blamebrampton (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
blamebrampton) wrote2009-11-19 11:30 pm
blamebrampton) wrote2009-11-19 11:30 pm
I'm going on about vaccines again!
I had my H1N1 vaccine this morning. No side effects so far, and it didn't even hurt! I far prefer flu vaccines to tetanus!
But the most exciting thing for me was reading the government information leaflet -- it's really good! Along with a section explaining that Panvax is not a live vaccine, so it's perfectly safe for foetuses (H1N1 influenza disproportionately causes miscarriage and serious maternal illness), it had a section addressing Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). GBS is a serious neurological syndrome that unexpectedly affected about 500 people in New Jersey after a mass vaccination programme in the US in 1976. Since then, there has not been another proven connection between flu vaccines and GBS, and the research done on the event suggests that it was probably a single batch infected with campylobacter, a known precursor to GBS (and a REALLY horrible stomach illness, trust me!)
Since 1976, although GBS has been raised as a concern by people who are not in favour of mass vaccination, there has not been any proof of a subsequent link between GBS rates and flu vaccination. Nevertheless, because governments and scientists generally err on the side of caution, a risk of 1 additional case of GBS per million vaccinations is given, and is stated on the Australian information sheet. Something aside from campylobacter that is known to cause GBS is influenza, and, as the info sheet says: "you are four to seven times more likely to contract GBS after an attack of the actual influenza than after the vaccination".
In actual fact, the risk of GBS from influenza seems to be more in the realm of forty times more likely, as rates are around 4 to 7 per 100,000 cases of influenza.
However, reading that paragraph in the surgery, I gave a little cheer. FINALLY a statement of risk that contextualises it sanely!
Why does this matter? Because people are being told by bad media reports and social networking scares that flu vaccine is not safe, that it contains chemicals that are known to cause harm and that it is not tested. In fact, H1N1 vaccines around the world are being made by the same companies that make seasonal flu vaccines, using the exact same methods. Flu vaccines save tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of lives every year, with excellent safety records. Most, like Panvax, contain no live vaccine -- people who are allergic to eggs are offered a version with live vaccine in many places, including the US, as it is safer for them.
H1N1, on the other hand, is not a safe nor mild disease. It has had a very serious impact on people between 20 and 50, who are normally minimally affected by seasonal flus. In fact, the death toll for old people, the usual flu victims, is statistically low for H1N1. And the people aged 20-50 being affected are not the usual immune-compromised set, either, but both the healthy and those whose only health issue is being overweight. If you're up for it, check out this excellent article from New Scientist on swine flu myths and how they are endangering people's health.
Having seen the incredible impact of H1N1 on the health system in Australia last year -- a warm country in which flu is not as dangerous as it is in cold countries -- I had no hesitation in getting the jab. Well, aside from my usual disorganisation delay ... Fourteen hours later, not even localised swelling. And if you're in Australia and have a Medicare card, it's free! Obviously, talk to your doctor and read the info from your health authorities if you have concerns.
You can read the Australian info sheet as a PDF, downloaded from here, it's available in several languages in the vaccination information sheet category down at the bottom right.
But the most exciting thing for me was reading the government information leaflet -- it's really good! Along with a section explaining that Panvax is not a live vaccine, so it's perfectly safe for foetuses (H1N1 influenza disproportionately causes miscarriage and serious maternal illness), it had a section addressing Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). GBS is a serious neurological syndrome that unexpectedly affected about 500 people in New Jersey after a mass vaccination programme in the US in 1976. Since then, there has not been another proven connection between flu vaccines and GBS, and the research done on the event suggests that it was probably a single batch infected with campylobacter, a known precursor to GBS (and a REALLY horrible stomach illness, trust me!)
Since 1976, although GBS has been raised as a concern by people who are not in favour of mass vaccination, there has not been any proof of a subsequent link between GBS rates and flu vaccination. Nevertheless, because governments and scientists generally err on the side of caution, a risk of 1 additional case of GBS per million vaccinations is given, and is stated on the Australian information sheet. Something aside from campylobacter that is known to cause GBS is influenza, and, as the info sheet says: "you are four to seven times more likely to contract GBS after an attack of the actual influenza than after the vaccination".
In actual fact, the risk of GBS from influenza seems to be more in the realm of forty times more likely, as rates are around 4 to 7 per 100,000 cases of influenza.
However, reading that paragraph in the surgery, I gave a little cheer. FINALLY a statement of risk that contextualises it sanely!
Why does this matter? Because people are being told by bad media reports and social networking scares that flu vaccine is not safe, that it contains chemicals that are known to cause harm and that it is not tested. In fact, H1N1 vaccines around the world are being made by the same companies that make seasonal flu vaccines, using the exact same methods. Flu vaccines save tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of lives every year, with excellent safety records. Most, like Panvax, contain no live vaccine -- people who are allergic to eggs are offered a version with live vaccine in many places, including the US, as it is safer for them.
H1N1, on the other hand, is not a safe nor mild disease. It has had a very serious impact on people between 20 and 50, who are normally minimally affected by seasonal flus. In fact, the death toll for old people, the usual flu victims, is statistically low for H1N1. And the people aged 20-50 being affected are not the usual immune-compromised set, either, but both the healthy and those whose only health issue is being overweight. If you're up for it, check out this excellent article from New Scientist on swine flu myths and how they are endangering people's health.
Having seen the incredible impact of H1N1 on the health system in Australia last year -- a warm country in which flu is not as dangerous as it is in cold countries -- I had no hesitation in getting the jab. Well, aside from my usual disorganisation delay ... Fourteen hours later, not even localised swelling. And if you're in Australia and have a Medicare card, it's free! Obviously, talk to your doctor and read the info from your health authorities if you have concerns.
You can read the Australian info sheet as a PDF, downloaded from here, it's available in several languages in the vaccination information sheet category down at the bottom right.
Re: H1N1 vaccines
At the heart of the matter these days is the fact very few people have seen the devastation that can be wrought by diseases including measles, polio and so on. With very little history taught these days, and even less history of science or medicine, it is incredibly easy to forget.
Additionally, science and health are very badly reported by most journalists, but also very badly communicated to those journos by many universities and medical professionals. So something such as GBS is reported as being an increased risk of vaccination, but not in context of being a debated increase, nor of being a substantial lowering of risk compared to influenza.
One of the most common furphies I have heard regarding H1N1 is that it only affects the old and weak. I even photocopied graphs for my workmates on a best-selling magazine -- with health pages -- that showed the atypical distribution of serious and fatal cases in Australia and the US, which they looked at, and then in several cases said 'Yeah, but ...'
It works the other way, too. My passion for vaccination (and prophylactic treatment) was formed entirely from experience: a childhood friend died of measles, then in India and especially in Mozambique and Tanzania, I saw astonishing illness caused by pathogens that were unknown back in my developed-world home. I also caught a malaria-like fever and was seriously ill in Mozambique because my father was a dreadful hippy when it came to things like preventative measures. (I was fine, and in the small hospital I was sent to became a minor celebrity for being the very whitest person they had seen in years; deserved, I was ridiculously pale in those days.)
Re: H1N1 vaccines
To once again reference that unforgettable sentiment of George Santayana (which no one ever quotes precisely correctly, but the sense is what matters here anyway): those who fail to remember their history are doomed to repeat it.
You are clearly "in the know," but it bears repeating: H1N1 is worrisome particularly BECAUSE it does NOT only target the young, old, and infirm; deaths have been fairly uniformly distributed across all age groups, which is VERY atypical of flu.
I am a general internist; prophylactic/preventative care is what we're supposed to DO.
I need a "doctor" icon for occasions when I am pontificating on subjects medical. In the meantime, have a Doctor icon.
Re: H1N1 vaccines
Actually, I am not sure if this is true, the New Scientist and Australian Dept of Health and Ageing have both reported unusually low incidences in the v young and elderly, with completely disproportionate cases among the 'prime of life' population.
Which is why I keep banging on about it, as you note, preventative care is important on this one.
Re: H1N1 vaccines
Re: H1N1 vaccines
Re: H1N1 vaccines
You are probably aware that I am working on my Masters in Public Health degree in Health Policy and Management; clearly, I AM a crazy person.
Re: H1N1 vaccines
How do you mandate reporting in a population that has statistically high under-use of medical resources due to un- or under-insurance? I'd be seriously interested to know if there are secondary means of information gathering, such as pharmacists.
Re: H1N1 vaccines