foodconsumer.org: Swine flu vaccine may cause health problems

Swine flu vaccine may cause health problems
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admin on 04/25/2010 00:05:00
 
Federal health officials are investigating whether use of the 2009 pandemic
swine flu h1n1 vaccine has increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome,
Washington Post reported.
Guillain-Barré syndrome can cause paralysis and death; Bell's palsy; and
thrombocytopenia. This health condition is diagnosed in about 3000 to 6000 men
and women each year in the United States.
The governmental probe came after the latest analysis of data collected from
five surveillance networks that monitor people who have been vaccinated with
swine flu h1n1 vaccine.
Officials cautioned that it's too early to know whether what had been observed
suggests a real risk from the swine flu vaccine. The observation might be due to
intensive monitoring effort.
Marie McCormick, chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Department's
National Vaccine Advisory Committee was cited as saying by the post that chances
are good that the apparent tiny risk may disappear after further analysis of the
data.
Even if the link between Guillain-Barré syndrome and the swine flu h1n1 vaccine
does exist, the estimated risk for the vaccine recipients to acquire the
condition was no more than one case per 1 million people vaccinated, she said.
In the United States, about 80 million people have received the swine flu H1n1
vaccine.  According to Ms. McCormick, if the vaccine indeed raises the risk of
Guillain-Barré syndrome, then about 80 people may be victimized by the vaccine.
Still the vaccine risk is much smaller than the risk from the 2009 swine flu
h1n1 virus, which is estimated to infect about tens of million Americans and
kill two thousands in the country last year.
This is not the first time that flu vaccine has been associated with elevated
risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome.  The vaccine developed to fight the flu
pandemic in 1976 was found to boost the risk prompting officials to terminate
inoculation of the vaccine earlier than expected.
Vaccine trials often involve only a few thousands of people for a relatively
short period and researchers cannot in any way find any small risk that may
actually significantly affect a large population for an extended period.
Those who don't trust the safety and effectiveness of the swine flu or seasonal
flu vaccine may want to consider maintaining high levels of serum vitamin D. 
Numerous epidemiological studies and at least one Japanese trial have
demonstrated that vitamin D can be as effective as flu vaccine to say the least
at preventing flu-induced illnesses.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted by
Mitsuyoshi Urashima, MD, PhD, from Jikei University School of Medicine,
Minato-ku, in Tokyo, Japan and published online in the March 10, 2010 issue of
the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The researchers found among school children taking 1200 IU per day of vitamin D3
supplements, 10.8 percent of children had influenza A compared to 18.6 percent
of controls.  This means that vitamin D3 reduced the risk of the flu by 48
percent, which could be comparable to the efficacy of flu vaccine.  But large
tials are needed to confirm the findings.
Dr. John Cannell, a vitamin D expert and director of vitamin D Council, suggests
that 4000 to 6000 IU per day of vitamin D3 are needed for most people to
maintain a healthy level.  Those who suffer vitamin D deficiency may need as
much as 50,000 IU per day for a period of a few weeks.
According to Dr. Cannell, vitamin D helps produce antibacterial peptides that
act against  microbes and viruses including swine flu virus. That is the way
vitamin D helps prevent flu.
JD