgang Wodarg it has unanimously declared that the 2009 swine flu 'pandemic' was a hoax manufactured by pharmaceutical companies in league with the WHO to make vast profits whilst endangering public health.
The panel found that governments were “threatened” by special interest groups within the pharmaceutical industry as well as the WHO to buy the vaccines and inject their populations without any reasonable scientific reason for doing so.
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