And the Swine Flu won't go away

I think it's important that our assumed positions need to be open to the fact that this virus can go either way, mutation and more lethal second or third wave OR die down and be, for the most part , a non event (with the exception of the loved ones who were previously healthy and died or underlying conditions and died).  I think it could be dangerous to automatically assume that this virus will die out.  I also think that it could be dangerous to automatically assume that one is better off being vaccinated.  It's all over mainstream media that there are different formulations of the H1N1 vaccine and this has sparked controversy around the globe.  Just be careful about your assumed positions.  This is a fluid situation thats worth some independant research and personal conclusions.

I long for the good old days when I could research an issue, come to some sort of conclusion, and shelve my plan until it's needed.  I agree with you, Rocket Girl, that it is wise to avoid clinging to what we think we know . . . Hence, my looking at this from a variety of perspectives, including one that is contrary to my own original view.

Keep close tabs on your kids, folks . . . This could happen to your child . . .

Child hospitalized after being vaccinated at school without parental permission. 

In late July of this year, the CDC advised the states to stop individual testing for swine flu.  This has clearly undercut our ability to quantify the number of confirmed H1N1 cases, thereby facilitating overestimation of the extent of the swine flu pandemic, as well as undermining the early detection of non-swine flu respiratory epidemics, such as pneumonic plague.  If persons with flulike respiratory illnesses are presumed to have the relatively mild H1N1 influenza, then potentially lethal epidemics could rage, unchecked, in their early stages . . .

Now, the CDC is refusing to release key public documents regarding this decision.

It's to save money on uncomplicated cases.  Most doctors will still test if there is pneumonia or another severe complication.  We don't blindly listen to the CDC.  Most doctors will still test just because we have the test.

Hi Doc;

I don't want to make you feel like you're being interrogated, so feel free to "plead the fifth", if you'd like . . . but, if you're in family practice, I'd be curious about the following:

Is there a CDC requirement to report all positive cases?

Offhand, what percentage of the cases that you have tested were positive on the rapid test?  If that's positive, do you send a sample to the CDC for confirmation?

I don't test, but from my family which 3 of us were sick with the same thing at the same time only my daughter tested positive which jives with the pediatrician saying there were lots of false negatives with the rapid test.  You are supposed to report positives, but many doctors are kind of slack in the reporting paperwork.

Today the CDC updated the stats to say there were 4000 deaths in 22,000,000 cases.  That is 1.8 deaths per 10,000 cases.  If there have been 22 million cases so far, I personally feel this epidemic will have run it's course by December with 40 or so more million victims over the next month.   This cat is way out of the bag with only 20 million doses of vaccine so far.

Just my take.  I am not an epidemiologist.

That sounds like a pretty fair off-the-cuff assessment to me, in terms of this particular strain of this virus . . . It remains to be seen whether any mutant surprises or "coincidental" epidemics are in the cards.  Thanks, Doc.

Two confirmed cases of  Guillain-Barré syndrome following N1N1 Vaccine.  Excerpt:

It is interesting to note that both victims were young, and apparently in good health, prior to receiving the vaccine.  One was described as an "unidentified young healthcare worker".  The other was described in news reports as a "14-year-old athlete".

Though it is too early to gauge the rate at which this serious complication will occur in reaction to the current H1N1 vaccine, it appears clear that, like the last round of "swine flu" vaccine, it is going to claim some victims under the guise of Guillain-Barré syndrome.  It remains to be seen whether the rate of Guillain-Barré occurence will be similar that seen in reaction to the 1976 program to vaccinate against swine flu.  In that case, several hundred cases and 30 deaths were attributed to Guillain-Barré resulting from the vaccine, despite the fact that the vaccination program was aborted due to a high rate of complications.  Only one person died that year as a result of the swine flu itself.

viral particles and prions are routinely included in the vaccines that we receive.  This occurs as a carryover of the eggs that are used to culture viruses.  These viral contaminants cannot be fltered out, as that would also remove the "target" pathogen, rendering the vaccine ineffective.  So, each time we are injected with a vaccine, we are being exposed to viral particles that may recombine with our own DNA or viruses that are already sequestered in our bodies (in vivo) to form new, possibly virulent forms of disease, including cancer. 

A remote possibility, you say? . . . Well . . . Houston, We've got a problem . . .