As H1N1 Hits Home, A Debate on the Ethics of Vaccination
Tyler Stearns
Issue date: 9/10/09 Section: Opinion
Late this summer, as we were all eagerly preparing our returns to campus, the Health Center sent an e-mail titled "Student with Influenza" to the student body. The meaning was clear from the title alone: the H1N1 influenza virus, colloquially known as swine flu, had arrived. A student was infected. Now, what were we to do? We got the usual advice: "wash your hands" and "cover your face when you sneeze," etc. But real help is on the way. According to information in an e-mail and on the College Web site, the H1N1 vaccine should be available to the campus this fall.
This sounds all well and good, right? Maybe not. It would be wise to stand back and look at the whole picture before succumbing to hysterics.
In 1976, there was an outbreak of swine flu in America. As Congressman Ron Paul, a former medical doctor, recalled this past spring: "In 1976, we had a vote on the swine flu. The government was going to inoculate everybody and save the world from this disaster." Government involvement in a swine flu vaccination program was supported by the entire Congress, save two. Ron Paul and one other medical doctor cast the only dissenting votes.
It turns out they both had reason to be wary of so much hype and a fast-tracked release of a vaccine. As Penina Haber and colleagues noted in a scientific review article, there were more than 500 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome and 25 deaths associated with the 1976 vaccine. That is more deaths than were caused by the swine flu itself. Needless to say, the vaccination program was quickly halted.
More than 30 years have passed since that event. We hope that scientists and policymakers have realized their mistakes and everything will go smoothly this time around. It is not clear that this is the case, however. Medical professionals are still worried about possible side effects of the new vaccine. Britain's Daily Mail has said that up to 50 percent of family doctors in the United Kingdom may not use the vaccine on themselves. The doctors cited inadequate testing of the vaccine and a lack of concern over the flu itself. One third of nurses in the United Kingdom have similar fears over the side effects and efficacy of the vaccine. A survey reported in the British Medical Journal found that only half of healthcare workers in Hong Kong were willing to get the vaccine. Even in the U.S., some parents are concerned about their children receiving the swine flu inoculation.
This sounds all well and good, right? Maybe not. It would be wise to stand back and look at the whole picture before succumbing to hysterics.
In 1976, there was an outbreak of swine flu in America. As Congressman Ron Paul, a former medical doctor, recalled this past spring: "In 1976, we had a vote on the swine flu. The government was going to inoculate everybody and save the world from this disaster." Government involvement in a swine flu vaccination program was supported by the entire Congress, save two. Ron Paul and one other medical doctor cast the only dissenting votes.
It turns out they both had reason to be wary of so much hype and a fast-tracked release of a vaccine. As Penina Haber and colleagues noted in a scientific review article, there were more than 500 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome and 25 deaths associated with the 1976 vaccine. That is more deaths than were caused by the swine flu itself. Needless to say, the vaccination program was quickly halted.
More than 30 years have passed since that event. We hope that scientists and policymakers have realized their mistakes and everything will go smoothly this time around. It is not clear that this is the case, however. Medical professionals are still worried about possible side effects of the new vaccine. Britain's Daily Mail has said that up to 50 percent of family doctors in the United Kingdom may not use the vaccine on themselves. The doctors cited inadequate testing of the vaccine and a lack of concern over the flu itself. One third of nurses in the United Kingdom have similar fears over the side effects and efficacy of the vaccine. A survey reported in the British Medical Journal found that only half of healthcare workers in Hong Kong were willing to get the vaccine. Even in the U.S., some parents are concerned about their children receiving the swine flu inoculation.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 12
SteveMartin
Steve Martin
posted 9/12/09 @ 7:56 AM EST
Huge kudos to Tyler Stearns for pointing out some of the potential dangers of this untested vaccine.
For more information on just how deadly this H1N1 pandemic scare and correlating vaccine MIGHT be, please visit the archives of our radio program by clicking "Archives" at nofda. (Continued…)
Henry Miller
posted 9/12/09 @ 9:04 AM EST
Governments always seem to have the collective IQ of an amoeba, going straight from stimulus to reaction with no thought at all of the implications of either of those two factors. (Continued…)
Professor Obvious
posted 9/14/09 @ 2:39 PM EST
The author tells us how many people had serious complications from the vaccine, but not how many people received the vaccine. He says it is more deaths than from the flu itself, but doesn't say how many of those there were. (Continued…)
Steve Martin
posted 9/14/09 @ 3:29 PM EST
Maybe Kenyon should have a "do a little investigation" requirement before posting too?
The evidence that this vaccine is UNTESTED AND DANGEROUS IS EVERYWHERE on the net and confirmed by dozens of respected doctors and scientists. (Continued…)
Columbus Alumnus
posted 9/30/09 @ 4:11 PM EST
Before a vaccine is released to the general public it must undergo significant tests and scrutiny. It isn't just willy nilly released upon completion and manufacture. (Continued…)
SteveMartin
posted 9/30/09 @ 4:45 PM EST
Unfortunately, the potentially deadly side effects (esp. immune system degradation caused by squalene) take many months to assess, and this vaccine will be given to millions of people after cursory testing of subjects for just a few weeks with NO DIAGNOSTIC FOLLOWUP! All they are doing is calling and asking, "So how do you feel". (Continued…)
Professor Obvious
posted 10/01/09 @ 3:06 PM EST
It's reasonable to think hard about the risks and benefits of any vaccine - but squalene isn't one of them in the United States. This compound has never been approved for adjuvant use in the US, and is not part of the 4 H1N1 vaccines which have been approved by the FDA. (Continued…)
New Jersey Movers
posted 10/01/09 @ 4:50 PM EST
You bring up some interesting points but the truth is that vaccines now are developed and tested in a much more thorough way than they were 30 years ago. (Continued…)
SteveMartin
posted 10/01/09 @ 8:00 PM EST
So they say....
However, one doctor yesterday said on Fox News that there will be "high levels of squalene" in what we are actually given, notwithstanding what has been tested. (Continued…)
Kenyon Alum
posted 10/06/09 @ 1:02 AM EST
When I was at Kenyon, Tyler Stearns repeatedly spammed the allstus with unproven garbage. His thorough lack of understanding for science is a disgrace. (Continued…)
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