H1N1 Influenza Emergency?

Another proactive state appears to be Iowa. A form for a “Facility Quarantine Order” apparently leaked from the public health department. Under conditions to be determined by the department, a person determined to have been exposed to H1N1 virus could be confined to a specified quarantine facility, under pain of fines and imprisonment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a level-6 pandemic alert, which signifies a globally distributed outbreak. The definition was changed; enormous numbers of deaths and illness are no longer required. In the Southern Hemisphere, now in the midst of the flu season, there has been no shift to greater morbidity. There is no sign of mixing with other strains to create a “reassortant virus.” Thus, “H1N1 flu unlikely to mutate into a ‘superbug,’” reported Reuters (9/1/09).

Because swine flu seems to displace seasonal flu and is milder (so far one-tenth to one-fortieth as lethal), there could be fewer deaths than usual this year (www.fumento.com).

Americans are constantly reminded of the 1918 pandemic, which took 50—100 million lives worldwide. “Conservative estimates suggest that 350 million people could die” in a new pandemic–caused by avian influenza (H5N1) (Jennings et al., Lancet Infectious Diseases, October 2008). Authors list affiliations with numerous pharmaceutical firms.

The emergency started 91 years ago. “[W]e are living in a pandemic era that began around 1918,” write Morens, et al., who portray influenza viruses as eight-member “gene teams” that may take on new gene “players” with “unique skills” (N Engl J Med 7/16/09).

Draconian measures, designed for the threat of a deadly avian virus, could be triggered by a declaration of a swine-flu emergency, regardless of its severity. “If school kids start dying in substantial numbers,…it’s too late” (Science 6/19/09).

The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 authorizes the use of armed forces in public health emergencies. Forced mass vaccination, quarantine in internment facilities, and travel restrictions are possible measures.

 

Compulsory vaccination has huge profit potential for manufacturers—especially since they have total legal immunity for anything except deliberately harming consumers. On Jun 25, 2009, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius declared that makers of Relenza, Tamiflu, swine flu vaccine, and any associated adjuvants, were immune under the 2006 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREPA), which also explicitly shields “government program planners” who arrange the liability waivers. This appears to be a precaution against the consequences of the last major swine flu vaccine campaign, in 1976, which had to be terminated after thousands of lawsuits about alleged adverse effects, including Guillain Barré syndrome. “The government paid out quite a bit of money,” said law professor Stephen Sugarman (Mike Stobbe, AP 7/17/09).

Maine’s emergency declaration also protects schools and medical personnel against liability claims for potential vaccine adverse effects.

Planned rollout of vaccine in Australia is delayed because the government refused to underwrite physicians’ liability. A spokeswoman for the Medical Indemnity Protection Service said the company would cover doctors, but they needed to “appropriately advise patients that the vaccine is untested and may have [currently] unknown consequences…. We do not know the risk [or] benefit of the vaccine versus contracting the disease” (Julie Robotham, Sydney Morning Herald 8/28/09).

Many millions of doses of past influenza vaccine have been given; “[H1N1] is not a radically different vaccine from what [young children] already get anyway,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health (AP 7/23/09). So why worry? Why are more than half the doctors and nurses in Hong Kong public hospitals refusing the vaccine (WND 8/27/09), as are more than 80% of British nurses, according to a Daily Mail poll?

The U.S. government has bought 195 million doses of H1N1 vaccine for a possible fall campaign (Reuters 7/23/09). And volunteers of all ages are being sought for testing it (AP 7/23/09). An ad on Craigslist offers to pay $300 to $475 per volunteer. A fast-track 5-day trial is planned in Britain—in contrast to the years of trials required for most products. A “mock-up” has already been tested, and clinical investigations will continue even after mass vaccinations of the general population have begun (Sunday Times 7/12/09).

The “mock-up” vaccine used by some European manufacturers to speed up the regulatory process contains, according to WHO 2009 briefing note 6, “an active ingredient for an influenza virus that has not circulated recently in human population and thus mimics the novelty of a pandemic virus.” The mock and the real are different, but both “novel.”

Another different ingredient may be added. The U.S. has contracted for some 120 million doses of adjuvants, to stretch the available vaccine. Production in eggs is yielding two to four times less antigen from H1N1 than from usual flu strains (Nature 7/26/09).

An adjuvant is a compound that stimulates the immune system and thus enhances antibody production, so lower doses of viral antigen are needed. An aluminum adjuvant may not be adequately immunogenic, so oil-in-water adjuvants are undergoing trials. These include Novartis’s M59 squalene adjuvant, blamed by some for causing Gulf War syndrome.

Squalene is found in many foods and is made in the human body. It occurs throughout the brain and nervous system. Giving it by injection may, some hypothesize, stimulate an autoimmune response. Novartis denies this, and states that antisqualene antibodies are frequently found in low titer in healthy, unvaccinated adults (Del Giudice G, et al., Clin Vaccine Immunol, September 2006). In arthritis-prone rats, one intradermal injection of squalene has induced chronic, immune-mediated arthritis (Carlson BC et al., Am J Pathol, June 2000)–a possible model for rheumatoid arthritis.

Should pregnant women rush to get the vaccine, as recommended? Dr. K.P. Stoller warns of potential adverse effects on the fetus, owing to the cytokine immune response of the mother. No long-term effects can possibly be discovered in fast-track studies. A cautionary note: the miscarriage rate may be higher in women who conceive soon after receiving the human papillomavirus vaccine, an unanticipated consequence (NYT 9/4/09).

The process itself raises red flags; for example, the tremendous power in the hands of the WHO SAGEs, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, with long-term ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Then there’s the secrecy: WHO centers do not release all their influenza sequences (Nature 7/10/09), and the vaccine ingredients list is proprietary. The Pentagon has allegedly covered up thousands of serious vaccine reactions in soldiers like David Fey, who now has renal failure (www.wlwt.com).

Even if there is no vaccination at gunpoint as some alarmists fear, significant coercion could be employed by excluding children from school or adults from work.

Panic and complacency must both be avoided, whether regarding contagion or vaccines. Ask questions; demand safety and efficacy data; stock up on vitamins D and C and face masks (preferably N-95); wash hands and disinfect surfaces frequently; and be prepared to self quarantine at home until the panic dies down.