Fwd: CDC Committee Vote on Flu Vaccine Endangers Children to Age 18

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NVIC Vaccine E-Newsletter February 28,

2008

CDC Committee Vote on Flu Vaccine Endangers Children to Age 18

by Barbara Loe Fisher

Without scientific evidence that it is both safe and effective to

repeatedly administer influenza vaccine to children, the members of

the

CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices(ACIP) voted

yesterday(Feb. 28) to vaccinate all infants and children up to age 18

with

influenza vaccine every year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/health/28flu.ht ml?

em & ex=1204261200 & en=a727f3655a7f32cc & ei=5087 %0A The vote came in the

middle of a flu season that has seen widespread outbreaks of type A

and

type B strains of influenza that were not included in this year's

influenza

vaccine. http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0

850501820080208? feedType=RSS & feedName=domesticNews & sp=true A report

out of

Canada last fall indicated that influenza vaccine strains contained

in last

year's vaccines appeared to be mutating.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNe

ws/20071024/flu_shot_071024/20071024hub=TopSto ries

The questionable safey and efficacy of influenza vaccine has been a

subject

of controversy for decades, despite the insistence by the drug

industry and

doctors selling the vaccine and government health officials promoting

its

use that most Americans should get a flu shot every year. Often public

health officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) and in the

U.S.

fail to choose the right influenza strains for the vaccine.

http://www.nvic.org/History/News letters/%203770Reaction.pdf

In the past few years, comprehensive reviews of influenza vaccine

studies

published in the medical literature revealed a stunning lack of

scientific

support for the safety and effectiveness of giving influenza vaccine

to not

only children but also to the elderly

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7574/912. The truth is that

(1)

only 20 percent of all respiratory flu-like illness in a normal flu

season

is, in fact influenza, and misdiagnosis often occurs; (2) the CDC has

never

provided published documentation that 36,000 Americans die from actual

influenza every year versus respiratory illness that looks like

influenza

but is not; (3) there is little scientific evidence that influenza

vaccine

works or is safe for anyone; (4) government policies targeting all

infants

and children for annual flu vaccination may well endanger the long

term

health of this and future generations of children by atypically

manipulating the immune system with repeated vaccination in an

attempt to

prevent all natural experience with type A or type B influzenza; and

(5)

these misguided flu vaccine policies could not only weaken the

ability of

future generations to experience and successfully heal from a bout

with the

flu without severe complications or death but also could put pressure

on

influenza viruses to mutate into more virulent, vaccine resistent

forms

that will cause future virulent epidemics in populations.

The majority of the American public, including doctors and nurses,

refuse

to get a flu shot every year despite the millions of dollars spent by

the

pharmaceutical industry and taxpayer money spent by the CDC to

vigorously

promote its use. http://www.cidrap.u

mn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/general/news/jul0207 acip.html

Recently,

there have been calls by doctors advocating a cradle to the grave

approach

to vaccination that would require all 300 million Americans to get an

annual flu shot. http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/Flu/s tory?

id=3781181

The drug companies selling flu vaccine have one goal: making profit

on the

millions of doses of vaccine produced every year rather than throwing

it

away because of poor uptake. CDC officials, eager to help the drug

companies out, keep issuing ever widening recommendations to qualify

more

Americans for getting a flu shot. What began as an effort decades ago

to

protect those over 65 from complications of influenza that can be

deadly

for the elderly, has become a boondoggle for drug companies selling

and

doctors making profit on administering influenza vaccine to everyone,

including babies, children and adults.

For the past four decades, every time the CDC has recommended a

vaccine for

" universal use " by children, those " recommendations " are translated

into

vaccine laws at the state level. Last year, New Jersey became the

first

state to mandate influenza vaccine for children as a requirement for

attending school. Most states now require nearly three dozen doses

vaccines

that the CDC has " recommended. "

The majority of Americans may not want to get a flu shot every year

but the

time is soon approaching when they will have no choice. Strident

calls by

vaccine makers, administrators and policymakers for more vaccine

mandates

and societal punishments for refusing to comply ( " No shots - no

education,

no health insurance, no job) are paving the way for the day when

rolling up

your sleeve for a flu shot will become as mandatory and punishable as

drinking and driving.

Increasingly, the CDC is guilty of endangering the public health, not

protecting it. There is no excuse for issuing vaccine policies not

supported by scientific data. The only recourse the public has is to

change

vaccine laws in the states to allow exemptions for conscientious and

religious beliefs, as well as widen the medical exemption to allow

enlightened doctors to exempt those with health conditions that are

not

acknowledged by the CDC as a reason for deferring vaccination. If

vaccine

laws cannot be made more flexible by allowing wider exemptions, then

the

day will come when the public will have no choice but to work for the

repeal of all vaccine laws.

The National Vaccine Information Center remains committed to working

to

insert vaccine safety and informed consent protections in vaccine

laws in

America.

NO FORCED VACCINATION. NOT IN AMERICA.

***********************************************************

" All children ages 6 months to 18 years in this country should

receive an

influenza shot every year, a federal advisory panel said on Wednesday

[Feb.

27, 2008] . The recommendation expands by about 30 million the number

of

children who should get annual flu shots. Current pediatric

recommendations

call for influenza vaccinations for children ages 6 months to about 5

years....The committee voted unanimously that the expanded

immunization

should start as soon as possible, but no later than the 2009-10 flu

season.

The centers expect that the vaccine industry, which made 132 million

doses

available this year, will be able to produce a sufficient supply in

future

years. Every state but one has reported widespread influenza this

winter....... The C.D.C. has long urged older adults and those with

chronic

ailments to get influenza shots each season. In 2004, following the

advisory committee's recommendation, the centers urged that all

infants

ages 6 months to 23 months receive flu shots....In 2006, the centers

expanded the recommendation to include children ages 24 months to 59

months....- Lawrence Altman, New York Times, (February 28, 2008)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/health/28flu.ht ml?

em & ex=1204261200 & en=a727f3655a7f32cc & ei=5087 %0A

The advisory committee to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention suggested that the new guidelines go into effect as soon as

possible and no later than the 2009-10 influenza season. That would

encourage private insurers and taxpayer- funded vaccination programs

to pay

for flu shots or nasal sprays for an additional 30 million children

across

the country. " This new recommendation will help parents understand

that all

children can benefit from vaccination, " said Dr. Anne Schuchat,

director of

the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The

announcement comes during a flu season that has many parents doubting

the

vaccine's effectiveness. Some children and adults who received flu

shots in

recent months still came down with the illness because one of this

year's

common strains was not included in the vaccine. " (Vaccinating all

children)

is a waste of money and resources because the vaccine isn't that

effective, " said Dawn , president of the Austin-based

Parents

Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a group that opposes universal

vaccinations. She said she also worries about side effects of the flu

shot.......One driving force behind the expanded recommendation is

increased availability of the vaccine, said Carol J. Baker, a

pediatric

infectious disease specialist at Texas Children's Hospital who serves

on

the advisory panel. She also serves as president of the National

Foundation

for Infectious Diseases. - is Grant, Houston Chronicle, (February

27,

2008) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/55 77063.html

Panel Advises Flu Shots for Children Up to Age 18

The New York Times

February 28, 2008

by Lawrence Altman

Click here for the URL:

All children ages 6 months to 18 years in this country should

receive an

influenza shot every year, a federal advisory panel said on Wednesday.

The recommendation expands by about 30 million the number of children

who

should get annual flu shots. Current pediatric recommendations call

for

influenza vaccinations for children ages 6 months to about 5 years.

In expanding the new upper age limit to 18 years, the aim is to

reduce both

the time children and parents lose from visits to pediatricians and

missing

school and the need for antibiotics for complications, said Dr. Anne

Schuchat, who directs the disease agency's program on immunization and

respiratory diseases.

An added expected benefit would be indirect - to reduce the number of

influenza cases among parents and other household members, and

possibly

spread to the general community. The recommendation, which is

voluntary,

was made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice, which

advises

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The C.D.C.

and

its parent, the Department of Health and Human Services, generally

follow

the advice of the committee, which is composed of vaccine experts from

academia and the private sector.

The committee voted unanimously that the expanded immunization should

start

as soon as possible, but no later than the 2009-10 flu season. The

centers

expect that the vaccine industry, which made 132 million doses

available

this year, will be able to produce a sufficient supply in future

years.

Every state but one has reported widespread influenza this winter. In

Florida, activity is regional. Last week, the centers reported that 22

children had died in this influenza season.

The C.D.C. has long urged older adults and those with chronic

ailments to

get influenza shots each season. In 2004, following the advisory

committee's recommendation, the centers urged that all infants ages 6

months to 23 months receive flu shots to protect them from serious

complications of the viral illness. Hospitalization rates among the

infant

group rivals those among elderly Americans.

In 2006, the centers expanded the recommendation to include children

ages

24 months to 59 months to provide them direct protection against

influenza

infection.

For initial protection, children ages 6 months to 9 years require two

doses

of flu vaccine, at least one month apart, the committee said. Then

they

should receive annual shots.

In a new study reported at Wednesday's meeting, Dr. K. Shay,

who led

a team from the C.D.C. and eight state health departments, found that

full

immunization against flu provided about a 75 percent effectiveness

rate in

preventing hospitalizations from influenza complications in the 2005-

6 and

2006-7 influenza seasons. (The 75 percent rate could range, according

to a

standard statistical measure known as confidence intervals, from 41

percent

to 91 percent.)

The study, which involved children ages 6 months to 23 months who had

laboratory confirmed cases of influenza, will continue through this

flu

season. Because this season seems to be more severe than the last

two, the

researchers expect to have more cases to analyze and improve the

statistical odds.

Vaccines are typically designed to protect against the three strains

of

influenza. Experts determine the strains based on data from current

seasonal transmission and their judgment about future activity.

Usually one

or two strains are changed in each year's vaccine.

But committees from the World Health Organization and the United

States

Food and Drug Administration voted earlier this month to change all

three

strains in next season's vaccine. It is the first time that all three

strains were changed at once, Dr. , an influenza expert at

the

C.D.C., said in a news conference on Feb. 22.

The centers recommendations for annual flu shots for adults include

all

Americans ages 50 and older; people with chronic lung, heart and other

ailments; health care workers; and women who will be pregnant during

the

influenza season.

__________________________________________

Despite being vaccinated, 's 11-year- old daughter,

, caught the flu this year, a strain not covered by the

vaccine. It

took her a month and a half to recover.

STEVE CAMPBELL: CHRONICLE

CDC pushes flu shots for toddlers to teens

Houston Chronicle

February 27, 2008

by is Grant

Click here for the URL:

All children older than 6 months should receive a flu shot every

year, a

federal panel recommended Wednesday, pushing for expansion of the

current

recommendation that covers children only up to age 5.

The advisory committee to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention suggested that the new guidelines go into effect as soon as

possible and no later than the 2009-10 influenza season. That would

encourage private insurers and taxpayer- funded vaccination programs

to pay

for flu shots or nasal sprays for an additional 30 million children

across

the country.

" This new recommendation will help parents understand that all

children can

benefit from vaccination, " said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the

CDC's

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The announcement comes during a flu season that has many parents

doubting

the vaccine's effectiveness. Some children and adults who received flu

shots in recent months still came down with the illness because one

of this

year's common strains was not included in the vaccine.

" (Vaccinating all children) is a waste of money and resources because

the

vaccine isn't that effective, " said Dawn , president of the

Austin-based Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a group that

opposes universal vaccinations. She said she also worries about side

effects of the flu shot.

Children, the elderly and people with other health conditions such as

asthma are most at risk for contracting flu. Vaccinating all children

not

only helps prevent them from catching it. It also keeps them from

spreading

it to other high-risk groups, pediatricians say.

Peak time for illness

Flu activity in Texas is now widespread, according to the CDC. That's

not

unusual for this time of year, because influenza peaks in Texas during

January and February, said Palmer, a spokeswoman for the Texas

Department of State Health Services. The season typically runs through

March, but can run as late as May.

Seven children in Texas have died from flu since November, Palmer

reported.

Three of those were in County.

Four of the children who have died were older than 5. The state does

not

track flu-related adult deaths.

The new vaccination recommendation must be approved by the CDC, which

is

expected to adopt the change.

That would be good news for , whose 11-year-old daughter,

, caught the flu this year.

and her family get flu shots every year because her immune

deficiency disorder puts her at high risk. The fifth-grader caught a

strain

that wasn't covered by the vaccine, however, and it took her a month

and a

half to recover.

" I think it would be best that everybody got (vaccinated), just to

keep it

from spreading, " said , who lives in Splendora, in Montgomery

County.

Increased availability

One driving force behind the expanded recommendation is increased

availability of the vaccine, said Carol J. Baker, a pediatric

infectious

disease specialist at Texas Children's Hospital who serves on the

advisory

panel. She also serves as president of the National Foundation for

Infectious Diseases.

MedImmune, manufacturer of the nasal spray vaccine FluMist, on

Wednesday

announced plans to meet increased demand. The company will prepare

about 12

million doses for the next flu season, a record number for MedImmune.

MedImmune and other manufacturers created about 130 million doses this

year. CDC officials and pediatricians say there is plenty of vaccine

for

those who still need protection.

Local flu expert Dr. Glezen said the recommendation could help

increase immunization rates, which have leveled off over the past

decade.

" What you have to recognize is that the current strategy is not

effective, "

said Glezen, lead epidemiologist at Baylor College of Medicine's

Influenza

Research Center. " We have not been controlling influenza. "

National Vaccine Information Center

NVIC E-News is a free service of the National Vaccine Information

Center

and is supported through donations.

NVIC is funded through the financial support of its members and does

not

receive any government subsidies. Barbara Loe Fisher, President and

Co-

founder.

Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed

consent rights www.nvic.org

--------------------------------------------------------

Sheri Nakken, former R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

Vaccines - http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Vaccine Dangers &

Childhood Disease & Homeopathy Email classes start in March

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