12,000 Oklahoma children to be tested with new H1N1 flu vaccine to see any side effects

July 28, 12:30 PMSacramento Nutrition ExaminerAnne Hart

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Because H1N1 flu is a novel virus, parents are concerned as 12,000 children in Oklahoma are going to be tested with vaccinations for H1N1 to see whether there are any serious side effects. Some parents are complaining the only benefit is going to be for the vaccine manufacturers. Other parents say numerous children will die, not from the new vaccine, but from the novel virus that combines avian, swine, and human viruses.

Among the parents' fears are the fear of autism, fear of children becoming paralyzed by novel reactions similar to the syndrome that occured with a different type of swine flu vaccine in 1976. See the Nov. 24, 2004 Journal of the American Medical Association article, Guillain-Barré Syndrome Following Influenza Vaccination. According to the article's abstract, "An unexplained increase in the risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) occurred among recipients of the swine influenza vaccine in 1976-1977. Guillain-Barré syndrome remains the most frequent neurological condition reported after influenza vaccination to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) since its inception in 1990."

The problem is that the onset of serious side effects could take four weeks or longer to appear. The Journal of the American Medical Association article noted, "From July 1990 through June 2003, VAERS received 501 reports of GBS following influenza vaccination in adults. The median onset interval (13 days) was longer than that of non-GBS reports of adverse events after influenza vaccine (1 day) (P<.001). The annual reporting rate decreased 4-fold from a high of 0.17 per 100 000 vaccinees in 1993-1994 to 0.04 in 2002-2003 (P<.001). A GBS diagnosis was confirmed in 82% of reports. Preceding illness within 4 weeks of vaccination was identified in 24% of reported cases."

What happened next is that the great swine flu epidemic of 1976 ceased being reported in the media after a long media blitz to get vaccinated as soon as the paralyzed victims side effects were reported. The JAMA article reported, "From 1990 to 2003, VAERS reporting rates of GBS after influenza vaccination decreased."

The reason why is that it took two weeks to a month before the side effects appeared. Referring to the 1976 swine flu vaccination media campaing, the JAMA article notes, "The long onset interval and low prevalence of other preexisting illnesses are consistent with a possible causal association between GBS and influenza vaccine."

Even today, when most people line up for a flu vaccination they are asked to note on a form whether they've ever suffered from GBS. The JAMA study concludes with, "These findings require additional research, which can lead to a fuller understanding of the causes of GBS and its possible relationship with influenza vaccine."

On the other hand, with this new H1N1 flu epidemic, parents request a vaccine for children to prevent the complications, such as pneumonia deaths for some children, whether otherwise healthy or not, noting all the deaths of children in Mexico. The tension is in the waiting to see whether the 12,000 children going to be vaccinated will come down with side effects and what effects, even though most manufacturers say the vaccine probably will be safe.

There's no way to really know until you get vaccinated and wait a month to see what happens. It takes at least three weeks for the vaccine to become effective. If you have an underlying health issue, the question is, would it be safer for you to get vaccinated or to wait and see what happens to people in your age group and health situation when they get vaccinated first. That's the thought on many people's minds.

What is certain is that children are going to be used to test the new flu vaccine. As fall approaches, two vaccines will be available, one for the regular seasonal flu, and later in the school season, the novel flu vaccine. The question is whether the new vaccine will become available to the public too late, after most children have caught the flu when school resumes? Or will the vaccine have side effects that are serious?

On the other hand, if the vaccine is safe, parents will want their children vaccinated without the mercury preservative that has been taken out of the regular season flu vaccine for children, but routinely given to seniors and other adults, unless they ask for flu vaccine without the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal. See the Nutrition Alert article, "Parents vs. Research - timerosol and autism." 

Also see the article, "World Health Officials Say Two Billion People May Contract Swine Flu." According to the July 28, 2009 article by Melinda Smith  "The World Health Organization predicts the H1N1 Swine Flu virus will infect two billion people, or one out of every three persons, over the next two years. While this flu has already killed 800, the WHO says thousands more could die unless an effective vaccine is developed soon."

Parents and physicians are saying that the manufacturers of vaccines can't compromise the safety of the vaccines. As the 12,000 children are being tested in Oklahoma, parents and doctors alike report that there can't be any questions as to whether the vaccines are safe or not. As the children receive the vaccines, the manufacturers of the vaccines won't know until many people are vaccinated what side effects will show up at a later date.

The race is between the return of the virus and when and if serious side effects showing up from the new mixture of avian, swine, and human flu viruses mixed with whatever other chemicals are going to be added to the vaccine. What consumers lack is knowledge of exactly what ingredients go into the new vaccine. Also see the uTube video below.

Photo credits: Flicker.com.

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