A Frightening Swine Flu Forecast
EmailThe nation is bracing for the return of Swine Flu this fall. The traditional flu season sets in each year when children return to schools. This year, becuase of Swine Flu, things are very different. It is a point underlined today with the release of a grim outlook.
The report was released by a group of top scientists tasked with looking at the Swine Flu threat and the nation's preparedness. They are careful to say the following is not a "prediction" but rather a "plausible scenario" of what we may face, soon:
–30-50% of the US population may become infected with the flu
–As many as 1.8 million Americans may need to be hospitalized
–Swine Flu could very well result in a big uptick in deaths from flu. In a normal year some 30,000-40,000 Americans die from flu. This year, with Swine Flu, that number could range upwards from 30,000 to 90,000.
–And this new, unique type of flu posses an especially high danger for the young as well as those with pre-existing health conditions including pregnant women
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I will believe this when pigs fly.
Posted by: Huh | August 24, 2009, 3:45 pm 3:45 pm
Flu will come and go, from year to year. This one sounds all too much, like any other.
They are always dangerous, and some people will be overly sensitive to their effects, and will die.
There are no guarantees in this life. You never know from one day to the next, whether you will survive the maniacs on the freeway, the violent storms that pass, the crime that is all around us, or the illness that can strike at any time.
We live in a dangerous world, and you can only protect yourself, to a degree.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | August 24, 2009, 4:45 pm 4:45 pm
I will believe this when pigs fly.
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I don’t know about the dire warnings but…my son and ten other people have already contracted Swine Flu at UNC-Wilmington and classes only started last week…So, don’t be so sure…
Posted by: indy_voter | August 24, 2009, 4:53 pm 4:53 pm
They are always dangerous, and some people will be overly sensitive to their effects, and will die.
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Sounds like a Republican Health Care plan..
Posted by: indy_voter | August 24, 2009, 4:54 pm 4:54 pm
Stretching vaccine supply could mean risking your health
Latching on to fears about whether or not there will be enough swine flu vaccine to go around, Big Pharma may add harmful additives in the name of stretching the supply.
As panic over swine flu builds, the question on everyone’s mind (thanks to some stirring from the mainstream) seems to be: Will there be enough vaccine to go around? (In case they’re wondering, they can keep my share.)
Well, one way they can make sure there’s enough is to add toxic materials to stretch the supply. Yes, you read that right.
One option being explored right now is the addition of an adjuvant, made of various forms of aluminum, to the swine flu vaccine. They’re meant to allow the immune system to respond with “higher levels of effectiveness,” according to a former Big Pharma medical director. This means less of the active vaccine needs to be used, so it stretches the supply.
As if the unproven and unsafe vaccine itself weren’t bad enough, now they’re talking about injecting aluminum into our systems.
Of course, people are starting to ask: How safe are adjuvants?
Good question. But the problem is, nobody seems to be answering. Instead, all we’re getting from Big Pharma and their cohorts is a vague assurance that they’re a-okay.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease said that, should an adjuvant be needed, there is little question that it would be safe. Still, he says “the main priority is to test the unadjuvanted vaccine.”
If they’re so safe, why is the main priority to test vaccines without them?
Easy. They’re not safe at all.
No flu vaccine ever approved for use in the United States has ever contained an adjuvant. Some of the side effects are caused by an unintentional stimulation of the immune system. They’re highly variable both in how they affect the immune system and how serious those effects are. And, with few exceptions, adjuvants are foreign to the body and cause adverse reactions.
Studies have shown that aluminum can cause nerve cell death and that aluminum adjuvants can allow aluminum to enter the brain. They also cause inflammation at the injection site— this could end in chronic joint and muscle pain and fatigue.
Despite all this, with an opportunity to stretch vaccine supplies and make less product in more money, I can’t help but think Big Pharma will be more than willing to risk our health to get more bang for their buck. It’s another good reason to stay far, far away from the swine flu vaccine.
Source:
“Swine flu vaccine: What the heck is an adjuvant, anyway?” ABC News
What is the current status of this Vaccine? Is it safe?
Posted by: cbanalyst | August 24, 2009, 5:23 pm 5:23 pm
cbanalyst ~~~~~~` I’m with you…they can keep mine and my kids too. They are in way too big of a hurry for me to trust the safety of this vaccine. Plus, they are running human testing on the vaccine right now, but from how many suppliers? From what I understand they have multiple suppliers for this vaccine….are they all being tested? No thanks for me….I’ll take my chances of catching the flu!
Posted by: hopeforthefuture | August 24, 2009, 11:35 pm 11:35 pm
Not to mention that the makers of the vaccine have immunity from any side effects or even death caused from the vaccine they create. That means that they can’t be held liable. No way am I taking any vaccine that the makers wont even take responsibility for!
Posted by: hopeforthefuture | August 24, 2009, 11:38 pm 11:38 pm
If there’s one certainty in life it’s death. Why sweat the inevitable? Besides, there are way too damn many people on earth anyway. We could use a good plague.
Posted by: death becomes you | August 25, 2009, 12:54 am 12:54 am
Swine flu virus can’t stop?
Posted by: oneismus vashim | August 25, 2009, 6:20 am 6:20 am
When an infected person coughs or sneezes (and does not cover his/her mouth) the viruses fly into the air along with mucus, saliva and other secretions. More Read:
Posted by: Rocky | August 25, 2009, 7:08 am 7:08 am
What is Swine Influenza?Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs
Posted by: af.saleem | August 25, 2009, 7:37 am 7:37 am
The media sure intends to try to scare us, now don’t they?
Sorry, but I am not buying it.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | August 25, 2009, 11:50 am 11:50 am
Let’s vaccinate Congress, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Holy Family first and see what happens.
Posted by: Ralph Davis | August 25, 2009, 1:06 pm 1:06 pm
Re: Comments made by death becomes you
I wouldn’t say that at all. Please consider how you would feel if someone you know and care about were one of the victims.
Posted by: Anna | August 26, 2009, 12:47 pm 12:47 pm
Rick, The swine flu is epidemic proportions at UNCW! My daughter also has had it and is just now recovering. One of her roommates also has it. My daughter missed classes Tues thru Friday of this week. I know another girl from our hometown, who is a freshman there, who has it. The Health Center told me early this week over 200 cases in the Health Center. This doesn’t count students who went to Urgent Cares, private doctors and ER’s. But, they are saying there are no “confirmed” cases because they are not testing for it. Hmmmm…. But the health provider that saw my daughter in the Health Center told her she had the swine flu based on what was going around and what she had seen!
Posted by: Diana Gwyn | August 30, 2009, 7:15 pm 7:15 pm
My daughter too – I just read that the number at UNCW is over 355 since August 18. I agree with Ralph, please be a little more sensitive and think about how you might feel if your child was sick right now.
Posted by: Carmen | September 2, 2009, 6:24 pm 6:24 pm