December 10, 2003 - Health departments set priorities for flu shots - The Seattle Times - "State and King County health officials are recommending that physicians give top priority for the increasingly scarce flu vaccine to children and adults at high risk for complications..."It seems prudent to prioritize the doses we do have. ... It appears our supplies are dwindling," state Health Officer Maxine Hayes said yesterday."

December 10, 2003 - Listen, all you germ factories: Sneeze politely - Portland Press Herald - "It's been a long time since information this useful came out of Maine's state government. This morning's news report, therefore, would not be complete without attributing these two simple pieces of advice to no one less than Gov. John Baldacci."

December 11, 2003 - Better Awareness of Meningitis Vaccine Urged - Reuters Health via Yahoo! - "Parents should be better educated about the potentially fatal disease meningococcal meningitis, and the vaccine that helps prevent it, according to experts...They say that although the risk of contracting the disease is low--and the odds of dying even lower--parents should at least be aware they have the option of vaccinating their children against it."

Comment:  Although this study purports to vindicate the vaccines in question, it does nothing of the sort.  First, all groups were vaccinated, and all groups had around a 35% incidence of allergies.  What can be concluded is that there is an equally high amount of allergy among children given these vaccines.  What cannot legitimately be said is that the vaccines do not cause allergy because we know absolutely nothing as a result of this study of the incidence of allergy in never vaccinated children.  For more on the problem of poorly designed research, go to Out of Control: Childhood vaccinations and the risk of asthma.

December 11, 2003 - Case opens a can of worms - The Herald, UK

Guardsman's family seeks governor's help in anthrax case - The Granville Sentinel via www.newarkadvocate.com - "''We implore, and pray, that the governor and our elected officials will stand by this honorable soldier in his time of need,' the Hickmans wrote in the letter. 'He asks only that he not be put through 'friendly fire' ‹ six anthrax injections, or imprisoned for requesting that his military, constitutional and individual rights be honored.'"

December 12, 2003 - Children Hit Hard By Flu - CBS/AP via CBS News - "Fueling all the concern is the sobering fact that at least 23 children have died so far this flu season..Some of the people who track infectious diseases call the number alarming, but to date there has been little information available about the deaths that would either allay or confirm fears...But CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin reports that more than half of the children who died had an underlying illness such as asthma, heart disease or diabetes, but no information is being made public about whether or not the children were vaccinated."

Comment:  Children with diseases like asthma and diabetes are more vulnerable to the potential ravages of the flu.  Chronic disease among children is significantly on the rise, which means more and more children are potentially at serious risk from the flu.  Why are more and more children suffering from chronic disease?  For more on this, go to Scandals: Prescription For Disaster - Is Vaccine Policy A "House of Cards"? and Scandals: Look Who's Paying.

December 9, 2003 - As FDA, Advisory Panel Discuss Whether to Tell Women About Mercury Contamination, New FDA Tests Show Higher Than Expected Mercury in Tuna - www.ewg.org - "Mercury is toxic to the developing brain and nervous system, and it can have permanent effects on intelligence, speech and motor development of children after they are born."

Comment:  What, no mention of vaccines?  The idea that injecting an adult-sized mega-dose into the tiny bodies of infants via vaccines could in any way be benign simply doesn't pass the "straight-face test".  But, you say,  it's a different form of mercury (ethylmercury in thimerosal vs. methylmercury in tuna)?  Well, then thoroughly study the differences and prove they don't have the same effect, rather than avoid studying it, and insist the lack of evidence means thimerosal is safe.

Comment: P.S.  Don't let the vaccine or thimerosal manufacturers (past or present) have any influence, financial or otherwise, over the design or conduct of such studies.

December 12, 2003 - In the rush to protect children, 'experts' use junk science to accuse innocent parents  -  Evidence is growing of disturbing flaws in the way allegations of child abuse are made and then pursued. James Le Fanu and David Derbyshire investigate - The Telegraph, UK – "First there was Sally Clark, then Trupti Patel, and now Angela Cannings…Three women wrongly accused of serial infanticide - one of the most horrendous crimes imaginable…Each prosecution relied on evidence from Sir Roy Meadow, Britain's leading cot-death expert who decided that, on the balance of probability, these mothers had murdered their children…Yet, according to a growing body of concerned lawyers, doctors and parents, these are not isolated cases but symptomatic of a legal and medical system so determined to protect children that it fails to protect the innocent."

Comment:  For more on the question of possible false imprisonment due to shaken baby syndrome, go to the Online SBS Conference at www.redflagsdaily.com.

December 12, 2003 - Vaccine protects troops - by Dr. William Winkenwerderis, assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs - USA Today via Yahoo! - "Scientific knowledge behind the anthrax vaccine is impressive. In March 2002, a comprehensive study by the National Academy of Sciences (news - web sites) concluded that the anthrax vaccine is safe and effective. The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) approved the vaccine as effective against all forms of the disease. The Department of Defense (news - web sites) has safely administered several million vaccine doses to more than 980,000 servicemembers."

Comment:  And now for at least part of the other side of the story (repeat from December 12, 2003):

Bush blamed for flu vaccine shortage - The Washington Times - "'It's frustrating to hear a Bush health adviser make excuses for drug companies by giving inflated numbers on how much stockholders might lose on vaccine production,' Mr. Edwards said. I wish we could think more about solutions and worry less about profits.'... One Republican source said it was 'incredibly ironic' that Mr. Edwards would complain about vaccine manufacturers....'There would be more companies available to manufacture vaccines if people like John Edwards and his trial lawyer friends weren't putting them out of business with frivolous lawsuits,' the source said."

December 13, 2003 - TV drama on MMR 'could cost lives'  - The Telegraph, UK - "A spokesman added that to ensure viewers were properly informed, a statement before the opening scene would make clear that the film was a dramatised account of a mother's perceptions of what happened to her child and the work of Dr Wakefield and his colleagues at the Royal Free Hospital in the late 1990s."

December 12, 2003 - Read This Before You Get A Flu Shot Or Take Another Pill: By Mary Starrett - www.newswithviews.com - "A senior executive with pharma-giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in the U.K. said that fewer than half the patients prescribed some of the most expensive drugs actually got any benefit from them...Whoa."

Comment:  Note the stark contrast between alternative and mainstream press news.

December 13, 2003 - With Flu Shots Dwindling, Nasal Spray Vaccine Surges (requires subscription or registration) - The New York Times - "So Mr. Feinberg, a 49-year-old lawyer, dropped into a pharmacy here, sat in a chair and tilted his head back as a pharmacist squirted a liquid vaccine called FluMist into each of his nostrils. He paid $70, before a $25 rebate, several times what he would have paid for a flu shot. But he said it was worth it... 'The time I would have lost from work," he said, "I didn't mind paying at all.'"

December 13, 2003 - Noting High-Risk Flu Groups and a Few Tips on Coping (requires subscription or registration) - The New York Times - "Because it is impossible to predict which strain of influenza will strike in any given season, this year's vaccine was designed for strains other than Fujian A, the dominant strain this year. But health officials say it appears to be close enough to provide some protection. The vaccine takes two weeks to become effective."

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