Ask Questions about H1N1 Vaccine and Tamiflu

Ask Questions about H1N1 Vaccine and Tamiflu
from the Eagle Watch #5
August 14, 2009

We don't make it a habit to distribute mainstream media articles. However,
this one in the Globe and Mail, is a worthy read. It is interesting how the
groundswell of opposition to the h1n1 vaccine and the treatment anti-viral,
Tamiflu is forcing them to publish such critical views.

Our view from the Eagle Watch is that there is something terribly wrong with
the whole scenario. We've included some questions at the end to keep in mind
when you make your own decision. We prefer to stick to natural remedies and
healthy living. Indigenous people are vulnerable to the flu because of poverty
conditions of life in many communities. Overcrowded housing, improper diet and
lack of clean water are major obstacles to good health.


Globe and Mail
Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009 03:12AM EDT
Alan Cassels and Arthur Schafer

What do we know about the vaccines' safety? Not enough

In the headlong rush to do good, we need to be sure we don't end up doing harm
Who should be at the top of the list to receive the H1N1 vaccine or antiviral
drugs if, as feared, they are in short supply? Bio-ethicists debate the
niceties of how society should ration scarce medical resources, while
public-health officials spend their days debating who should be first in line
– pregnant women, health-care personnel or perhaps government leaders and
corporate CEOs?

The majority of Canadians, listening to this rationing debate, would
be forgiven for assuming that the H1N1 vaccine, when it becomes
available in the autumn, will be a life saver. The unfortunate reality,
however, is that we don't know and, indeed, can't know if that is the
case.

Like most governments around the world, eager to appear to be “doing
something,” the government of Canada has promised to stockpile enough
of the vaccine so that most Canadians will be protected.
But, speaking of stockpiles, Canada already owns one of the world's
largest supplies of antiviral drugs, mostly Tamiflu and Relenza, two
drugs designed to reduce the severity and length of the flu. And yet
the scientific evidence testing the preventive benefits of either
Tamiflu or its near cousin, Relenza, shows that both are pathetically
weak. People who take either of these “prophylactically,” i.e. before
they become sick, hoping to prevent the flu, will get about as much
effect as if they'd taken a placebo. That's not a very impressive
result. Equally unimpressive: When the drugs are given within 48 hours
to someone who already has flu symptoms, with the goal of ameliorating
the severity of the disease, it makes only a slight difference. The
“lucky ones” who take Tamiflu may reduce the average length of a
five-day flu by about half a day. Not worth getting out of bed for, you
might think. So perhaps it doesn't matter all that much who is at the
top of the list to receive the drugs and who is at the bottom.
Consider also that a recent international study reveals that about
50 per cent of children who have taken Tamiflu experienced side
effects. Most have been minor (gut problems, diarrhea) but some have
been more serious, including neuropsychiatric problems. Why are
public-health officials glossing over the fact there is a great deal of
uncertainty and doubt surrounding the effectiveness, safety and side
effects of flu drugs?

The same could be said for the H1N1 vaccine, currently in production
and ramped up for Canada's fall flu season. What do we know about its
effectiveness or its safety? The answer is, not enough. If one takes
past flu campaigns as any indication, it is likely the effectiveness of
the vaccine is going to be exaggerated, while the potential harms will
either be ignored, understated or simply unknown. In that scenario, the
rush to vaccinate yourself and your children might not turn out to be
such a grand idea.

Public-health officials around the world seem to be suggesting there
is a possibility this flu pandemic could get much worse, that is,
become more lethal. If that were to happen, it seems “obvious” that
wise people should seek to have a preventive flu shot or access to a
pill. Many people will say to themselves: Why not get the shot, just to
be sure?

Part of the answer to that question is that until a million people
roll up their sleeves to get the vaccine, no one can be sure how safe
it will be. This is also a decisive answer to those who favour making
vaccination mandatory.

Some public-health officials have described flu vaccines as “highly
effective,” but the internationally recognized Cochrane Collaboration
(which accepts no money from the pharmaceutical industry) did a
systematic review of all high-quality randomized trials (25 in all)
studying influenza vaccination. They concluded that “the evidence does
not support universal immunization of healthy adults.” Period.
So how does this information help us to think clearly about the current flu
pandemic in which we're mired?

Well, it seems that despite its spread, this flu virus is a bit of a
dud for the fear-mongers. If, as seems not unlikely, the H1N1 virus
mutates, our government will have purchased enormous quantities of a
flu vaccine around which we will have virtually no safety or
effectiveness data, and an already existing and very costly stockpile
of probably useless drugs.

In short, a big bust all around.

Governments and public-health officials are sensitive to the
exhortation: Don't just stand there, do something. But it's sometimes
wise to reverse that dictum: Don't just do something, stand there (and
think a bit about what might actually produce more good than harm).


Alan Cassels is a drug policy researcher at the University of
Victoria. Arthur Schafer is director of the Centre for Professional and
Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba.

=====
SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK:
1. why did WHO raise the pandemic alert to highest level when less than one
thousand people WORLDWIDE have died from causes "associated with h1n1"?
Pandemic alert level 6 allows martial law and mandatory vaccination. Many if
not most of the people who have died had "underlying health problems."

===="Worldwide, the number of deaths attributed to the flu each year is
between 250,000 and 500,000? (Thomas Walkom, The Toronto Star, May
1, 2009)."

===="...Only 700 people have died from the swine flu world wide in the last
year. In the same period, half a million people died of the regular
flu, but that isn't called a pandemic. We are being lied to."
[other reports put the numbers at even less. and then there's the epidemic of
cancer, heart disease and diabetes...]

#2 Poor quality testing to identify the specific flu strain. Some say it's
only accurate 1/2 the time, others say even less. How are tests made up? How
quickly can you make up a test for something supposedly just discovered in May?


#2a Where did this h1n1 come from. Some suggest it is made in a lab.

"This virus continues to be an enigma for virologists. In the April 30, 2009
issue of Nature, a virologist was quoted as saying,“Where the hell it got all
these genes from we don’t know.” Extensive analysis of the virus found that
it contained the original 1918 H1N1 flu virus, the avian flu virus (bird flu),
and two new H3N2 virus genes from Eurasia. Debate continues over the
possibility that swine flu is a genetically engineered virus. "

#2b Hasty testing and preparation of the vaccine. Baxter Intl applied for the
patent in 2008, long before the outbreak. How does that work?

"The Baxter vaccine, called Celvapan, has had fast track approval. It uses a
new vero cell technology, which utilizes cultured cells from the African green
monkey. This same animal tissue transmits a number of vaccine-contaminating
viruses, including the HIV virus.

"The Baxter company has been associated with two deadly scandals. The first
event occurred in 2006 when hemophiliac components were contaminated with HIV
virus and injected in tens of thousands of people, including thousands of
children. Baxter continued to release the HIV contaminated vaccine even after
the contamination was known.

"The second event occurred recently when it was discovered that Baxter had
released a seasonal flu vaccine containing the bird flu virus, which would have
produced a real world pandemic, to 18 countries. Fortunately, astute lab
workers in the Czech Republic discovered the deadly combination and blew the
whistle before a worldwide disaster was unleashed.
[see full newsmax article below]

====="GSK is one of several companies, including Novartis (NVS),
Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), and Baxter International (BAX), racing to
develop a swine flu vaccine. " ie $$$$$$$$

#3 Additives to vaccines are already a concern. Why the mercury, ie
"thimerosal"? And now why this adjuvant called squalene which appears to mess
with the immune system.

#4 Historical precedent of the 1918 flu epidemic which killed about 40 million
worldwide. There was a spring outbreak, then Rockefeller financed vaccination
FOLLOWED by the major outbreak in the fall.

#5 If you check the various provincial health web sites, they are no longer
testing for the h1n1 and are lumping into their figures ALL cases of
"influenza-like illness". what kind of shoddy science is that??? why are they
padding the numbers??

#6 Pharma companies who are now making a killing already on sales of vaccines
and antivirals like tamiflu, are NOT LIABLE for any damage caused by or as a
result of these products.

#7 tamiflu has been considered useless by some doctors, in particular a Korean
doctor. others are playing down this information.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/..montreal/story/2009/07/21/..montreal-quebec-man-swine-flu-..drug-resistant.html

Links to full articles:
http://www.newsmax.com/health/..vaccine_swine_flu/2009/07/07/..232717.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/..20090709/ap_on_he_me/us_swine_..flu
http://feedproxy.google.com/~..r/wordpress/hnsX/~3/_..PD6YurPx74/
http://articles.mercola.com/..sites/articles/archive/2009/..08/04/Squalene-The-Swine-Flu-..Vaccines-Dirty-Little-Secret-..Exposed.aspx
http://www.nationalguard.com/ careers/mos/ description. php?mos_code= 31E
http://www.infowars.com/army-..national-guard-advertises-for-..internment-specialists/
http://www.prisonplanet.com/ greece-to- enforce-mandator y-swine-flu-
vaccinations.Html
http://globalresearch.ca/..index.php?context=va&aid=14510 (see below)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/..index.php?context=va&aid=..14541