Obama declares swine flu a national emergency

[salman]

I don't care what these people say, I won't be getting a flu shot as I never had a flu shot and have not needed one my entire life. The media keeps claiming people have died from "swine flu", but where are these imaginary people? Who are they? Every since Saturday, April 25, 2009 when this thing was mentioned by the media they have been making claims with no evidence to back it up.

I went to Cancun in May for a week, I went to visit relatives in Pasadena and Los Angeles for a couple of weeks in July, I stopped in Vegas for three days in August, New York for a week in September, and I'm back home in Philadelphia (for now). I met alot of people along my travels and not one, I MEAN NOT ONE had, or knew of anybody who had contracted this so-called "swine flu".

So again I ask, WHO ARE THESE IMAGINARY PEOPLE THE MEDIA KEEPS CLAIMING TO EITHER HAVE SWINE FLU OF DIED FROM SWINE FLU?!?! If these people really exist, perhaps they were already suffering from a terminal illness and the vaccine expedited their death?

Again, I will NOT be getting a flu shot. I am 26 years old and I've never had a flu shot and I'll NEVER get a flu shot.

 

[Random181]

I don't care what these people say, I won't be getting a flu shot as I never had a flu shot and have not needed one my entire life. The media keeps claiming people have died from "swine flu", but where are these imaginary people? Who are they? Every since Saturday, April 25, 2009 when this thing was mentioned by the media they have been making claims with no evidence to back it up.

I went to Cancun in May for a week, I went to visit relatives in Pasadena and Los Angeles for a couple of weeks in July, I stopped in Vegas for three days in August, New York for a week in September, and I'm back home in Philadelphia (for now). I met alot of people along my travels and not one, I MEAN NOT ONE had, or knew of anybody who had contracted this so-called "swine flu".

So again I ask, WHO ARE THESE IMAGINARY PEOPLE THE MEDIA KEEPS CLAIMING TO EITHER HAVE SWINE FLU OF DIED FROM SWINE FLU?!?! If these people really exist, perhaps they were already suffering from a terminal illness and the vaccine expedited their death?

Again, I will NOT be getting a flu shot. I am 26 years old and I've never had a flu shot and I'll NEVER get a flu shot.

Majority of people really wont give one whether you have a flew shot or not, those who will be most likely be far more interested if you post in general discussion/news swine flu is not a part of female fitness...

 

[juice3320]

I don't care what these people say, I won't be getting a flu shot as I never had a flu shot and have not needed one my entire life. The media keeps claiming people have died from "swine flu", but where are these imaginary people? Who are they? Every since Saturday, April 25, 2009 when this thing was mentioned by the media they have been making claims with no evidence to back it up.

I went to Cancun in May for a week, I went to visit relatives in Pasadena and Los Angeles for a couple of weeks in July, I stopped in Vegas for three days in August, New York for a week in September, and I'm back home in Philadelphia (for now). I met alot of people along my travels and not one, I MEAN NOT ONE had, or knew of anybody who had contracted this so-called "swine flu".

So again I ask, WHO ARE THESE IMAGINARY PEOPLE THE MEDIA KEEPS CLAIMING TO EITHER HAVE SWINE FLU OF DIED FROM SWINE FLU?!?! If these people really exist, perhaps they were already suffering from a terminal illness and the vaccine expedited their death?

Again, I will NOT be getting a flu shot. I am 26 years old and I've never had a flu shot and I'll NEVER get a flu shot.

I am at Vanderbilt University and it is a very serious problem here. It has spread throughout the campus for months now. I would not say it is deadly to healthy people over the age of about 10-12 or so and under 50 but it is a serious illness and is real. Those who die from it are usually very young children or babies and the elderly. Getting a regular seasonal flu shot is a great idea IMO. I got the flu two years ago and almost died from the pneumonia that it caused among other things. That's just my .02.

 

[ticco]

troll

 

[nparisi]

Don't get the vaccine for swine flu. The regular flu shot only has a 5% success rate anyways so IMHO that's a waste for compromising your immune system. I haven't had a flu shot since I was a baby and WHAT I haven't had the flu.
Swine flu vaccine is untested and NOT proven safe OR effective in humans. It's your choice but I think it's a no brainer. The majority of people on this board are in better health than the general population.

 

[Porty]

my cousin's baby daughter just got swine flu.
the boy my girlfriend baby sits just got swine flu. so did 3 of the children in his neighborhood, that she knows of.
a guy i work with just got swine flu.
a guy my mom works with just got swine flu, and so did his daughter.
a guy my brother works with just got swine flu.

this is all in the past 2 weeks or so, and all confirmed by doctors. **** is real.

 

[bioman]

Yes, swine flu doesn't exist. Flu shots are the work of the devil and washing your hands is for sissies.

I kinda wish the death panel rumor was true.

 

[nparisi]

sure it's real but i think it's being blown WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out of proportion. I'm sure all the people you know who got it will be fine

 

[nparisi]

LOL why would you accept any shot with a 5% success rate? I'd rather save the money. I never said the flu wasn't real I am saying don't be so afraid of it and jump on an unproven vaccine. I encourage everyone to make their own choice, just looking out for some of ya

 

[bioman]

sure it's real but i think it's being blown WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out of proportion. I'm sure all the people you know who got it will be fine

It definitely is being blow way out of proportion...by people who are pro and anti vaccine. I'm actually the later for the most part. The flu conspiracy people are running around feeding on the media over exposure with the same over exuberance that the germ-phobes are. It's kind of entertaining until someone tries to lecture me about the wonders/horrors of vaccines or the influenza virus. F-off and get the shot if you want it or don't if you don't, lol.

 

[nparisi]

I agree with you but I think part of the reaction is in fear of possible forced vaccination, which is a big deal(to me at least)

 

[YajV24]

sure it's real but i think it's being blown WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out of proportion. I'm sure all the people you know who got it will be fine

Thousands, or Millions of people missing work during an economic recession would be disastrous.

But yeah...You're right. Its all a big scam. The vaccine is actually a serum that will induce acceptance of our new socialist philosophies.

We're tracking your IP now and will be murdering you shortly. See you soon.

 

[nparisi]

Thousands, or Millions of people missing work during an economic recession would be disastrous.

But yeah...You're right. Its all a big scam. The vaccine is actually a serum that will induce acceptance of our new socialist philosophies.

We're tracking your IP now and will be murdering you shortly. See you soon.

haha ill be waiting assclown, now please go get that vaccine so you don't miss work! actually get a few man you never know this could be as bad as that awful BIRD flu ahahaha

 

[Trauma1]

Don't get the vaccine for swine flu. The regular flu shot only has a 5% success rate anyways so IMHO that's a waste for compromising your immune system. I haven't had a flu shot since I was a baby and WHAT I haven't had the flu.
Swine flu vaccine is untested and NOT proven safe OR effective in humans. It's your choice but I think it's a no brainer. The majority of people on this board are in better health than the general population.

The influenza vaccine DOES NOT compromise your immune system. It introduces a dead/heavily attenuated portion of the virus that will help to illicit an immune response of antibody formation. This leads to eventual adaptive immunity.

 

[nparisi]

The success rate for the flu shot is so poor it doesn't seem worth it to me, again this is just my opinion and whoever wants to get it by all means do so. My point of view is in what other areas as a consumer would you pay for a good/service that had around a 90% chance of defaulting? The only thing close to that I can think of is gambling...
http://www.alive.com/113a1a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=184
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,182448,00.html
etc etc not to mention potential side effects. Again just my opinion and all I can speak from is my experience I haven't had the flu in 10+ years and I haven't been vaccinated since I was very young.

 

[Trauma1]

I don't care what these people say, I won't be getting a flu shot as I never had a flu shot and have not needed one my entire life. The media keeps claiming people have died from "swine flu", but where are these imaginary people? Who are they? Every since Saturday, April 25, 2009 when this thing was mentioned by the media they have been making claims with no evidence to back it up.

I went to Cancun in May for a week, I went to visit relatives in Pasadena and Los Angeles for a couple of weeks in July, I stopped in Vegas for three days in August, New York for a week in September, and I'm back home in Philadelphia (for now). I met alot of people along my travels and not one, I MEAN NOT ONE had, or knew of anybody who had contracted this so-called "swine flu".

So again I ask, WHO ARE THESE IMAGINARY PEOPLE THE MEDIA KEEPS CLAIMING TO EITHER HAVE SWINE FLU OF DIED FROM SWINE FLU?!?! If these people really exist, perhaps they were already suffering from a terminal illness and the vaccine expedited their death?

Again, I will NOT be getting a flu shot. I am 26 years old and I've never had a flu shot and I'll NEVER get a flu shot.

I can tell you being an Emergency Room nurse here in Florida that we've had positive H1N1 patients by the droves over the last 3 week. The outbreak is at differing levels nationally/regionally right now, but Florida and Texas remain with the highest reported outbreaks. In the coming weeks, you're going to see those numbers jump significantly in areas that currently have low incidence of reported cases.

 

[nparisi]

I guess so. I can only think of one case in Arizona(where I am) that I recall reading about. Also, according to one of my professors, our guest speaker had to cancel on us Monday because he had come down with it.

 

[nparisi]

I can tell you being an Emergency Room nurse here in Florida that we've had positive H1N1 patients by the droves over the last 3 week. The outbreak is at differing levels nationally/regionally right now, but Florida and Texas remain with the highest reported outbreaks. In the coming weeks, you're going to see those numbers jump significantly in areas that currently have low incidence of reported cases.

Were you required to get the H1N1 vaccine? When I was still working at Banner Health they were about to make it mandatory.

 

[Trauma1]

The success rate for the flu shot is so poor it doesn't seem worth it to me, again this is just my opinion and whoever wants to get it by all means do so. My point of view is in what other areas as a consumer would you pay for a good/service that had around a 90% chance of defaulting? The only thing close to that I can think of is gambling...
http://www.alive.com/113a1a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=184
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,182448,00.html
etc etc not to mention potential side effects. Again just my opinion and all I can speak from is my experience I haven't had the flu in 10+ years and I haven't been vaccinated since I was very young.

The success rate is not necessarily poor. It largely depends on the strains that are being reported, and which strains were comprised in that years vaccination efforts. The scientists make educated guesses about the strains for the year. The thing is, influenza mutates on a regular basis, and is the reason why we continue to have outbreaks every year without a universal vaccination. They are getting closer though at a universal effort. There are certain aspects about the influenza virus that remain consistant with each strain, and they're working on being able to get the body to recognize that unique aspect, and then form adaptive immunity as a result.

Some people in general are a low risk for exposure given their occupation or location. Me for example (working in the Emergency Room) puts me at a very high risk of exposure. I get the Flu shot every year, but I don't condemn those that don't get it. It's a personal choice, and the pro's and con's should be weighed out in making that decision.

 

[Trauma1]

Were you required to get the vaccine? When I was still working at Banner Health they were about to make it mandatory.

No, not required.

The H1N1 vaccine actually came it today for us, and there was a sign up for those that wanted it. Again though, it was not mandatory. I am going to get it (even though I think I already had it) because I have a pregnant wife at home that's due in about a month.

 

[nparisi]

No, not required.

The H1N1 vaccine actually came it today for us, and there was a sign up for those that wanted it. Again though, it was not mandatory. I am going to get it (even though I think I already had it) because I have a pregnant wife at home that's due in about a month.

I'm glad to hear it is still optional for you all. I'm not sure if it was made official at Banner but they were certainly talking about it and a friend of mine that works for Scottsdale Healthcare was required to get it. I just read something on MSN.com today about how many flu shots had to be disposed of because of insufficient demand last year, swine flu appearing on the scene this year is kind of a coincidence...
Best wishes for you and your wife and new baby, I hope all of you maintain excellent health.

 

[Trauma1]

I'm glad to hear it is still optional for you all. I'm not sure if it was made official at Banner but they were certainly talking about it and a friend of mine that works for Scottsdale Healthcare was required to get it. I just read something on MSN.com today about how many flu shots had to be disposed of because of insufficient demand last year, swine flu appearing on the scene this year is kind of a coincidence...
Best wishes for you and your wife and new baby, I hope all of you maintain excellent health.

Thanks; good health to you as well.

 

[bioman]

I guess so. I can only think of one case in Arizona(where I am) that I recall reading about. Also, according to one of my professors, our guest speaker had to cancel on us Monday because he had come down with it.

You need to maybe pay more attention to what's going on. We've had 47 deaths in AZ related to H1N1. Nearly everyone I know has had it..especially my friends associated with health care. It's active in my daughter's daycare.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Everyone I know who has reported to the clinic with the flu has gone home with a 'probably' h1n1 without official confirmation. Apparently only serious situations and deaths get the actual test to make sure.

 

[DAdams91982]

Everyone I know who has reported to the clinic with the flu has gone home with a 'probably' h1n1 without official confirmation. Apparently only serious situations and deaths get the actual test to make sure.

THIS.

Not to mention the death numbers associated with the seasonal flu is seemingly swept under the rug.

 

[Mulletsoldier]

The success rate is not necessarily poor. It largely depends on the strains that are being reported, and which strains were comprised in that years vaccination efforts. The scientists make educated guesses about the strains for the year. The thing is, influenza mutates on a regular basis, and is the reason why we continue to have outbreaks every year without a universal vaccination. They are getting closer though at a universal effort. There are certain aspects about the influenza virus that remain consistant with each strain, and they're working on being able to get the body to recognize that unique aspect, and then form adaptive immunity as a result.

Exactly, and this is an unfortunate aspect people are disinclined to research and understand - that is, that the genetic similarities between the strains of H1N1 subtype of the Influenza A Virus impart the vaccines modified for each strain an a priori safety, efficacy and applicability. Despite it being swine origin, and as you know, the point mutations in SIV's DNA have been reported to be a several dozen amino sequences away from the H1N1 strain responsible for both the majority of seasonal influenza infections, as well as the so-called, "Spanish Flu". And as a result, all this rhetoric and nonsense about it being "unfounded," and "compromising" can hardly be characterized as scientifically valid. As far as I know, the most recent modifications to the Influenza A vaccine have been specifically to combat RNA synthesis and replication by attacking the novel form of RNA polymerase which H1N1 uses to synthesize itself. By all means, a modification which should not turn this [...fairly...] effective vaccine into a people-killer!

 

[Trauma1]

Everyone I know who has reported to the clinic with the flu has gone home with a 'probably' h1n1 without official confirmation. Apparently only serious situations and deaths get the actual test to make sure.

That's because anyone testing positive for influenza subtype A (which H1N1 is derived) is automatically assumed to be positive for H1N1 (which requires further testing). In all reality, the flu is the flu. Most symptoms are self-limiting, and the treatment is exactly the same: Rest, Fluids, and more Rest. Influenza is deadly to certain populations; especially in those that are immunocompromised (i.e., HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Pregnant women (especially during the 3rd trimester), Autoimmune Diseases, and the very young and very old.) Diabetics are also at increased risk for complications.

Antivirals can be initiated (Relenza and Tamiflu) to help reduce symptom severity and duration, but they HAVE to be started within 24-48 hours of symptom onset to be any advantage at all.

 

[hman85]

Thousands, or Millions of people missing work during an economic recession would be disastrous.

But yeah...You're right. Its all a big scam. The vaccine is actually a serum that will induce acceptance of our new socialist philosophies.

We're tracking your IP now and will be murdering you shortly. See you soon.

Hahaha

 

[Jayhawkk]

Roger that trauma! Always enjoy your reality input to these subjects!

 

[Trauma1]

Exactly, and this is an unfortunate aspect people are disinclined to research and understand - that is, that the genetic similarities between the strains of H1N1 subtype of the Influenza A Virus impart the vaccines modified for each strain an a priori safety, efficacy and applicability. Despite it being swine origin, and as you know, the point mutations in SIV's DNA have been reported to be a several dozen amino sequences away from the H1N1 strain responsible for both the majority of seasonal influenza infections, as well as the so-called, "Spanish Flu". And as a result, all this rhetoric and nonsense about it being "unfounded," and "compromising" can hardly be characterized as scientifically valid. As far as I know, the most recent modifications to the Influenza A vaccine have been specifically to combat RNA synthesis and replication by attacking the novel form of RNA polymerase which H1N1 uses to synthesize itself. By all means, a modification which should not turn this [...fairly...] effective vaccine into a people-killer!

My sentiments as well, K.

Many of the pharmacological antivirals look to disrupt RNA synthesis of the virus inhibiting its replication ability; while others are designed to inhibit specific factors (mainly proteins) that the virus needs to survive. Tamiflu for example looks to inhibit the virus from being able to liberate itself from the host cell and spread. Tamiflu targets a protein called neuraminidase that lives on the flu virus cells. This protein helps the flu virus break through the cell walls so it can move on to other cells and replicate itself. Tamiflu inhibits the neuraminidase protein, so that the virus can't leave the cell to infect other cells. Eventually, the virus dies.

Most vaccines look to introduce the specific viral protein coat antigen that the humoral immune system will recognize, form antibodies against, and eventually develop adaptive immunity as a result. I had a really good article on the H1N1 vaccine, but I don't know where I stored it on my computer.

The 1918 "Spanish Influenza" pandemic was very interesting; especially in that it was very deadly to the young and healthy with a robust immune system. That viral variant played off the strong immune response, and caused the massive release of the inflammatory mediator, cytokine. It was termed a "cytokine storm"; which lead to massive respiratory complications, and very often death. Many of those people also died from secondary bacterial opportunistic infections though (primarily pneumonia); as is the potential case with all influenza illness.

I started a Vitamin D thread here recently. They're finding that Vitamin D not only is heavily involved in the upregulation of endogenous antimicrobial peptides (mainly the cathelicidins) which help prevent incidence of infection, but also blunts the over-response of the immune system inflammatory mediators; esentially not making the immune system better, just much smarter. These findings are huge in terms of Influenza/disease prevention and treatment.

 

[nparisi]

You need to maybe pay more attention to what's going on. We've had 47 deaths in AZ related to H1N1. Nearly everyone I know has had it..especially my friends associated with health care. It's active in my daughter's daycare.

What part of AZ are you in? There hasn't been a single confirmed case on my university's campus. I'm sure if I go out of my way to look for cases I could find them but I figure if it was a big enough problem where I live I would a)be hearing of many more cases b)know someone or even know someone's cousin's sister's aunt's boyfriend's hair stylist who has it but I haven't even experienced that. Just wondering if you live in the scottsdale/paradise valley area or glendale(where my campus is)?
My mother also is a nurse in a retirement/assisted living home(in Scottsdale) and there have been no incidents there, thankfully.
The distinction between the symptoms of H1N1 and regular flu seem unclear as well.
And you say nearly everyone you know has had it...Since you didn't say otherwise I'm assuming they are over it and fine now? So I don't see a need to panic. Obviously the elderly and young should be more careful and those that work in healthcare but I am neither and left my job at Banner months ago. I already worry about enough crap as it is, I don't see any benefit in getting myself worked up here. I'll continue to wash my hands frequently, eat well, exercise, take vitamins, etc etc and if I get it I get it...