No Side Effects So Far in Trial of Swine Flu Shot

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: August 21, 2009

There have been no serious side effects from the first set of injections of the new swine flu vaccine, federal health officials said Friday in predicting that nearly 200 million doses could be produced by year’s end.

Clinical trials in adults began on Aug. 7, and those in children on Wednesday.

“There are no red flags regarding safety,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is overseeing the trials.

Because the only side effects in adults were sore arms, which are typical of any flu shot, trials on children were able to begin, and those in pregnant women are expected to begin early next month, Dr. Fauci said in a telephone news conference with officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vaccine will be tested in about 4,500 people. That is far too few to pick up subtle side effects, but the virus strain in the vaccine is close enough to one strain in seasonal shots so that side effects are expected to be similar.

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NYTIMES: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/22/us/22flu.html

are not the same as "the flu shot gave me the flu." It's not the flu. It's what your body is doing as it builds up your immunity to the flu.

This is a PSA.

lost several friends. She always got the body aches and fever after her vaccination, but she got the vaccination every year. My mother has gotten this reaction in recent years, but she's in her 70's

but that's because I have no intention of getting one. I clearly remember the swine flu shot fiasco of the 1970s. No thanks.

But then, nothing actually changes in 30 years.

and $1,000 per day fine.

http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02/st02028.htm

13B:Furthermore, when the commissioner or a local public health authority within its jurisdiction determines that either or both of the following measures are necessary to prevent a serious danger to the public health the commissioner or local public health authority may exercise the following authority:

(1) to vaccinate or provide precautionary prophylaxis to individuals as protection against communicable disease and to prevent the spread of communicable or possibly communicable disease, provided that any vaccine to be administered must not be such as is reasonably likely to lead to serious harm to the affected individual; and
(2) to treat individuals exposed to or infected with disease, provided that treatment must not be such as is reasonably likely to lead to serious harm to the affected individual.
An individual who is unable or unwilling to submit to vaccination or treatment shall not be required to submit to such procedures but may be isolated or quarantined pursuant to section 96 of chapter 111 if his or her refusal poses a serious danger to public health or results in uncertainty whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a disease or condition that poses a serious danger to public health, as determined by the commissioner, or a local public health authority operating within its jurisdiction.
An individual who is unable or unwilling to submit to vaccination or treatment shall not be required to submit to such procedures but may be isolated or quarantined pursuant to section 96 of chapter 111 if his or her refusal poses a serious danger to public health or results in uncertainty whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a disease or condition that poses a serious danger to public health, as determined by the commissioner, or a local public health authority operating within its jurisdiction.

If you violate a quarantine, then you face a fine.

14E: Any person who knowingly violates an order for isolation or quarantine shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 30 days and may be subject to a civil fine of not more than one thousand dollars per day that the violation continues.

serious danger to public health as determined by the commissioner or the local public health authority, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 30 days or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars per day that the violation continues, or both."

MA's Senate passed the bill 36-0 so I guess the MA House will also pass it.

allow inspection to determine if quarantine is warranted and/or refusing to take steps to prevent infection. (I think the last two are aimed as establishments like nursing homes)

In any case, if the influenza gets bad enough to trigger this bill, I doubt anyone will have the time to chase around after people refusing to be vaccinated.

vaccinations that may not be safe and imprison/fine anyone who does not obey.

I personally know three vets from the first Gulf War under Bush I who had their lives ruined from vaccinations for anthrax and other untested serums.

They had to obey or face disciplinary action and that same authority is possible under MA's S. 2028 bill.

Again, I read this law to state that if the health commissioner requires people to get vaccinated, you may refuse and the health commissioner may then require you to be quarantined to ensure you can't spread th virus. If you break quarantine, then you'll be fined, not when you refuse vaccination.

The law also has several provisions requiring that the vaccine be available to people who need it. Requiring that the vaccine be available is not the same as requiring vaccination.

Again, the real problem will be that if this virus turns lethal, there won't be enough vaccine for the people who want it.

Reportedly there have been 25 deaths.

PM the link if you'd like. I have some people working for me that are in the "high risk" category and since this is health care they'd be the first to be vaccinated. I'd prefer to give them good information so they could decide what to do on their own. So far I've seen nothing that would sway me either way so I would really be interested in seeing the report.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206807/Swine-flu-jab-link-killer-nerve-disease-Leaked-letter-reveals-concern-neurologists-25-deaths-America.html

So the 25 deaths refers to the 1976 swine flu vaccine "debacle," not to current studies of the new swine flu vaccine.