Swine Flu Pandemic--EFFECTIVE Measures To Take

The New York Times' headline today is that the World Health Organization has declared that the swine flu outbreak is a pandemic. According to the article, this announcement does not mean that the illness, which has been mild in most people, has become any worse. The term pandemic reflects only the geographic spread of a new disease, not its severity. Pandemics typically infect about a third of the world in a year or two, and sometimes strike in successive waves.

It also means that the health organization is asking drug makers to start making vaccine as quickly as possible, with the hope of having some batches ready by September. Efforts to make a vaccine are under way, and stockpiles of antiviral drugs have been opened.

Let's stop right there and dig a little deeper...

Vaccines are big business for many pharmaceutical companies. Vaccines will generate $21.5 billion in annual sales for their makers by 2012. Time magazine published an article (4/27/2009) reminding us of the huge problems that resulted from vaccines given during the 1976 swine flu fiasco. After several soldiers at Fort Dix had gotten the flu, the Ford administration attempted to use 'flu scare' at Fort Dix as a good reason for a mass vaccination of the entire country. Within a few months, claims totaling $1.3 billion had been filed by victims who had suffered paralysis (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) from the vaccine. Healthy young people ended up as paraplegics. The vaccine was also blamed for 25 deaths. The swine flu epidemic never materialized.

I'll have more info on the effectiveness of specific swine flu vaccines very soon. For now, let's look at one of the highly touted medications recommended for those who may possibly have the flu: Tamiflu.

The timing of this swine flu pandemic is quite convenient for governments that would soon have to dispose of billions of dollars of Tamiflu stock, which they bought to counter avian flu (H5N1). The US government ordered 20 million doses, costing $2 billion, in October, 2005, and the UK government ordered 14 million doses. The shelf life of the anti-viral, Tamiflu is three years.

Tamiflu is NOT a safe drug Serious side effects include convulsions, delirium or delusions. Tamiflu is blamed for 14 deaths in kids. Japan banned Tamiflu for children in 2007. This is when the FDA began investigating over 1,800 adverse (bad) reactions to the drug. When Tamiflu is used as prescribed, it can only reduce the duration of symptoms by 24-36 hours, according to the official data---with a cost of over $100.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to practice basic health measures, such as getting adequate sleep each night, supplementing our healthy eating with basic nutrition that promotes a healthy immune system (like the whole food mushroom blend I described yesterday!), drinking adequate amounts of filtered water, and frequent hand washing? As “Owners” of our health, it’s our responsibility to gather adequate information before making decisions that can have a big impact on our health.

Thank you for taking time to learn how to best protect yourself and your family. Here's to a 'flu-less' season...a 'flu-less' year!
Sana