Vaccine "Scare Tactics" May Endanger Children
Prevenar, a vaccine that supposedly protects children against menigitis, is a dangerous drug being cleverly marketed with classic scare tactics. Read the reference article here: Scarce Vaccine Back in Supply, So Get It - Experts
I recently wrote on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 about the hype surrounding flu vaccines. (Flu Vaccines: Hype, or Help?) Today's article from Reuters News Service is an excellent example of just how a well-worded press release, with carefully crafted comments by a "respected" government agency like the CDC can be used to promote a product for the drug giants like Wyeth.
Before you accuse me of cynicism and prejudice in the extreme, I refer you to the telling final paragraph of the Reuters "news" article: "Wyeth has said Prevnar is on target for sales of $1 billion this year -- more money than any vaccine has ever made. The company hopes to double that figure if it gets permission to market to adults. " A billion dollars - two billion if Wyeth gets the green light to market this for adults too... No, this couldn't have anything to do with corporate profits (could it?)...
The wording of the first paragraph of the article says that this "once-scarce" item is now available - suggesting that you had better get it while you can for scarcity implies value, and that it "protects" from diseases such as meningitis - a terrifying illness to parents of small children - implying that if somehow your child were to contract meningitis (a rare but serious illness) and you had not rushed out to have your child vaccinated with this "once scarce" vaccine, you would be negligent and at fault for your child's illness. Pretty emotional writing for an introductory paragraph to a news article, don't you think?
There is significant dissent about whether this vaccine is safe, effective, and necessary. I'll not repeat here the findings and comments of other authors, but I will advise you to look for yourself at an excellent article that discusses Prevnar, it's dangers, and the conflicts of interest among the "scientist/physicians" who are promoting it's use. Please visit the following page for this article, and draw your own conclusions. http://www.whale.to/v/prevnar2.html
Many Wellness Club members have children or grandchildren of the age that might be subject to the vaccine Prevnar. I urge everyone to carefully weigh the risks against the benefits of this vaccination before allowing themselves or someone they love to be subjected to it.
Finally, if I had a child of vaccination age, would I allow them to be injected with this vaccine? In a word, "NO!" If that were not understandable, I might add, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" If there were still a problem with comprehension I might say "OVER MY DEAD BODY!" I just don't believe that the potential 7% reduction in new episodes of earaches, or the 0.1% decrease of a child’s chance of getting invasive pneumococcal disease is worth the risk of injecting a substance that according to the American Academy of Pediatrics "(Prevnar) may prove to be among the most reactogenic (e.g., local reactions and incidence of fever) vaccine of those currently used, including the DTaP and Haemophilus conjugate vaccines." In my medical opinion, it just isn't worth the risk.
Cheers,
Nurse Mark
11:41:25 AM 
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