H1N1 Swine Flu Update As of Nov. 16, 2009 – First Cases of Adverse Reaction to Vaccine in Wash, D.C. area and Nationwide; Pediatric Deaths In U.S. and Europe Doubling Every 4 Days
The Director of National Institutes of Health has confirmed that 5 people in the United States have developed Guillame-Barre Syndome as a complication of receiving the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. He confirmed this in a television report which showed an otherwise healthy male student in the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia area who recently developed Guillame-Barre Syndrome the day after receiving both the H1N1 swine flu and seasonal flu vaccines. The day after receiving the two vaccines, he developed extreme muscle twitches and spasms which led to partial paralysis. He is now recovering, though he has to use a walker to assist in walking. He expects to take several months to fully recover. In commenting on television on this news story, the Director of the National Institutes of Health confirmed that thus far there have been 5 individuals who have contracted Guillame-Barre Syndrome after receiving the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. He explained, however, that while one can die or become permanently paralyzed by the Guillame-Barre Syndome, most people recover from it. As he explained, the government has never denied that there is some risk to the H1N1 swine flu or any flu vaccine. The question, however, is a matter of balancing risks – and given the number of deaths, and especially pediatric deaths, from the H1N1 swine flu, he argues that the benefits of receiving the H1N1 swine flu vaccine far outweighs the risks associated with taking the vaccine. The statistics thus far support his argument since both the United States and Europe report a doubling of the number of pediatric deaths from the H1N1 swine flu approximately every 4 days, indicating a dramatic rise in pediatric deaths from the H1N1 swine flu as the weather turns colder and we enter the normal flu season. And already the number of pediatric deaths from the H1N1 swine flu is several times greater than that the number of pediatric deaths during an entire flu season from the seasonal flu. In this regard, pediatric deaths are defined as deaths occurring among individuals 18 years or younger. During a normal flu season, there are typically 85 pediatric deaths from the seasonal flu. This year, howevever, even though it is only the middle of November, health officials report 540 pediatric deaths thus far just from the H1N1 swine flu. This is up from only 156 pediatric deaths from the H1N1 swine flu only a week ago. European countries have reported a similar spike in H1N1 swine flu deaths, with there previously having been 48 deaths but with this number increasing to 85 deaths in just 4 days. Unlike the seasonal flu where most individuals requiring medical care are over age 65, thus far 90 percent of those individuals requiring medical care from the H1N1 swine flu have been under the age of 65. Totally, approximately 22 million Americans have contracted the H1N1 swine flu, killing an estimated 3,900 people thus far. Of this number, 8 million of those individuals contracting H1N1 swine flu have been young people 18 years and younger. Of the 8 million pediatric or young people that have contracted the H1N1 swine flu, 36,000 have been hospitalized and 540 have died in the U.S.
