I followed your link from Science Based Medicine where Dr. Gordon stated he has never had any complaints to the medical board. I live in L.A. and am familiar with his relationship to the case of Christine Maggiore and the death of her daughter. Sometimes telling people whatever they want to hear can be deadly . . . where was his skepticism here?

I don’t think you were too tough – a doctor’s advice should be based on more than his “feelings.” Hopefully the parents of Dr. Gordon’s patients are skeptical enough to question his “feelings” and need for attention and weigh these against the available science.

Carry on with the vaccine debate!

You find my tone equivocating?? That’s a tough one to swallow, so let me be clearer: The vaccine against the H1N1 Swine Flu will do more harm than good, both in the short term and the longer term. I recommend that virtually no one get this shot.

This isn’t really clear. What harm will the vaccine do in the short term? What harm will it do in the longer term?

Edit:

I didn’t have much time to respond earlier today, so I’d like to beef up my earlier response to Dr. Gordon’s comment.

Thanks for clearing up the issue of counting cases for the CDC. Honestly, I didn’t really research whether that was necessary. So now I know.

As for the 1976 virus, for anyone who isn’t aware, it is true that the swine flu of 1976 turned out to be milder than expected, and it’s also true that the swine flu vaccine caused more harm than the flu.

Because it’s such a succinct summary, I’m lifting this from Harriet Hall’s article on Science Based Medicine:

The 1976 swine flu. In February 1976 a strain of H1N1 influenza similar to the 1918 strain killed a soldier at Fort Dix. Officials feared a pandemic and over-reacted. In actuality, the H1N1 strain was limited to the Fort Dix area and quickly died out, and another related strain only persisted until March. Nevertheless, a swine flu vaccine was developed and was given to 48,000,000 Americans, 22% of the population. The vaccination program was stopped in December after 532 cases of paralysis from Guillain-Barré syndrome were linked to the vaccine and 25 people died. It had been a false alarm, and more people died of the vaccine than of the disease. The risk of getting Guillain-Barré from the vaccine was approximately 1 in 100,000.

We really have no way to predict whether this flu virus will be as bad as 1918 or as mild as 1976. But you, for no reason, are just placing your bets that it will be mild. 302 people have already died from the current H1N1 strain just in the US, and there have been 2184 deaths worldwide. That’s already more than the 25 who died of Guillain-Barré syndrome in 1976, so the flu does seem like more of a health threat, even in its mild form. And while it’s true that many people who decide not to vaccinate will probably be fine, whether or not they get the flu, making the decision to vaccinate is about risk vs. benefit. Looking at numbers, the risk of complications from the flu, especially should it take a turn and become more severe, does seem much worse than the risk of side effects from a vaccination.

Here’s some more from Harriet Hall:

Claim: The threat of Guillain-Barré is a reason to reject vaccines.

Fact: No one understands what causes Guillain-Barré syndrome, but it can develop after an infection, surgery or vaccination. It is possible that people who develop GBS after vaccination might also have developed GBS after natural exposure to the disease. “From both the societal and individual perspectives, the risk of GBS after a flu shot pales in comparison to the risk of serious adverse events if infected with the influenza virus: 60 to 70 cases of GBS vs. 20,000 deaths from influenza. Keeping things on the same scale, people over 65 years of age can choose from a risk of 1 case of GBS per million people or 10,000 cases of hospitalization and 1500 deaths due to influenza.”

I am not sure why you would go against the recommendations of the CDC based on your hunch that this vaccine will cause harm, and I believe it is irresponsible for someone in your position to dole out advice based on intuition rather than facts. And thanks, but I’m not interested in calling you for a chat.

Geez.

Jay

Just found your site. I’ll look in often.

I thought I’d answer a couple of your points. Thanks, by the way, for cleaning up some of my syntax.

The CDC is no longer counting cases but is giving us docs guidelines. They also declared that the novel H1N1 virus is now the predominant virus causing influenza signs and symptoms. No tests needed.

Swine Flu is not that bad, as you’ve mentioned. If you review the data from the last SF epidemic in 1976 you’ll see that the vaccine caused more harm than the virus itself. No, the complications of this virus are not avoidable and I’ll merely ask your readers to look at the news stories of the past week.

I’m sorry to see that you, like many of the other bloggers on the web, are so willing to be nasty rather than approaching this discussion with civility.

Yes, there are some high-risk children and adults who should get this vaccine and I would certainly defer to the opinions of the pediatricians and other specialists who know them best.

You find my tone equivocating?? That’s a tough one to swallow, so let me be clearer: The vaccine against the H1N1 Swine Flu will do more harm than good, both in the short term and the longer term. I recommend that virtually no one get this shot.

Clear enough?

By the way, if you ever want to talk to me instead of yelling at me in print and/or insulting me, my number’s in the book.

Best,

Jay