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What A Difference Three Decades Makes

 

 

# 4497

 

 

Thirty-four years ago – as a young paramedic – I was involved in the distribution of the much maligned 1976 Swine Flu vaccine. 

 

For months during the summer of that year, I spoke at civic organizations, schools, and churches about the upcoming flu season and the need for vaccination, and that fall, I gave thousands of flu shots.

 

flushotsmall

 

Me, giving my famous `painless flu shot’.  Ignore the look on the lady’s face.

 

I described the events of that campaign some time ago in a blog entitled Deja Flu, All Over Again.  As most of you probably remember, that vaccine was plagued by a low - but significant -incidence of serious side effects.

 

Of them, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) was the most famous.  It is believed to have contributed to the paralysis (usually temporary) of nearly 500 people, and the deaths of 25 others.

 

The vaccination program was brought to a halt in December after 40 million shots had been given, scores of people claimed injury, and the swine flu pandemic had failed to appear as predicted.

 

Of course, had the swine flu pandemic of 1976 arrived with the vengeance originally feared, then these side effects would have been considered acceptable losses.

 

It didn’t, and instead, this incident left the vaccine industry in a shambles and a public mistrust of vaccines in general.

 

In the three decades since that time, there has been no similar connection between influenza vaccines and Guillain-Barre syndrome.  This paralytic syndrome most often occurs after a viral or bacterial infection, and here in the United States, can be expect to strike several thousand people each year.

 

Fast forward 33 years, and a new `swine flu threat’ emerges.  As in 1976, it is an H1N1 virus, and once again a pandemic vaccine is rapidly moved into production.


Understandably, there were concerns -  even among the scientists who were producing and promoting the vaccine- over the remote possibility that some serious side effects might occur.

 

But there were some differences this time. 

 

  • First, unlike 1976, the novel H1N1 of 2009 was already widely circulating, and claiming lives, when the decision was made to produce the vaccine.  
  • Second, vaccine technology has improved considerably over the past 30+ years.  

 

 

While there is always some small risk involved in taking a vaccine, in the face of our yearly flu epidemic (or in this case a pandemic) I’ve always maintained that it is a risk worth taking.

 

No medicine, no drug, and no vaccine is 100% safe for 100% of the people that take it.  

 

Even aspirin and NSAIDs – sold over the counter – contribute to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths each year.   Penicillin, which has saved millions of lives over the years, can cause life threatening anaphylactic responses in some people.


All medicines are a double-edged sword.  

 

The CDC and the HHS, along with many other public health entities around the world have been watching to see if the pandemic vaccine released could be linked to adverse effects, and Guillain-Barre syndrome.    Much of this information comes from VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System).

Despite the hysterical warnings of the anti-vaccine crowd - many of whom predicted massive deaths and injury from the shot -  the evidence to date is that the pandemic shot given here in the United States and in Canada has been extraordinarily safe.

 

Some blogs on the relative safety of this year’s pandemic vaccine.

 

CIDRAP Reports On H1N1 Vaccine Safety
Canada Probes Adverse Vaccine Reactions
MMWR Vaccine Safety Report
VAERS Vaccine Safety Report
The Background Is Always In Motion

 


Which brings us to today’s research, presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd annual meeting in Toronto, that showed a very low incidence of GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) among those who received the H1N1 shot.

 

A brief excerpt from an article that appeared in The Globe & Mail.  Follow the link to read it in its entirety.

 

Incidence of Guillain-Barré Syndrome was low with H1N1 vaccine, researchers report

Carly Weeks

Globe and Mail Update Published on Tuesday, Apr. 13, 2010 7:33PM EDT

(EXCERPT)

U.S. researchers presented a study yesterday at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting, taking place in Toronto this week, that showed reports of Guillain-Barré Syndrome associated with H1N1 vaccination in the U.S. were extremely low.

 

Specifically, there were 6.2 reports of the syndrome for every 10 million H1N1 vaccinations administered last year. Meanwhile, researchers said there were 10.6 reports of GBS for every 10 million seasonal flu vaccinations given last year. The rates are low, and similar to those observed during other vaccination campaigns.


A similar incidence of GBS was reported in Canada among (adjuvanted) shot recipients, of about 1 case per 1 million people.

 

A rate less than, or equal to what might be expected in the general (unvaccinated) population.

 

Whether adjuvanted (as in Canada and Europe) or unadjuvanted (as in the US and some other countries) vaccines, the evidence continues to show that the pandemic and seasonal flu shots are exceptionally safe.

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