------ Forwarded Message > From: "dasg...@aol.com" <dasg...@aol.com> > Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:59:27 EST > To: Robert Millegan <ramille...@aol.com> > Cc: <ema...@aol.com>, <j...@aol.com>, <jim6...@cwnet.com>, > <christian.r...@gmail.com> > Subject: First Potentially Fatal "Side Effects" of H1N1 Vaccination Begin > Surfacing >
> Hours after receiving the H1N1 vaccine, teen gets a rare, potentially fatal > auto-immune disease*. > Center for Disease Control (CDC) says, "Just a coincidence"! > However, privately CDC admits that 5 identical reactions were reported in the > last 30 days alone. > All "adverse events" supposedly get reported to the CDC, but a loophole allows > them NOT to be. > Only an estimated 1% - 10% are ever reported, so multiply any CDC-known cases > by 9x or 10x. > > *"one of the leading causes of non-trauma-induced paralysis in the world" > (Wiki article on GBS) > > > > > MSNBC.com > > Va. teen suffers rare illness after swine flu shot > Boy diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, but CDC says no clear link > > By JoNel Aleccia > Health writer > updated 9:57 a.m. PT, Thurs., Nov . 12, 2009 > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33845867/ns/health-cold_and_flu/ > A 14-year-old Virginia boy is weak and struggling to walk after coming down > with a reported case of Guillain-Barre syndrome within hours after receiving > the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu. > > Jordan McFarland, a high school athlete from Alexandria, Va., left Inova > Fairfax Hospital for Children Tuesday night in a wheelchair nearly a week > after developing severe headaches, muscle spasms and weakness in his legs > following a swine flu shot. He will likely need the assistance of a walker for > four to six weeks, plus extensive physical therapy. > > ³The doctor said I¹ll recover fully, but it¹s going to take some time,² the > teenager said. > > Jordan is among the first people in the nation to report developing the > potentially life-threatening muscle disorder after receiving the H1N1 vaccine > this fall. His alarming reaction was submitted via msnbc.com's reader > reporting tool, First Person > <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33077248/ns/nightly_news/?ns=nightly_news&ns=nigh > tly_news> , by his stepmother, Arlene Connin. > > Increased cases of GBS were found in patients who received a 1976 swine flu > vaccine, but government health officials say they've seen no rise in the > condition associated with the current outbreak. > > So far, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received > five reports of GBS in people who received the H1N1 vaccine since Oct. 6, not > including Jordan¹s case, said Dr. Claudia J. Vellozzi, deputy director for > immunization safety. > > Out of about 40 million doses of H1N1 vaccine available to date, that¹s a far > lower rate of GBS than the 1 case that develops in every 1 million people who > receive the regular flu vaccine. > > "It's much less than we'd expect," she said, adding that many cases go > unreported. > > In 1976, about 1 additional case of GBS developed in every 100,000 people who > were vaccinated against the swine flu, according to the CDC. > > Jordan's parents said doctors diagnosed the teen with GBS, a rare muscle > disorder that develops when a person¹s own immune system attacks the nerves, > causing muscle weakness, difficulty walking and sometimes paralysis and death. > > Hospital officials didn't dispute that the boy had GBS, but refused to comment > on the boy's condition or treatment, even after his family granted permission. > > ³They don¹t want to create a fear or panic in the community,² said Jordan's > stepmother, Connin. > > Connin and Jordan¹s father, Calvin McFarland, both 38, believe the shot > sparked the illness that came on 18 hours after the boy¹s vaccination. > > No clear link > But Vellozzi said there¹s no clear link between the new vaccine and the > disease. > > ³We know that GBS and other illnesses occur routinely in the U.S.,² Vellozzi > said, noting that 80 to 120 cases are diagnosed each week in the general > population. > > ³There are events that follow vaccination. That¹s what they are, they happened > to follow vaccination. > > GBS is among the most severe adverse events being tracked with updated systems > developed by the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the American > Academy of Neurology in order to monitor the rollout of the H1N1 flu vaccine. > > So far, CDC officials have received about 1,700 reports of adverse events > linked to the new shot, Vellozzi said. Of those, only about 4 percent, or 68, > were coded as serious. That¹s on par with reports regarding seasonal vaccine. > > While any harmful side effect can be devastating for an individual, when it > comes to larger public health issues, the H1N1 virus is considerably riskier > than the vaccine, experts say. > > ³The H1N1 illness is making lots of children very ill," Vellozzi said. > "There¹s lots of illness and lots of death." > > So far, more than 4,000 people have died from H1N1 infection in the U.S., > according to latest estimates by the CDC. > > Since the start of the H1N1 vaccine campaign, the CDC has repeatedly warned > that certain conditions, such as miscarriage, heart attack and even GBS occur > regardless of immunization, and officials have urged the public not to blame > the vaccine for the illnesses, but to report promptly any suspected side > effects. > > As of early Wednesday, CDC officials said they had received no report from > Inova Fairfax about Jordan's condition. Later in the day, however, hospital > spokesman Tony Raker indicated the hospital had submitted the report. > > After hearing about Jordan's case from msnbc.com, CDC officials advised the > family to report Jordan's case themselves. > > Vaccine critic Barbara Lowe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine > Information Center in Vienna, Va., said assuming all potential side effects > are coincidence is a mistake. Such an attitude is likely to prevent doctors > and other health workers from reporting adverse events in a timely manner, > obscuring a true picture of any problems. > > Fisher said only between 1 percent and 10 percent of adverse events are > reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which was > set up to track problems with vaccines. A 1986 law requires reporting of > certain adverse events to VAERS, but there are no sanctions for not reporting, > Fisher noted. CDC officials said general reporting to VAERS is voluntary. > > Fisher said she suspects that many more cases of GBS have occurred in the wake > of the H1N1 vaccines. > > "We basically have people blowing it off," she said. "We need to make sure > people are reporting." > > Eager for protection > Like many parents across the country, Arlene Connin said she was eager to > protect Jordan and his brother, Lleyton, 7, against the flu. When she took the > boys to their pediatrician for seasonal flu shots on Nov. 5, the provider said > H1N1 vaccine was available, too. > > There was ³not even a thought,² that either boy would have a reaction, Connin > said. Within hours, however, Jordan developed severe headaches, chills and > back spasms. The family rushed him to the closest hospital, Dewitt Army > Community Hospital, where doctors conducted neurological exams, a CT scan and > an EKG test. > > The small hospital didn¹t have the facilities to diagnose or treat Jordan¹s > illness, so he was transferred by ambulance on Nov. 6 to Inova Fairfax > Hospital in Falls Church, Va., a spokesman said. Doctors there quickly gave > Jordan intravenous immunoglobulin, a standard treatment for GBS, Connin said. > > ³GBS, that¹s the diagnosis they gave us and that¹s how they were treating > him,² Connin said. > > A hospital spokesman, Tony Raker, declined further comment on Jordan's case. > When an msnbc.com photographer asked to view Jordan's chart, even with his > father's permission, hospital officials refused. > > Doctors are reluctant to discuss GBS in connection with vaccines, Connin said. > Anti-vaccine groups frequently cite the disorder as evidence of vaccine > dangers, which public health officials fear will discourage people from > getting life-saving protection, especially in the case of H1N1. > > Jordan¹s experience has made his parents think hard about immunization, even > though they¹ve always insisted on annual flu shots. Under CDC guidelines for > children 9 and younger, Lleyton should receive another booster shot of H1N1 > vaccine to protect him fully against the virus. > > ³I have mixed emotions on that one,² Calvin McFarland, the boys¹ father, said. > ³We¹re not sure what we¹re going to do about that.² > > © 2009 msnbc.com Reprints > URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33845867/ns/health-cold_and_flu/ > > > MSN Privacy <http://mobile.msn.com/device/en-us/privacy.aspx> . Legal > <http://mobile.msn.com/device/en-us/terms.aspx> > © 2009 MSNBC.com > ------ End of Forwarded Message
