As the swine flu vaccine hits the clinics, many people are, surprisingly, opting out. Here’s how the media created this unintended consequence.
Cover of Nov’s Wired magazine.
Chances are, you may know someone that has contracted swine flu. There’s also a good chance that they got sick, were laid out for a few days, and then got better (just like the regular flu season).
So why the global hysteria around getting the flu vaccine?
Everytime I turn on the news, the reporters are citing a new study that says H1N1 is even more potent than ever; in fact, it affects YOUNG HEALTHY ADULTS the worst! Public areas are plastered with signs shouting foreboding messages like “Take your life into your own hands. WASH THEM.”
Now, with the “second wave” of the flu season upon us, Obama declares H1N1 a national emergency.
It’s enough to scare everyone into being first in line for the flu vaccine. And that’s exactly what some people have done.
On Saturday, Oct 24, the Omaha News reported that:
Hundreds of people [stood] out in the cold, trying to avoid getting a cold. So many people showed up to get their shots, the clinic was forced to turn dozens away.
And yet…not everyone is buying into the flu shot. In fact, some polls say 48% of Canadians will not get the shot. In the USA, that number has climbed to 60%.
The Culture Of Fear
I’m one of the those Canadians who is suspicious of the flu shot. While I have nothing against vaccination, I find myself at odds with the H1N1 vaccine, likely stemming from a number of factors:
- the vaccine felt rushed out the door, and in fact, had been approved with no testing by Health Canada.
- the severity of the flu seems vastly over-hyped;
- and perhaps most importantly: why has the media been so eager to whip up a culture of fear?
Sure, scary headlines sell newspapers and help their ailing bottom line. But even so, I’m suspicious of a hidden agenda when I see not one, but TWO cover stories on prominent magazines telling me I HAVE to get the flu shot or HUMANITY WILL PERISH.
Take the Wired issue this month. The cover features an innocent child with the word FEAR emblazoned above its head. The lead story is titled: An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All.
Likewise, Maclean’s (Canada’s Time magazine), ran a blood red cover story this week: SWINE FLU FIASCO: Everyone needs the H1N1 vaccine. Says the article:
People are being bombarded by “on the one hand” and “on the other hand” studies and recommendations. “There is confusion,” says Dr. Sarah Kredentser, president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. “And I think it’s warranted confusion, because the messages keep changing.”
Killing The Shot
I don’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist – which is why I’m not bothering to attribute the vaccine to some nefarious Illuminati plan to initiate a mass die-off before ushering in of the new world order.
Yet everytime I consider changing my mind and getting the shot, I’m hit with another demand to get the vaccine or face CERTAIN DEATH. And so, ironically, my resistance to rolling up my sleeve stems mainly from the frenzy created by public health officials and the media.
This is a huge blunder on their part, explains a Washington Post article from 2005, when the news was all about Avian Flu (remember that one?):
To promote vaccine use, many in the public health community have overstated the risk of flu-related death and the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing it. While the flu vaccine may have some important benefit (less flu-related illness), we really do not know whether it reduces the risk of death.
The dangers of hyping fear are serious:
Public health officials should not exaggerate risks or benefits to promote vaccination. Exaggeration carries a price: Not only do some people get scared and engage in behaviors that increase their risk (like waiting in a crowded clinic for a flu shot). They may also grow cynical and end up ignoring health messages that really matter.
What do you think? Do you plan on getting the flu shot? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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22 Comments... join the discussion!
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Vaccinations aren’t always because you might die yourself, though that is a possibility with virulent flu, but to help protect those with compromised immunity.
As a pregnant woman, my risk of death with H1N1 is considerably higher than the rest of the population and considerably higher than it is with normal seasonal flu, so I was one of the first in line for the vaccine. I’m taking precautions–my family will be vaccinated as it becomes available to them (and their doctors give the OK), I’m staying out of close, germy places (indoor playgrounds) until the vax has had time to take effect, etc. But no vaccination is 100% (last I read about 70%), so even though I’ve done what I can, I need to rely on those around me to also not catch the disease if possible.
So if you’re in close contact with someone from a high-risk group–your 90-year-old asthmatic grandmother, for example or someone with a comprised immune system, getting the vax is part of what we do to take care of one another.
As for the safety, I trust my doctor. I’m not an MD, nor have I studied medicine in any capacity. In the past, my doctor has earned my trust by steering me from some treatments that seemed perfectly run-of-the-mill. For all those who worry about Big Pharma, rushed vaccine schedules, conspiracy of doctors, etc, I have to wonder, why do so many people continue to see doctors they don’t trust to guide them on this issue? Isn’t that in itself a pretty big medical crisis?
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There is no way I am getting that shot under my own free will.
My 2 cents..
Peace
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I was in Mexico during the outbreak. The media coverage? INSANE. The generated hysteria was unbelievable.
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This whole thing just seems really strange. What trips me out that people dont realize is that the symptoms for the regular flu and H1N1 are THE SAME. All they say is its more potent. I need mor convincing that a few days in bed wont do the trick. Our media in america has a habit of scaring the piss out of weveryone on a regular basis anyway LOL
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Well, per usual (at least from my point of view), this whole thing is about dollars and not real health. The reason the shot got to the market so quickly is because Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, already making a ton of money off of the increase in vaccinations over the last several years (the “schedule” for babies is now up to about 20 by the time they are 2 in the US…I think I received 6) saw a gold mine in the “epidemic” that is to wipe out all of humanity. They were sorely disappointed with how little the swine flu actually effected people overall several months ago, but ah, winter has created another great opportunity to shove the dangers down our throats, and look who is there to help them? The media.
The vaccine contains squalene, which has caused auto-immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis in mice (one doctor notes that the auto-immune disorder, GBC [Guillian Bar Syndrome] is a possible side effect in 1 out of every million taking the vaccine). Other side effects include headache, vomiting, diarrhea…yeah, all the things that normally come with the flu.
I’m not saying the vaccine is useless or completely harmful, but I certainly wouldn’t take it as a healthy or moderately healthy adult. Probably the largest population that it would be useful for is the elderly.
I personally believe we should limit the amount of vaccines we get, because there are plenty of links (here’s just one piece that outlines some of the extreme dangers of vaccines: http://www.relfe.com/vaccine.html) to negative long-term health issues.
Our immune systems are pretty amazing, and if we give them what they need, they will be strong. Plenty of Vitamins C and D, Zinc, Fish Oil and homeopathic remedies at the first sign of illness have helped me to not have the flu in at least 7 years (and I fight off colds mostly in a day–and I don’t use hand sanitizers). There is also something to be said for letting your body get sick every once in a while too–because your body builds it’s own immunity to that illness or disease (that’s why it’s good to let kids get the chicken pox; most will never get it again in their lives because of the “natural vaccine” the body created from the first go-around).
In the end, around any health decision, do what you feel is best, and most importantly, FOLLOW THE MONEY.
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Um – these statistics are alarming:
http://h1n1.flu-virus.org/H1N1-US-deaths.php
I can understand why people are looking for a little help fighting off a disease that seems to have a 1% chance of killing them. That’s a huge statistic and it very well may be that instances of the flu are underreported, there are certainly more deaths than with and average flu since we have no immunity.
Seems like getting the vaccine is an overall good idea if it offers some immunity. Nothing is 100%.
While it’s easy not to have faith in big pharma, keep in mind that large companies have a good idea of what they’re doing. They are following formulas and rules they rely on in making other drugs and people aren’t saying they’ve gotten the flu from the vaccine. This is the only harmful outcome of a vaccine like this as far as I know.
And if we prevent the spread of the flu, we prevent oursevles from spreading it to those it may kill.
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According to the CDC, 36,000 people die a year from the regular flu. This number in and of itself is problematic, as a Washington Post articles notes from many different angles. But here is one statistic of note:
“As more people get vaccinated, you would expect the flu-related death rate to decline — if the vaccine is effective. But, as the graph below, titled “A Windening Gap,” shows, despite a dramatic increase in vaccination among the elderly, deaths from the flu and pneumonia have hardly budged. (The calculations have taken into account the aging of the population.) For younger adults, flu-related death is so rare that it has not been reliably studied: Doing so would require a trial of millions of people.”
I wonder how many of the H1NI deaths fall in the elderly, children, or previously ill categories, all of which have compromised immune systems. The help a regular flu shot has given to the elderly? Only 40% at best more immunity. The help for one small group of children studied? Out of 101 kids that were actually immunized against the flu, 22 died. In 2004, even the CDC study notes about a flu vaccine used the previous year: “The preliminary findings presented in this report demonstrated no or very low effectiveness of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine against influenza-like illness.”
And here’s another look at those swine flu numbers according to a CBS News investigation.
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SKM.. You’re absolutely right when you point out that vaccinations are also to protect those in high risk groups, but I find it difficult to decide what’s what when it comes to H1N1. I’m hearing from a lot of friends and parents in general that their doctors are recommending not getting the shot when pregnant for many of the reasons cited in this article.
And that so many health care workers are considering quitting their jobs instead of facing the mandatory H1N1 vaccination gives me serious pause.
Christine… I’m also one to think twice before vaccinating in general and am in total agreement with the varicella vaccine, especially since it does not provide complete immunity and often women find they do not have immunity when they’re already pregnant. At which point it’s too late.There’s also reason NOT to get this shot as well as the one for shingles when around those with compromised immunity, because it is possible to pass the virus along.
When I’ve tried discussing this with others on parenting message boards, I get responses like “Stay away from my kid on the playground!” and “Good for you! Did you prepay for the funeral.” That last one is a direct quote. Not an exaggeration.
This level of hysteria suggests to me that logic is not at work in any way shape or form, and I don’t believe any sound medical or health judgment can be made from that place of fear.
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Yes to vaccines, no to contagions. As someone with a chronic health condition I’m hoping to be able to get the H1N1 vaccine and will get the regular flu vaccine as soon as my health office receives more doses. Read about the 1918 flu pandemic and then answer this question.
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*harumph* Okay. This is directed at the children here:
“Just because you think you’re indestructible does not mean a flu virus cannot kill you. The 1918 pandemic reaped a gruesome toll. Yes the symptoms are the same, why would they not be? It is the same virus, just a mutation.
When a virus persists for weeks on end in one’s body it is easy to see how it can become fatal. If one is healthy and it is that VIRULENT, then imagine what it is like for those who are not in great health.
In sum: if you have nothing constructive to say but “fight the power”, please visit moveon.org. They can use your youthful energy and naivete more constructively.
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No flu shot for me. In fact, I just wrote an article on 9 reasons not to get one, and while the stats and research needs to be sifted through carefully to determine the “truth” about the flu shot, I am a person who often believes that all of these medical “advances” do more harm than good to our society. Natural selection is a good thing.
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I’m going to take the (apparently) unpopular stance here in favor of vaccines.
As I understood it (and I read it very carefully), the Wired article that you mentioned was in favor of vaccines in general and mostly about how a climate of anti-science media-mongering has led people to trust talking heads with celebrity over legitimate testing, the scientific process, etc etc etc. The swine flu was obviously the ‘hook’ of the story, but that was just the vehicle to tell the public ‘hey, guys, these folks who are telling you that vaccines cause autism don’t have anything to back it up and are in fact lying to you…why don’t we let the people who, say, have a healthy knowledge of science tell us about diseases rather than Hollywood mommies?’.
Truth be told, I’m more paranoid than most about the influence of the pharmaceutical companies on society, and I firmly believe (with good reason…read ‘Our Daily Meds’ by Peterson!) that the vast majority of new ‘conditions’ that are popping up these days are created by marketers, not discovered by doctors or scientists. People need to feel like they are doing something proactive, and these companies need to push pills. Symbiosis!
That being said, I think that the uproar about vaccinations is a bit silly. In the United States the plain-Jane, regular ol’ flu is more dangerous in my mind than the swine flu, but that doesn’t mean we should just ignore them both. Even if the death rate isn’t very high in the US, there are other countries where the number of fatalities are much higher. If we can stop it in its tracks, then we have kept it from leaving out borders and going someplace where it can do real harm.
There are deaths caused all over the world by these diseases, so why shouldn’t we try and fight them? Because someone is making money off of it? I think we can be a little less naive than that and understand that the money to keep researching and producing vaccines needs to come from SOMEWHERE, and why shouldn’t the people who discover/take the time to create them be compensated on scale with the good they are doing for society?
That’s the way I see it, anyway. It’s really easy to get up in arms against everyone involved with a (largely) corrupt industry like big-pharma, but we’re shooting ourselves in the foot if we ignore the benefits that come with having access to so much wealth and knowledge, especially when those benefits include not being confined to a bed for several days while we wait the duration of a communicable disease.
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I am afraid to give the shot to my one year old daughter, even though our doctor recommends it.
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I worry less about the flu shot than I do all the billions spent uselessly on education. We work so hard to edcuate our population yet when push comes to shove we can’t separate good science from superstition. And this from our young and educated. I guess partly due to 30 years of the “the I only care about me, the hell with the rest of you” mentality.
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The media (both major news outlets as well as smaller, more focused or independent news sources) can never be fully trusted. Most exist to create and perpetuate a culture of excitement or fear (Turner is right – Crichton’s ‘State of Fear’ is on point in this regard), and they have done both with the H1N1 virus. They speed to publish dire warnings and bloated predictions in order to be the FIRST to break the story, without worrying about the long-term repercussions of such irresponsible reporting. Being the first should matter less than being the most accurate, objective, and comprehensive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
From what I know (and what I know is not based on hyperactive news media outlets, but on raw data as well as medical, science, and technology journals), the H1N1 virus currently in circulation has not been any more deadly or contagious than the regular flu. That does NOT mean that there is no reason to fear.
The main threat that the H1N1 virus poses is that, as the infection rate increases, the likelihood of a viral mutation skyrockets – the kind of mutation that causes pandemics. The 1918 H1N1 virus that killed millions of people was such a mutation. Instead of killing mostly people with weak immune systems (the very young, elderly, or chronically ill), it killed young, otherwise healthy adults, by causing their strong immune systems to attack themselves. And it killed a lot of them.
The vaccine has been rushed to market with limited testing is for two main reasons:
1. It is the same flu vaccine that has been tested extensively and proved effective for decades with the new H1N1 strain added. The major need for additional testing is to determine the effective DOSAGE – not the safety of the vaccine.
2. To prevent widespread infection and an increased risk of a pandemic, vaccinations need to take place BEFORE everyone starts getting infected. If the vaccine didn’t come out until the fearmongers’ predictions came true, it would be worthless.
That said, there are reasons to avoid it.
The reason that is most often (reputably) cited is the addition to most vaccines of the preservative thiomersol, which contains mercury. Some people (Jenny McCarthy, for one) have blamed it for an increased risk of autism in children. However, you can ask for a vaccine without it.
The US government has also granted legal immunity to H1N1 manufacturers (I don’t know how other countries are handling it). This in itself makes me suspicious.
I haven’t decided yet whether or not I will get it. As a young, healthy adult I tend to believe in my own immortality.
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Regarding the bit about an illuminati plot to create a mass die off, that was my least favorite Tom Clancy novel, although in that one it was an environmentalist plot, and the virus they were releasing was also deadly.
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As it turns out, the demand for the H1N1 vaccine is currently outstripping supply, so obviously there are many people who are, in fact, more scared of the virus than they are of the vaccine. I count myself as one of those — I would get the H1N1 shot right now if it were available to people in my demographic. Now, I know that this is “just the flu”, but I can’t remember any flu that I’ve had that I enjoyed. And if I don’t get the flu, I can’t transmit it to any other people.
That aside, prevention is always a tough sell. Once you warn of a worst case scenario, a significant percentage of the population will be disappointed, if not ANGRY, when that worst-case scenario doesn’t play out. This is true EVEN WHEN THE WARNING DIRECTLY PREVENTED THE WORST CASE SCENARIO FROM HAPPENING. If enough of us go out and get vaccinated, we’ll prevent a whole lot of unvaccinated people from getting sick, and who will ever know –maybe prevent a deadly mutation from occurring. Our reward will be unvaccinated people smugly telling us that they didn’t get vaccinated, never got sick, and that we were stupid to get vaccinated.
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People on both sides of the fence, do you ever really think you know what is right or wrong? Is h1n1 a serious enough threat? Can the vaccine be a threat to you? Personally I’ve made the decision to not get vaccinated. Do I feel good about my decision, no. Would I feel good about the decision to get vaccinated? No. Both sides have strong valid points, but noone really knows what the reality or the outcome of this threat really is. We live in a society that thrives on fear, hysteria, misinformation and greed. It’s hard to tell what’s the real thing or not. There is a way to discredit every piece of information we get, and we are inundated with studies that constantly contradict each other. How can anyone ever be comfortable with any decision they make these days.
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I had H1N1, was no big deal, a little worse than the standard flu. Obviously will not be getting the flu shot. I refuse to pay a hidden government tax and find the timing between this “outbreak” and the attempted passing of a universal health care bill quite intriguing. H1N1 is only dangerous if you take terrible care of yourself. As a smoker and someone who had Pneumonia as a child I was concerned before I got the cold, but vitamins, lots of water and rest was all I ended up needing. My personal opinion is that this epidemic has been very trumped up and is just cashing in on the fact that Americans, an a good portion of the world have an obsession with the Apocalypse. Just look at the popularity of the Mayan’s 2012 myth these days. First of all, even scholars are still debating when the Mayan calendar actually began and believe that the “end of days” event predicted probably took place sometime in the 1800’s actually. Also the myth does not state anything about a global apolcalypse, more accurately it depicts a changing of the worlds state of being. A new age so to speak, not the end of the world. And yet, authors are writing books, Hollywood is making movies, all in the name of fear, the driving factor behind capitalism, fear of wanting. Bottom line, fear is a powerful drug, one the government mass produces everyday and has no shortage of supply. Don’t let fear influence your decisions. If you feel it’s personally necessary, due to societal guilt to vaccinate yourself for the protection of others then do so. But realize that life is over-valued in western society, and by deviating the course of natural selection we are progressing further and further to a point where we will mutate humans in an unalterable way, possibly causing global sterility, or any other variety of counter-effective population moderating processes. No offense to the mothers or parents on here. If you don’t survive H1N1 don’t take it personally, it’s life at it’s most primal and intimate.
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Just a thought to those “natural selection” nazis:
I doubt you’d be so sanguine if it was you who was to be “naturally selected”.
And to the “on-the-fencers”:
Inoculation is, shall we say, PROVEN SCIENCE?
And the conspiracy theorists:
The World Bank is behind this one! Trust me.
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@ Christine — True, most children will never get chicken pox again (I had it twice, though), but the virus doesn’t go away. It lies dormant in the body and can come back with a vengeance as shingles. The pain associated with shingles can be quite severe, and can last months after the rash goes away (it’s nerve pain).
I’m not sure how I feel about the chicken pox vaccine (I’ll research it more when I have children), but I think it’s one case where it might not be better to get “natural immunity”. I’m not sure I’d expose my child to a virus that could reinfect them later in life if I could avoid it altogether.
There is a shingles vaccine for adults, but adult vaccines aren’t as effective as vaccines for children because our immune system declines as we age.
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