Punditman says...
Punditman did not want to have to wade into this morass once again, but he couldn't resist offering another perspective. While Peacenik prepares to line up for his two flu shots, Punditman is noticing that important people on the news are saying that this whole swine flu vaccine decision is all about numbers. So here are some numbers to consider as you make the big decision for yourself and your loved ones.
Punditman does not know what it was about the 1976 swine flu vaccine that caused all those health problems including Guillain–Barré syndrome for many and killed others in 1976. Neither, apparently do the experts. Some say it was bacteria that caused problems, while others suspect the cocktail itself. Why does punditman get the feeling that this was never studied thoroughly enough? Given the fact that the US government ended up paying millions in compensation to those they injured, you would think there would be hundreds of studies to find out exactly what went wrong, so it won't happen again. Maybe there are. Please locate them if you can.
This is where all our biases come in. Obviously punditman's own bias says there is not a lot of incentive (i.e. money) to be made looking at why certain products don't work, especially after the fact. That includes pharma products. Surfing around internet forums, Punditman has found all kinds of anecdotal stories about health-related nightmares from people who received the 1976 vaccine. Punditman has no idea if all these people figure into the official numbers. But punditman thinks his bias makes sense: if you don't study something enough, obviously it is easy to conclude there's nothing behind claims that run contrary to accepted wisdom, especially when a helluva lot of money is to be made.
On another note, why are completely healthy people routinely urged to get the regular flu shot? It is well known that regular flu shots are a shot in the dark, and a not very good percentage shot at that. Could the profit motive play a role? Hmmm. Even if bad reactions to flu vaccines are rare, is that risk better than getting the seasonal flu? After all, the vast majority of healthy people survive just fine. Or, is it really that horrible for a healthy person to get the flu and have to stay home from work or school for short while? The case of this Washington Redskins cheerleader, is particularly tragic. In any case, would it not be better to concentrate on maintaining healthy life styles and strong immune systems? Oh, punditman forgot: no money there.
Contracting swine flu is obviously very scary and potentially tragic, as we are seeing. But the tragic cases remain relatively rare. So are vaccine-injured children, I'm told. Which makes me ask about another numbers game, perhaps the biggest guessing game of all: given the fact that symptoms range from mild to severe, how many of us have already had H1N1? Apparently untold...ummm...numbers. In fact, last August, it was already being reported that over a million Americans had already contracted H1N1. So how many tens of milions are there now? And how many deaths? After all, health officials are only testing those who become hospitalized; yet, as always during flu season, everywhere people are coughing, sniffling, feeling lethargic, achy and naseous, the very same symptoms as swine flu. But most recover from whatever it is that they have.
So what are your chances of contacting swine flu? And does it constitute the admitted (rare) risk associated with any vaccine (beyond a sore arm). So far there are 87 deaths in Canada and around one thousand in the United States. Now compare the numbers above to the projected numbers of deaths we were told were coming: 30,000 to 90,000 U.S. deaths from swine flu by mid-October, warned President Obama's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, back in August.
Now compare those numbers and those projected numbers to the 8,000 deaths in Canada annually from MRSA in hospitals. No one is talking about that at the moment. One could be forgiven if one thinks there are greater risks out there right now than swine flu, but one would be going against the herd mentality.
As one wag once said, "there are lies, damn lies and there are statistics." Good luck deciding whether or not you and/or your children get the jab. Punditman remains skeptical, but in truth, he doesn't have a clue.
Ask Punditman about Iran or something.
Punditman did not want to have to wade into this morass once again, but he couldn't resist offering another perspective. While Peacenik prepares to line up for his two flu shots, Punditman is noticing that important people on the news are saying that this whole swine flu vaccine decision is all about numbers. So here are some numbers to consider as you make the big decision for yourself and your loved ones.
Punditman does not know what it was about the 1976 swine flu vaccine that caused all those health problems including Guillain–Barré syndrome for many and killed others in 1976. Neither, apparently do the experts. Some say it was bacteria that caused problems, while others suspect the cocktail itself. Why does punditman get the feeling that this was never studied thoroughly enough? Given the fact that the US government ended up paying millions in compensation to those they injured, you would think there would be hundreds of studies to find out exactly what went wrong, so it won't happen again. Maybe there are. Please locate them if you can.
This is where all our biases come in. Obviously punditman's own bias says there is not a lot of incentive (i.e. money) to be made looking at why certain products don't work, especially after the fact. That includes pharma products. Surfing around internet forums, Punditman has found all kinds of anecdotal stories about health-related nightmares from people who received the 1976 vaccine. Punditman has no idea if all these people figure into the official numbers. But punditman thinks his bias makes sense: if you don't study something enough, obviously it is easy to conclude there's nothing behind claims that run contrary to accepted wisdom, especially when a helluva lot of money is to be made.
On another note, why are completely healthy people routinely urged to get the regular flu shot? It is well known that regular flu shots are a shot in the dark, and a not very good percentage shot at that. Could the profit motive play a role? Hmmm. Even if bad reactions to flu vaccines are rare, is that risk better than getting the seasonal flu? After all, the vast majority of healthy people survive just fine. Or, is it really that horrible for a healthy person to get the flu and have to stay home from work or school for short while? The case of this Washington Redskins cheerleader, is particularly tragic. In any case, would it not be better to concentrate on maintaining healthy life styles and strong immune systems? Oh, punditman forgot: no money there.
Contracting swine flu is obviously very scary and potentially tragic, as we are seeing. But the tragic cases remain relatively rare. So are vaccine-injured children, I'm told. Which makes me ask about another numbers game, perhaps the biggest guessing game of all: given the fact that symptoms range from mild to severe, how many of us have already had H1N1? Apparently untold...ummm...numbers. In fact, last August, it was already being reported that over a million Americans had already contracted H1N1. So how many tens of milions are there now? And how many deaths? After all, health officials are only testing those who become hospitalized; yet, as always during flu season, everywhere people are coughing, sniffling, feeling lethargic, achy and naseous, the very same symptoms as swine flu. But most recover from whatever it is that they have.
So what are your chances of contacting swine flu? And does it constitute the admitted (rare) risk associated with any vaccine (beyond a sore arm). So far there are 87 deaths in Canada and around one thousand in the United States. Now compare the numbers above to the projected numbers of deaths we were told were coming: 30,000 to 90,000 U.S. deaths from swine flu by mid-October, warned President Obama's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, back in August.
Now compare those numbers and those projected numbers to the 8,000 deaths in Canada annually from MRSA in hospitals. No one is talking about that at the moment. One could be forgiven if one thinks there are greater risks out there right now than swine flu, but one would be going against the herd mentality.
As one wag once said, "there are lies, damn lies and there are statistics." Good luck deciding whether or not you and/or your children get the jab. Punditman remains skeptical, but in truth, he doesn't have a clue.
Ask Punditman about Iran or something.
