AUSTRALIA TO INTRODUCE SWINE FLU "VACCINATIONS"-BUT ARE THEY REALLY A PROTECTION AGAINST THE VIRUS?
Tetractys Merkaba, Editor in Chief.
COMMUNITY Concern is mounting that the so-called swine flu vaccinations may leave people worse off than if they had've contracted the virus itself. People from all round the world, ranging from Dr.Laibow at Natural Solutions Foundation, the highly selling English tabloid, The Mail, respected American independent news site infowars.com, independent political commentators the world over, and independent Australian News Source, The Mikiverse have been concerned at the potential harm that may be unleashed by unleashing this so-called virus into the community.
Some questions for you to consider;
WILL this vaccination have the same effect as the U.S Vaccination against Swine Flu in 1976?
WHY IS THE U.N PUSHING SO STRONGLY FOR COUNTRIES TO INTRODUCE THIS VACCINATION?
DOES AUSTRALIA need a flu vaccination to begin at the end of the first month of Spring?
WILL AUSTRALIA follow GREECE'S lead and make vaccinations MANDATORY?
IS THIS-AS SOME MORE EXTREMIST PEOPLE SUGGEST-A PART OF SOME EUGENICS PLOT TO REDUCE THE WORLD POPULATION?
IF SO, IS THERE A CONNECTION TO CODEX ALIMENTARIUS?
Here are some Australian articles about the coming vaccination program; Make sure that you and your loved ones are fully informed.
H1N1 immunisation to begin in two weeks
Swine flu vaccine production lags
AAP September 18, 2009, 5:58 pm
Australia's biggest-ever immunisation program to combat the deadly swine flu virus will begin in less than two weeks.
Free doses of the vaccine will be initially available for all adults from September 30, to protect them from a pandemic that has killed 172 Australians and 3,500 people worldwide.
Doses for children aged 10 and over are expected to be available by mid-October.
The nation's 7,500 general practices will start receiving deliveries of the Panvax vaccine from next week.
The government has bought 21 million doses and state and territory health authorities have already been given four million samples.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved the one-shot protection vaccine, which Melbourne-based pharmaceutical firm CSL had been developing since May.
The $100 million program to develop a swine flu vaccine in Australia has produced a vaccine which its maker says will have a 95 per cent success rate in adults.
People with diabetes, asthma, obesity, weak immune systems and pregnant women will initially be given priority, along with doctors and nurses.
It is designed to immunise people from developing potentially-fatal lung inflammation and pneumonia if they catch swine flu.
So far, 36,000 swine flu cases have been confirmed in Australia.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon on Friday said the vaccine was Australia's best defence against the pandemic.
"I encourage people to now take the opportunity to protect themselves and their families against the pandemic flu by getting vaccinated," she told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
"The government from day one has been determined to combat this disease in a sensible, clear and direct way.
"We're in the fortunate position, given advice from CSL, that there is only one dose required for adults, which means we will be able to vaccine anybody in the community who wants to be vaccinated."
Chief medical officer Jim Bishop said vaccination would give a high level of protection for the next flu season "and beyond".
"The evidence that we've got, so far, shows it's extremely good," he said.
Prof Bishop said, however, it was possible there would be a larger wave of swine flu between now and the next flu season.
"We would be concerned there would be outbreaks during the year, through the summer," he said.
"We think it's important, in a timely way, for patients to protect themselves now."
Australian Medical Association federal vice-president Steve Hambleton said a more aggressive strain of swine flu in the northern hemisphere may be resistant to Tamiflu, which helps people who are already sick.
"We're not out of the woods with this particular pandemic," the Brisbane-based GP told AAP on Friday.
"We need to vaccinate the population rapidly to provide maximum protection."
The flu vaccine would be unlikely to cause side effects but Dr Hambleton said doctors needed to be educated about wastage and sterilisation procedures.
One vaccine vials contains 18 doses, which means multiple patients will need to be immunised at one time.
Australia's biggest medical insurers agreed three weeks ago to indemnify doctors offering swine flu injections.
For now, the biggest obstacle will be getting supplies to rural and regional areas of Australia, Ms Roxon said.
Contractual details of the government's $100 million payment to CSL, to develop the vaccine, are to remain confidential.
"It is not appropriate for us to be itemising the exact cost given the commercial interest that are also at stake," the health minister said.
CSL's general manager of bio-therapies, Mary Sontrop, said the vaccine would have similar side effects to the regular seasonal flu vaccine.
"The most commonly reported side effects were injection site tenderness, headache and injection site pain," she said.
Australia will join with the US, UK, Brazil, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden and
Vaccines will go to the Pacific Islands countries, Papua New Guinea,
HERE IS THE FOREIGN OWNED TABLOID, THE HERALD SUN'S ARTICLE;
Swine flu shots to start
SWINE flu vaccinations are to start in less than two weeks after final approval from the nation's drug safety authority.
Free doses of the single-shot vaccine -- developed at Melbourne's CSL laboratories -- will be available from hospitals and GPs from September 30.
Frontline health workers, pregnant women and the chronically ill will be the first vaccinated.
It will be the biggest single immunisation program in Australian history.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Friday ruled one dose of CSL's Panvax vaccine for the H1N1 virus was safe and effective for preventing swine flu infections among adults.
The TGA is still to decide whether the vaccination program will be extended to children under 10.
The Herald Sun reported last month that the Rudd Government had ordered 21 million doses of the vaccine -- enough for every Australian.
Victoria has had almost 3000 confirmed of cases of swine flu. Nationwide, 172 people have died and thousands more have gone to hospitable.
THIS STORY IS FROM THE AGE IN MELBOURNE AND IS THE ONLY AUSTRALIAN STORY SO FAR TO CONTAIN ANY DETAILS ABOUT POTENTIAL PROBLEMS; TAKEN, IF MEMORY SERVES FROM AN ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY MAIL IN THE U.K, WHICH HAS BEEN PUBLISHED HERE FOR THE PURPOSES OF SHARING INFORMATION.
Swine flu shots available for all
Mark Metherell
September 19, 2009 - 12:00AM
ALL Australians who need or want a swine flu vaccination will get the jab in the biggest vaccination campaign undertaken in Australia.
Thanks to an initial underestimate of the strength of the vaccine, the Federal Government has extended vaccinations to all adults and teens after trials showed only one shot, not two as originally expected, is required to give immunity.
The go-ahead comes after the Therapeutic Goods Administration cleared the new product for safety and efficacy on a single-shot basis. Children aged nine and under are expected to get the go-ahead a little after the September 30 launch date, once separate trials are concluded.
But the population-wide availability has come under fire from an infectious-disease expert, Peter Collignon, who has warned that a rapid roll-out on such a scale raised the risk of lethal side-effects, as had occurred in the US in 1976 with an earlier swine flu vaccine that was released in a rush to 40 million Americans.
''In my view, we are making a decision based on fear out of proportion to the risk shown by the evidence we have on swine flu,'' Professor Collignon of the Australian National University told The Age yesterday.
In a letter published in the British Medical Journal this week, Professor Collignon forecast there would ''probably be'' one or two additional episodes of the paralysing Guillain-Barre syndrome per million vaccine recipients. The death rate from swine flu has been about six per million, according to latest NSW Health statistics, which was about the same as that for seasonal flu, Professor Collignon said.
The 21 million doses of the vaccine were ordered by the Government on the basis that it would be able to get reasonable coverage if half the population had two doses each.
''As there is enough vaccine for all adults, I encourage people to protect themselves and their families against the pandemic flu by getting vaccinated,'' Health Minister Nicola Roxon said yesterday. She said that while swine flu was mild in most people, it had severe effects in some and had claimed 172 lives in Australia.
The vaccination program, to be administered by GPs and public health facilities, will give priority to vulnerable patients with chronic conditions such as asthma, cancer, heart disease and diabetes; health workers; children in special schools; indigenous people; obese individuals; pregnant women; and parents of children aged up to six months. The vaccine is free but some patients may have to pay a gap charge if their GP does not bulk-bill.
Australia has agreed to an appeal from US President Barack Obama to commit up to 10 per cent of its swine flu vaccine to the World Health Organisation for vaccination of priority patients. Australia's contribution will go to Pacific island countries, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and possibly SouthEast Asian countries.
Ms Roxon said the trials had indicated the vaccine was similar to seasonal flu vaccine with a high safety and low adverse-events profile.
Although the manufacturer CSL says the vaccine is ''well tolerated'' in adults, the clinical trials show the vaccine triggered side-effects including headache, myalgia, fever and nausea in more than 60 per cent of trial participants. She declined to say how much the Government was paying CSL for the vaccine, saying it was commercial-in-confidence, but acknowledged the cost was over $100 million.
This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/national/swine-flu-shots-available-for-all-20090918-fven.html
THIS STORY IS FROM AAP;
Swine flu vaccine production lags
AAP September 19, 2009, 7.18 am
Production of swine flu vaccines will fall "substantially" short of the amount needed to protect the global population, the
"Current supplies of pandemic vaccine are inadequate for a world population in which virtually everyone is susceptible to infection by a new and readily contagious virus," WHO director-general Margaret Chan said in a statement on Friday.
Despite new evidence that only one dose of the vaccines being tested will be enough for most people, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said output next year will be "substantially less" than annual production forecast of 4.9 billion doses.
About 25 pharmaceutical laboratories working on vaccines have indicated that weekly production is lower than 94 million doses, he said.
In May, the WHO had forecast a weekly output of 94.3 million doses if full scale vaccine production was launched.
But pharmaceutical companies have in recent weeks slashed their production expectations due to poorer than expected yields from the so-called "seed virus" strains developed by WHO-approved laboratories.
Amid growing fears poorer nations will not get enough vaccines, the United States led nine countries that on Thursday pledged to make 10 per cent of their swine flu vaccine supply available to other nations in need.
The UN health agency's chief applauded the move by the United States, Australia, Brazil, Britain, France, Italy,
"Given that current demand outstrips supply, these donations, together with the doses pledged by manufacturers, will help increase supplies of pandemic vaccines to populations that would otherwise not have access," said Chan.
Swine flu cases are expected to increase as the Northern Hemisphere enters its winter season. Britain has already reported a new surge in caseload.
The WHO also said on Friday the global flu death toll had reached 3,486, up 281 from a week ago.
The UN agency said the Americas region still has the highest death toll, at 2,625. The Asia-Pacific reported 620 fatalities, while Europe recorded at least 140 deaths. In the Middle East, 61 people succumbed to the virus while in Africa, 40 people have died from it.
The WHO also said flu activity was "above the seasonal baseline" in the United States and it had reached epidemic levels in France and
Transmission is rife in central and south America and Asia, it added, while in temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere, such as Australia and
Experts have previously predicted about one third of the world's population of more than 6.5 billion people could be affected by A(H1N1). But they stress that so far most victims are suffering only mild symptoms.
THIS IS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN VACCINATION NETWORK
AH1N1 (2009) Swine Flu Vaccine
Australian campaign to start September 30th, 2009
Saturday, September 19th, 2009 - For Immediate Release:
- Why is the government rushing this campaign?
Australian Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, has announced that the nation's campaign to vaccinate 21 million Australians against the AH1N1 2009 strain of influenza is due to begin on Saturday, September 30th - less than 2 weeks from today. Since the Southern Hemisphere has already passed through the 2009 flu season, one has to wonder why the government is rushing this campaign?
The Australian Government's hasty vaccination policy demonstrates that it is not immune to panic. It is potentially making the same mistake that the US did in 1976 when 40 million Americans were vaccinated against swine flu after a total of 5 cases were confirmed nationwide. This campaign killed 25 people and caused 4,000 serious adverse reactions - many of them Guillain-Barre paralysis (GBS), a serious neurological disorder. The UK has already warned its neurologists to look out for GBS in recipients of the current AH1N1 vaccine.
Nicola Roxon's knee-jerk reaction in rushing this vaccine through despite warnings by insurance companies, the Australian Medical Association and consumer safety groups like the AVN, could lead to far more deaths and hospitalisations from the vaccine than we would ever see from the swine flu which, from all the available information, may be milder than normal seasonal flu.
The Australian Vaccination Network asks the government to reconsider this campaign for the following reasons:
1- The vaccine, which does not even have a name yet (I will refer to it as AH1N1 vaccine), is produced by CSL Pty Ltd (click here to read the manufacturer's information). It contains 24.5 mcg of Thiomersal per dose. Thiomersal is a toxic mercury-based preservative which has been banned from over the counter medications and products for decades and childhood vaccines in Australia, the US and the UK for many years. Mercury has been linked with an increased risk of autism (now affecting 1:67 children; 1:38 boys), behavioural disorders and brain damage in both children and adults - it has no place in any product which is supposed to increase or protect health.
2- AH1N1 vaccine, which is laden with toxic mercury, is targeting those who are the most vulnerable to permanent brain damage from exposure to this banned poison - the unborn, children and those who are already immune-compromised. This policy borders on madness and one has to wonder where the funds are going to come from to pay compensation claims for those who are killed or injured by these shots?
3- For purely economic reasons, AH1N1 vaccine is being distributed in multi-dose vials, greatly increasing the risk of transmission of infection from person to person. As a result, insurance companies and the government have refused to indemnify doctors who administer this vaccine.
4. The AMA's President, Andrew Pesce, has asked the Federal Government to "seriously consider" delaying the rollout of this vaccine, "due to inadequate testing and a higher risk of infection from multi-dose vials." This request seems to have been ignored.
5- The vaccine is not tested for effectiveness. According to the manufacturer, there have been no controlled clinical studies demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with either the normal seasonal flu vaccine, AFLURIA, or the AH1N1 vaccine.
6- There are great safety concerns regarding this vaccine. Even though it is going to be administered to millions, it has only been tested for a few short weeks in less than 2,000 individuals. Even in such a small trial group, severe allergic reactions including life-threatening anaphylactic shock, have been reported.
7- The bias in the manufacturer's pre-licensure studies is evident due to the fact that there was no placebo used. In testing this vaccine, those who were given what they were told was a placebo (by medical definition, a totally inert substance), were in fact being dosed with a solution containing toxic mercury. The TGA does not perform safety or effectiveness tests on any vaccines themselves, relying on manufacturers to test prior to licensing. They should not have allowed this unscientific methodology. The TGA is not government funded and relies solely on pharmaceutical licensing fees.
8- When AH1N1 vaccine had the Thiomersal (mercury) preservative removed (Study 2 below) and was tested on a small group of elderly people in the UK, the number of reactions, though still considerable, was cut by 50% and more for some conditions. About Australian Vaccination Network, Inc.
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