Weekly BlogScan: Flu Shots and Fears
Published November 06, 2005
Dr. Joseph Mercola, however, cries fowl on the whole idea of a Bird Flu pandemic. In "Avian Flu Epidemic Scare is a Hoax" he argues that the media and government are conspiring to "scare you into taking the flu vaccine... Dr. Henry Miller, former director of the Office of Biotechnology at the FDA, seeks to frighten the US public by telling us that the avian flu virus can jump from birds to humans and produce a fatal illness in 50% of those infected."
Dr. Mercola has his own brand of Lydia Pinkham's to peddle, though, so I'll take his advice with a grain of salt—and a flu shot.
DrPat is the blog signature used by an old coot who hoards books, dances Argentine Tango, cooks a mean venison chili, and is happy to be along for the sag while my spouse does a marathon bicycle ride. All that is in my spare time — and my work life is classified...
- Weekly BlogScan: Flu Shots and Fears
- Published: November 06, 2005
- Type: Review
- Section: Sci/Tech
- Filed Under: Culture: Society, Sci/Tech: Science, Sci/Tech: Internet
- Part of a feature: Weekly Blogscan
- Writer: DrPat
- DrPat's BC Writer page
- DrPat's personal site
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No, the folks whose job it is to plan ahead for such flu pandemics are scared. Two items I found in this research: "These pandemics recur about every 10 to 30 years" and "infectious people do fly - on airplanes" tell you why.
We're overdue, and we're far more exposed to the global infection than in 1918, or even 1969. AND we're facing this threat with a vastly-reduced body of vaccine production.
So what if the flu shot doesn't prevent H5N1 - it does help you avoid being already sick if bird flu does make the jump to human transmission. You know the hidden statistics in that 2% case-factor lethality; flu of any variety is much more deadly to the already-ill.
My wife and I got our first flu shots ever, now after 24 hrs. I'm gett'n nervous about my side effects,which are..puffy & tingling lips heavey feeling in chest& drowsey tired. G.B.S. jumps out of articals i've seen so far,but my symptoms don't match totally. Any med. experts out there for advice? rMi. Bill
Every year my wife gets the flu shot and every year she gets the flu about a week after getting the shot. The doctors always say, this is impossible. They say she must have contracted the flu beforehand. But what a coincidence. Well, every year, I have the flu shot, and every year I do NOT get the flu. The only difference between my wife and I, is that I have high resistance and she does not. I love to take cod liver oil each year. She cannot stand the taste of it. So take your vitamins and get your flu shot.
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I got a flu shot this year, but felt pretty manipulated. Because of last years shortages, I think they saw a marketing opportunity -using fear to sell the shots.