compos mentis

Being the geek I am, I have all of my web browsers on whatever desktop or laptop I use set to my Google homepage. I positioned at the very top of the center column a listing of the top five headlines local to the DC metro area. This morning I was struck by the fact that of the top five headlines, four had something to do with the flu. I saw the following:

Elementary school wins swine flu lottery
Seasonal flu clinics in Montgomery Co. schools end
Mass swine flu vaccination clinics planned in Fairfax Co.
Safeway and Giant run low on seasonal flu vaccine

Those were the first, third, fourth, and fifth headlines. For those interested, the second headline stated "79 percent of area flights arrive on time." That would be good news, if I flew more often. Hmm...flew and flu; I just saw that little homophone. I guess all of the headlines were about the flu/flew. But I digress.

The moment I saw that first headline I thought, "What kind of lottery is this?" One the one hands there is state supported gambling fraught with fraud and scams. On the other is Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" in which a woman is brutally stoned to death as a sacrifice to ensure a good harvest. In my mind that means this issue boils down to the question "is this a scam or are those children the first to be sacrificed?" This situation is either bad or worse.

For those wondering why the seasonal flu clinic is ending at Montgomery County schools, it is because MC uses FluMist and there is a required 28 day waiting time between FluMist vaccinations. As quoted in the article "We didn't want to continue with the seasonal flu clinics, thereby pushing the calendar back even further to when those elementary school kids could take advantage of H1N1 vaccine," says Mary Anderson, spokeswoman for the Montgomery County health department (http://www.wtop.com/?nid=345&sid=1781137). Yet again, all of the emphasis is getting the H1N1 vaccine disseminated as quickly as possible.

Additionally, while I was cooking my breakfast I happened to have the television tuned to Good Morning America. I witnessed yet more vaccine propaganda. Every story that was presented in the roughly half hour that I was cooking, eating, and packing my lunch discussed either the perceived danger of not getting the vaccine or providing platitudes that the vaccines are safe. One of the guests, a OB/GYN from the CDC was asked about the potential danger of thimerosal in vaccines. The response was simple to minimize any problems saying that the flu would be more dangerous. Since my brief overview is simply based on my memory and does not represent a scholarly retelling of the news report I will post more information as soon as I can obtain a transcript of the show.

Has anyone ever heard of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act? I thought so. For those of you who love Wikipedia here is a link to a description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Readiness_and_Emergency_Preparedness_Act. Also, if anyone needs a cure for insomnia, take a look at the entire bill at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:7:./temp/~c109751c82::. The PREP Act was a response to the Avian (H5N1) influenza pandemic that never was of 2005/06. It tacked onto a defense spending bill and signed into law by then President Bush.

Based on my reading of the bill, it provides legal immunity from loss to manufacturers of epidemic and pandemic countermeasures. In this case, loss covers events such as death, injury, disability, illness, etc. This Act removes the right to a jury trial for anyone injured by a covered vaccine unless the injured party can clearly demonstrate willful conduct.

I ask, how is the average citizen who is injured by a vaccine supposed to provide clear evidence of willful misconduct on the part of the pharmaceutical company or distributor? As I see it, the government is effectively pushing a product on citizens who would then not be able to sue if they are injured or killed by said product. My devious mind can also imagine that the various manufactures would perform the minimal testing of the product as required by law in order that they do not have the knowledge of potential harmful side-effects. I can see this giving the manufacturers plausible deniability during any misconduct suit. The Wikipedia article even pointed out that the late Senator Edward Kennedy pointed out that the Act makes it "essentially impossible" for injured parties to sue for damages. In my not-so-humble opinion, the PREP Act is simply a product of pharmaceutical industry lobbying efforts.

Sometimes I find myself wondering whether all of the hype and hysteria is a conspiracy against us all. Then I snap out of that fog and remember Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." In other words, I believe that government is far too big to ever support a conspiracy. Add to that the innate greed of the human condition, at the very least in our society, and you have a combination that would quickly crumble under the weight of a conspiracy. Therefore, I do not believe the government is 'out to get us' so to speak. However, I do believe that under the influence of greedy individuals we are being lead down a treacherous path.

Consider for a moment just MedImmune's FluMist vaccine which was produced under contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for $90 million (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/01/AR2009060101608.html). In fact, the total contract figure for the over 40 million doses ordered from all manufacturers has climbed to over $450 million (http://pressroom.medimmune.com/press-releases/2009/09/21/medimmune-receives-u-s-government-order-for-additional-29-million-doses-of-nasal-spray-vaccine-for-2009-h1n1-influenza/). At this point, some pockets are being lined by this push for vaccination.

I have one question for the talking heads that continue to attest to the safety of vaccines: "Based on what evidence?" The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has stated that "Underreporting is an inherent problem of passive surveillance systems, including VAERS" (http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/VAERS.htm). There is no mandate to report adverse reactions to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Due to that the system will only record a percentage of the actual number of adverse reactions. I would think that makes it an unreliable system for attesting to the safety of vaccines.

Also, many of this year's vaccines have been approved through the fast-track licensing process. So, the vaccines were only tested for a matter of days or weeks. Officials will simply be on the lookout for problems after rolling out the vaccines. Speed to availability has trumped safety in this aspect.

I say that I am not a petri dish. I will not be a part of a 40 million dose experiment. Considering no one really knows the long term effects of the vaccine I will take my chances with the flu rather than risk the potential for life-long health problems.