Flu shots over-hyped, not as effective as touted.

[editec]

Thanks to the fully socialized HC delivery system I am enrolled in at the VA, I was vaccinated for flu and pneumonia for the first time ever this year.

So far so good.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Never had a flu shot. Never will.

 

[waltky]

Not as likely to kill ya...

Mutant bird flu 'less lethal', says paper's author
3 Apr.`12 - The author of a paper on a mutant bird flu strain said experts agreed to publish it only after he explained that the virus was "much less lethal" than previously feared.

A panel of US science and security experts on Friday said two papers on mutant viruses should be published after all, reversing its earlier decision to withhold key details. Professor Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, author of one of the papers, told journalists in London that his revised version addressed fears that the paper's findings could be used by bioterrorists. Friday's announcement came after the revisions to the papers were reviewed by the nongovernmental US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB).

The US experts had previously opposed publishing the research -- which showed how an engineered H5N1 flu virus could pass easily in the air between ferrets -- over fears it could end up in the wrong hands and result in a deadly man-made flu pandemic. Fouchier said his revised version made clear that the mutant virus is "much less lethal" than the NSABB had previously believed. "I did say that it's one of the most dangerous viruses, and it's the truth, because these viruses are a little scary," Fouchier said. "If they go airborne they can cause pandemics and pandemic flu has killed millions of people."

Some members of the advisory board understood that the ferrets in the experiment had all died as a result of being infected, leading to the paper being blocked. "The information was in the original paper but perhaps it was not as clear as it should have been," Fouchier said. "Our virus does not kill ferrets when it is in aerosol. This was in the original manuscript but it was not spelt out."

The NSABB faced criticism after it ruled unanimously in December that a pair of US-funded studies, one by a team from Wisconsin and the other led by Fouchier, should not be printed without heavy edits of key details. Bird flu is believed to kill more than half the people it infects, making it much more lethal than common strains of the seasonal virus. According to the World Health Organization, there have been 573 cases of H5N1 bird flu in humans in 15 countries since 2003, with 58.6 percent resulting in death.

Source

 

[waltky]

Difference between flu and cold...

How to tell a cold from the flu
Jan 10,`13 - The common cold and flu are caused by different viruses but can have some similar symptoms, making them tough to tell apart. In general, the flu is worse and symptoms are more intense.

COLDS: Usual symptoms include stuffy or runny nose, sore throat and sneezing. Coughs are hacking and productive. It's unusual to have fever, chills, headaches and body aches, and if they do occur, they are mild.

FLU: Fever is usually present, along with chills, headache and moderate-to-severe body aches and tiredness. Symptoms can come on rapidly, within three to six hours. Coughs are dry and unproductive, and sore throats are less common.

PREVENTION: To avoid colds and flu, wash your hands with warm water and soap after you've been out in public or around sick people. Don't share cups or utensils. And get a flu vaccination - officials say it's not too late, even in places where flu is raging.

TREATMENT: People with colds or mild cases of the flu should get plenty of rest and fluids. Those with severe symptoms, such as a high fever or difficulty breathing, should see a doctor and may be prescribed antiviral drugs or other medications. Children should not be given aspirin without a doctor's approval.

Source

 

[whitehall]

It's clear that the people who tell us that it's the yada yada "worst flu season in history" aren't interested in crunching the data regarding the alleged effectiveness of flu shots.

 

[waltky]

Granny says get yer kid's dey's flu shots...

Risk to all ages: 100 kids die of flu each year
Jan 15,`13 -- How bad is this flu season, exactly? Look to the children.

Twenty flu-related deaths have been reported in kids so far this winter, one of the worst tolls this early in the year since the government started keeping track in 2004. But while such a tally is tragic, that does not mean this year will turn out to be unusually bad. Roughly 100 children die in an average flu season, and it's not yet clear the nation will reach that total.

The deaths this year have included a 6-year-old girl in Maine, a 15-year Michigan student who loved robotics, and 6-foot-4 Texas high school senior Max Schwolert, who grew sick in Wisconsin while visiting his grandparents for the holidays. "He was kind of a gentle giant" whose death has had a huge impact on his hometown of Flower Mound, said Phil Schwolert, the Texas boy's uncle.

Health officials only started tracking pediatric flu deaths nine years ago, after media reports called attention to children's deaths. That was in 2003-04 when the primary flu germ was the same dangerous flu bug as the one dominating this year. It also was an earlier than normal flu season. The government ultimately received reports of 153 flu-related deaths in children, from 40 states, and most of them had occurred by the beginning of January. But the reporting was scattershot. So in October 2004, the government started requiring all states to report flu-related deaths in kids.

Other things changed, most notably a broad expansion of who should get flu shots. During the terrible 2003-04 season, flu shots were only advised for children ages 6 months to 2 years. That didn't help 4-year-old Amanda Kanowitz, who one day in late February 2004 came home from preschool with a cough and died less than three days later. Amanda was found dead in her bed that terrible Monday morning, by her mother. "The worst day of our lives," said her father, Richard Kanowitz, a Manhattan attorney who went on to found a vaccine-promoting group called Families Fighting Flu.

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[anotherlife]

Americans love shooting themselves up with stuff. If not from your street pharmacist then from the flu shots. HAHAHAHAHA

And now it is even mandatory. I hear that even if the government doesn't force you, your employer can and does, before they fire you for refusing it or for whatever.

Next step will be that you will be mandated to cut off your balls and hand it over to your government or employer.

What if God made this world to include some mild illnesses such as flu to put some balance into it? We are systematically getting rid of every balance that nature ever had.

 

[Scorpion]

This past Sunday, while hosting our daughter's 15th birthday party, i overheard my mother in law expressing her disappointment that I had not taken my two children in for a flu shot.
Her son, (my spouse) works in a hospital and was required to have one or be forced to wear a surgical mask while in the hospital.
If it was that big of a concern, I think he would have encouraged it.
Doesn't her son have any responsibility in the decision making of our childrens health care decisions?
Apparently not.

 

[anotherlife]

This past Sunday, while hosting our daughter's 15th birthday party, i overheard my mother in law expressing her disappointment that I had not taken my two children in for a flu shot.
Her son, (my spouse) works in a hospital and was required to have one or be forced to wear a surgical mask while in the hospital.
If it was that big of a concern, I think he would have encouraged it.
Doesn't her son have any responsibility in the decision making of our childrens health care decisions?
Apparently not.

I think the legacy mother-in-laws reaches far. (Scary.) Have you seen the pre-historic horror movie "Legacy"?

 

[waltky]

Granny got her flu shot so's she wouldn't come down with the epizootics...

Flu season 'bad one for the elderly,' CDC says
Jan 18,`13 The number of older people hospitalized with the flu has risen sharply, prompting federal officials to take unusual steps to make more flu medicines available and to urge wider use of them as soon as symptoms appear.

The U.S. is about halfway through this flu season, and "it's shaping up to be a worse-than-average season" and a bad one for the elderly, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's not too late to get a flu shot, and "if you have symptoms, please stay home from work, keep your children home from school" and don't spread the virus, he said. New figures from the CDC show widespread flu activity in all states but Tennessee and Hawaii. Some parts of the country are seeing an increase in flu activity "while overall activity is beginning to go down," Frieden said. Flu activity is high in 30 states and New York City, up from 24 the previous week.

Nine more children or teens have died of the flu, bringing the nation's total this flu season to 29. That's close to the 34 pediatric deaths reported during all of the last flu season, although that one was unusually light. In a typical season, about 100 children die of the flu and officials said there is no way to know whether deaths this season will be higher or lower than usual. The government doesn't keep a running tally of adult deaths from the flu, but estimates that it kills about 24,000 people most years.

So far, half of confirmed flu cases are in people 65 and older. Lab-confirmed flu hospitalizations totaled 19 for every 100,000 in the population, but 82 per 100,000 among those 65 and older, "which is really quite a high rate," Frieden said. "We expect to see both the number and the rates of both hospitalizations and deaths rise further in the next week or so as the flu epidemic progresses,'" so prompt treatment is key to preventing deaths, he said.

About 90 percent of flu deaths are in the elderly; the very young and people with other health problems such as diabetes are also at higher risk. If you're worried about how sick you are and are in one of these risk groups, see a doctor, Frieden urged. One third to one half of people are not getting prompt treatment with antiviral medicines, he said.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Flu still a problem in the west...

CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West
25 Jan.`13 - New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very young or old. The season's first flu case resistant to treatment with Tamiflu was reported Friday.

Eight more children have died from the flu, bringing this season's total pediatric deaths to 37. About 100 children die in an average flu season.

There is still vaccine available although it may be hard to find. The CDC has a website that can help.

CDC: CDC - Seasonal Influenza (Flu)

CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West - Yahoo! News

 

[waltky]

Granny says there's still some winter left so get yer flu shot...

Health officials: Worst of flu season may be over
7 Jan.`13 — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.

The number of states reporting intense or widespread flu dropped again last week, U.S. health officials said Friday. The season started earlier than normal, spiking first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia deaths have been dropping for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. "It's likely that the worst of the current flu season is over," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said in an email.

It's been nine years since a conventional flu season started like this one. That was the winter of 2003-04 — one of the deadliest in the past 35 years, with more than 48,000 deaths. Like this year, that season had the same dominant flu strain, one that tends to make people sicker. But back then, the flu vaccine didn't protect against that bug, and fewer people got flu shots. The vaccine is reformulated each year, and the CDC has said this year's vaccine is a good match to the types that are circulating. A preliminary CDC study showed this year's version is about 60 percent effective.

So far, the season has been labeled moderately severe. The government does not keep a running tally of flu-related deaths in adults, but has received reports of 59 such deaths in children. The most — nine — were in Texas, where flu activity was still high last week. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC. Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older.

Health officials: Worst of flu season may be over - Yahoo! News