At the beginning of last years pharma fund raiser "pandemic", I wrote a lengthy piece reminding readers just how bad mercury really is to humans, and just how high the mercury content in the H1N1 flu shot was. These are the same vaccines that public heath officials keep referring to has having 'trace amounts' of mercury. I noted that they were so mercury toxic that they were classified as hazardous material and by law must be disposed of according to hazmat rules.
Now on the other side of the disease that killed ninety thousand Americans was the mildest flu in recorded history, more than $260 million dollars worth of vaccine, at least 40 million doses, are being disposed of accordingly. Being burnt in hazmat processing facilities with mercury scrubbers to keep this neurotoxin out of our environment.
Which again begs the question.... When we work so hard to keep mercury out of our waterways, WHY ARE WE PUTTING THIS POISON INTO OUR BABIES ON PURPOSE!!!!! IT IS ACTUAL HAZARDOUS MATERIAL!!! IT KILLS BRAIN CELLS!!! IT CAUSES MITOCHONDRIAL DISORDERS!!!!
Now I am going to be up all night worrying that the poor guy that has to burn all these vaccines is going to end up with Minamata Disease.
From Occupational Health and Safety Magazine:
Service Will Incinerate Unused H1N1 Vaccine Jul 23, 2010
Clean Harbors, based in Norwell, Mass., is offering the service to health care providers because multiple doses of the vaccine contain enough mercury-based Thimerosal to be treated as a hazardous waste.
Clean Harbors of Norwell, Mass., now offers H1N1 Vaccination Incineration Services that will profile, collect, and dispose of unused 2009 H1N1 vaccine for health care customers nationwide. Multiple doses of the vaccine contain enough mercury-based Thimerosal to be treated by EPA as a hazardous waste and will be incinerated. Vaccine dated at the end of 2008 and early 2009 is now at the end of its shelf life and must be disposed, according to the company.
The HHS declaration of a 2009 H1N1 Public Health Emergency expired on June 23.
"We have seen many customers in various states looking for our H1N1 disposal capabilities," John C. Kelsey, the company's vice president, Healthcare Services, said in a July 22 e-mailed reply to questions about the service. "We wanted to announce it to the larger community as we are growing our customer count related to Healthcare Services. We have done a good amount of work in this area with vaccines through our hospital Pharmaceutical Waste programs."
He said the cost varies but is "generally the same pricing as other materials requiring hazardous waste incineration. The vaccine doses are in inventory and will be shipped via DOT packages for proper disposal," Kelsey added. "We are seeing multiple truckloads per week of the vaccine now and cannot align total amounts but we do expect the need to occur from many locations as the normal pathway for outdated items." OLFA North America
Unused vaccine doses normally are returned through Reverse Distributors, but these have no value and thus must be disposed as a waste, he said, continuing, "It is good that PHER funds can be used to reimburse organizations for the disposal process."
CDC mandates proper disposal of H1N1 vaccines and allows Public Health Emergency Response (PHER) funds to be available for the disposal. Health care providers interested in the service can call 888-304-7035, e-mail healthcareservices@cleanharbors.com, or visit www.cleanharbors.com/healthcare.
Millions of vaccine doses to be burned
by MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA — About a quarter of the swine flu vaccine produced for the U.S. public has expired — meaning that a whopping 40 million doses worth about $260 million are being written off as trash.
"It's a lot, by historical standards," said Jerry Weir, who oversees vaccine research and review for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The outdated vaccine, some of which expired Wednesday, will be incinerated. The amount, as much as four times the usual leftover seasonal flu vaccine, likely sets a record. And that's not even all of it.
About 30 million more doses will expire later and may go unused, according to one government estimate. If all that vaccine expires, more than 43 percent of the supply for the U.S. public will have gone to waste.
Federal officials defended the huge purchase as a necessary risk in the face of a never-before-seen virus. Many health experts had feared the new flu could be the deadly global epidemic they had long warned about, but it ended up killing fewer people than seasonal flu....
Hundreds of millions wasted on 'just in case' while the very real autism epidemic... yawn...
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The H1N1 flu virus could cause up to 90,000 U.S. deaths, mainly among children and young adults, if it resurges this fall as expected, according to a report released Monday by a presidential advisory panel.
The report urges speedier production of the H1N1 vaccine and the availability of some doses by September..."
Remember this bologna? I thought I would post it again now that the school year is through, and we have seen what kind of garbage/vaccine sales tools are put out by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Do you know how many people died in Maine from the H1N1 virus? 19.
Well sure the death rate in Maine was practically nill... it is a rural state... but what about a place like California, the most populous state in the nation? 579.
Virginia 37 Iowa 41 New Mexico 58 Illinois 111
Are we at 90,000 yet? Are we even approaching that 36,000 deaths per year that CDC claims die from the flu during a typical season?
Let's go ahead and skip to the grand total of all deaths in the US:
Estimates range that between four and eight billion dollars was spent on this "pandemic" just in the US. Only a quarter of the population took the shot, and more than 70 million doses are being thrown away (that is mercury.. toxic waste.. hazmat material).
If we were not living in bazzaro world, the media would be raving about the billions wasted, the public would be screaming for hearings and investigations and jail time for fraud, and Barack Obama would have fired all these people and apologized to the American public for this colossal disaster and fear campaign. But apparently Holdren has put quaaludes in the drinking water.
But the really exciting question is... HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE H1N1 STRAIN EVERY YEAR! How awesome is it that CDC reports 36,000 deaths every year and we had less than a tenth of that this year! Why is CDC not partying in the street!? We have found the safest flu ever!!!
A school vaccine clinic in Warwick R.I. had to be shut down this week because someone spilled mercury and a hazmat team needed to be called in.
Because we all know that mercury on the ground is dangerous while mercury in a child's veins is safe and even recommended by CDC and AAP.
News reports say that a thermometer was accidentally broken, so the cafeteria where the vaccine clinic was being held had to be evacuated.
Spill causes scare at local H1N1 clinic Gym evacuated after mercury spills onto floor
Updated: Saturday, 05 Dec 2009, 2:39 AM EST
Published : Saturday, 05 Dec 2009, 2:38 AM EST
WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) - A chemical spill causes a hazmat scare at a local H1N1 clinic.
A thermometer accidentally broke Friday afternoon spilling mercury onto the floor of the gym at the Greenbush School in West Warwick.
The gym had to be evacuated.
It took crews hours to clean up that spill.
But what do you think the chances are of a mercury thermometer being used in a school in 2009? Haven't these gone the way cigarette ads and seat belts that buckle in the middle?
Might not the most likely source of a mercury spill during an H1N1 vaccine clinic be the H1N1 Vaccine itself?
Because as I called to your attention last month, these shots, being given to children, if spilled on the ground are legally required to be cleaned up by a hazmat team. As a reminder:
"the mercury concentration in the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots is exponentially larger than what is considered hazmat material. A comparison of mercury concentrations from Pediatrics:
0.5 parts per billion (ppb) mercury = Kills human neuroblastoma cells (Parran et al., Toxicol Sci 2005; 86: 132-140).
2 ppb mercury = U.S. EPA limit for drinking water http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html#mcls
200 ppb mercury = level in liquid the EPA classifies as hazardous waste. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/mercury/regs.htm#hazwaste
25,000 ppb mercury = Concentration of mercury in the Hepatitis B vaccine, administered at birth in the U.S., from 1990-2001.
50,000 ppb Mercury = Concentration of mercury in multi-dose DTaP and Haemophilus B vaccine vials, administered 4 times each in the 1990's to children at 2, 4, 6, 12 and 18 months of age. Current "preservative" level mercury in multi-dose flu (94% of supply), meningococcal and tetanus (7 and older) vaccines. This can be confirmed by simply analyzing the multi- dose vials.
In my home state of Maine mercury disposal is regulated by The Hazardous Waste Rules Chapter 850:
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Chapter 850: IDENTIFICATION OF HAZARDOUS WASTES
B. Identification of hazardous wastes by characteristics
(5) Characteristic of toxicity
(b) A waste that exhibits the characteristic of toxicity has the EPA Hazardous Waste Number specified in Table I which corresponds to the toxic contaminant causing it to be hazardous.
Table I. Maximum Concentration of Contaminants for the Toxicity Characteristic
What this means is that if you took one of the vaccines being injected into the children at my son's elementary school outside and squirted it onto the pavement, a hazmat rules would be triggered and a hasmat team must be called in to clean it up."
So is this what happened? Did the school comply with the law and call hazmat in to clean up a thimerosal containing vaccine spill and then lie about it, telling the public that it was a thermometer so that they would not see the violent absurdity of injecting hazardous material into children?
Any one near Warwick wanna follow this up and find a witness to this "thermometer" accident?
UPDATE:
Apparently Deirdre Imus is asking the same questions:
Deirdre also points out that mercury thermometers were banned in Rhode Island seven years ago. from RI.gov on their exchange program for mercury thermometers:
As of January 2002, Rhode Island legislators passed a law to ban the sale of mercury-containing fever thermometers.
There is not a snowball's chance in Hawaii that there was an HG thermometer in that school cafeteria in December of 2009.
Last night I attended a SAD 75 (a Maine school district) public meeting on the H1N1 response and school vaccine clinics. It was a strange experience for me, as I feel like I had stepped back in time to a day ten years ago when giving mercury to children was no big deal, perfectly safe, just like candy really.
I pointed out a number of problems with doing so, which I assumed were common knowledge, that proved at the very least that mercury containing vaccines were not desirable and I will list some of those here for those of you who watched the meeting on TV and wanted references to my points.
As I want every parent and individual to have the informed consent that I was not given in vaccinating my child, I will also list several other references.
And if you have not read it already, this is a good time to review my "History of Thimerosal" (needs updating since 2007)
First, a reminder of what mercury does in the brain:
CDC's toxicology division, ATSDR, says that this is what mercury can do to children:
How does mercury affect children?
Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults. Mercury in the mother's body passes to the fetus and may accumulate there. It can also can pass to a nursing infant through breast milk. However, the benefits of breast feeding may be greater than the possible adverse effects of mercury in breast milk.
Mercury's harmful effects that may be passed from the mother to the fetus include brain damage, mental retardation, incoordination, blindness, seizures, and inability to speak. Children poisoned by mercury may develop problems of their nervous and digestive systems, and kidney damage.
And they have set up a new web site to warn children of the dangers of mercury complete with scary video:
This study demonstrates that very low-levels of Thimerosal can contribute to immune system disregulation.
Excerpt: "Our findings that DCs primarily express the RyR1 channel complex and that this complex is uncoupled by very low levels of THI with dysregulated IL-6 secretion raise intriguing questions about a molecular basis for immune dyregulation and the possible role of the RyR1 complex in genetic susceptibility of the immune system to mercury."
The type of mercury in vaccines becomes trapped in the brain at higher rates than ingested mercury from fish:
Thimerosal is a preservative that has been used in manufacturing vaccines since the 1930s. Reports have indicated that infants can receive ethylmercury (in the form of thimerosal) at or above the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for methylmercury (MeHg) exposure, depending on the exact vaccinations, schedule, and size of the infant. This study compared the systemic disposition and brain distribution of total and inorganic mercury in infant monkeys following thimerosal exposure with infants exposed to MeHg. Monkeys were exposed to MeHg (via oral gavage) or vaccines containing thimerosal (via i.m. injection) at birth and 1, 2, and 3 weeks of age. Total blood mercury (Hg) levels were determined 2, 4 and 7 days after each exposure. Total and inorganic brain Hg levels were assessed 2, 4, 7 or 28 days after the last exposure.
The initial and terminal half-life of Hg in blood following thimerosal exposure was 2.1 and 8.6 days, which are significantly shorter than the elimination half-life of Hg following MeHg exposure at 21.5 days. Brain concentrations of total Hg were significantly lower by ~3-fold for the thimerosal-exposed infants when compared to the MeHg infants, while the average brain-to-blood concentration ratio was slightly higher for the thimerosal-exposed infants (3.5±1.0 vs. 2.5±0.6). A higher percentage of the total Hg in the brain was in the form of inorganic mercury for the thimerosal-exposed infants (34% vs 7%). The current study indicates that MeHg is not a suitable reference for risk assessment from exposure to thimerosal derived Hg. Knowledge of the toxicokinetics and developmental toxicity of thimerosal is needed to afford a meaningful assessment of the developmental effects of thimerosal-containing vaccines.
It causes neuro-inflammation (ie, rapid brain growth) by activating "glial" cells in the brain:
Charleston JS, Bolender RP, Mottet NK, Body RL, Vahter ME, Burbacher TM., Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Washington
The number of neurons, astrocytes, reactive glia, oligodendrocytes, endothelia, and pericytes in the cortex of the calcarine sulcus of adult female Macaca fascicularis following long-term subclinical exposure to methyl mercury (MeHg) and mercuric chloride (inorganic mercury; IHg) has been estimated by use of the optical volume fractionator stereology technique. Four groups of monkeys were exposed to MeHg (50 micrograms Hg/kg body wt/day) by mouth for 6, 12, 18, and 12 months followed by 6 months without exposure (clearance group). A fifth group of monkeys was administered IHg (as HgCl2; 200 micrograms Hg/kg body wt/day) by constant rate intravenous infusion via an indwelling catheter for 3 months. Reactive glia showed a significant increase in number for every treatment group, increasing 72% in the 6-month, 152% in the 12-month, and 120% in the 18-month MeHg exposed groups, and the number of reactive glia in the clearance group remained elevated (89%). The IHg exposed group showed a 165% increase in the number of reactive glia. The IHg exposed group and the clearance group had low levels of MeHg present within the tissue; however, the level of IHg was elevated in both groups. These results suggest that the IHg may be responsible for the increase in reactive glia. All other cell types, including the neurons, showed no significant change in number at the prescribed exposure level and durations. The identities of the reactive glial cells and the implications for the long-term function and survivability of the neurons due to changes in the glial population following subclinical long-term exposure to mercury are discussed.
It impairs methylation, a biological process that creates the compound gluthatione, that allows the body to process out toxic substances:
This study demonstrates how Thimerosal inhibits methylation, a central driver of cellular communication and development. Excerpt:
"The potent inhibition of this pathway [methylation] by ethanol, lead, mercury, aluminum, and thimerosal suggests it may be an important target of neurodevelopmental toxins."
Thimerosal, at a fraction of the dose found in vaccines, causes motochondrial damage so severe, that it causes the cell actually self-destruct:
Yel L, Brown LE, Su K, Gollapudi S, Gupta S.Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. lyel@uci.edu
There is a worldwide increasing concern over the neurological risks of thimerosal (ethylmercury thiosalicylate) which is an organic mercury compound that is commonly used as an antimicrobial preservative. In this study, we show that thimerosal, at nanomolar concentrations, induces neuronal cell death through the mitochondrial pathway. Thimerosal, in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, decreased cell viability as assessed by calcein-ethidium staining and caused apoptosis detected by Hoechst 33258 dye. Thimerosal-induced apoptosis was associated with depolarization of mitochondrial membrane, generation of reactive oxygen species, and release of cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) from mitochondria to cytosol. Although thimerosal did not affect cellular expression of Bax at the protein level, we observed translocation of Bax from cytosol to mitochondria. Finally, caspase-9 and caspase-3 were activated in the absence of caspase-8 activation. Our data suggest that thimerosal causes apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells by changing the mitochondrial microenvironment.
Humphrey ML, Cole MP, Pendergrass JC, Kiningham KK. Department of Pharmacology, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25704-9388, USA. Environmental exposure to mercurials continues to be a public health issue due to their deleterious effects on immune, renal and neurological function. Recently the safety of thimerosal, an ethyl mercury-containing preservative used in vaccines, has been questioned due to exposure of infants during immunization. Mercurials have been reported to cause apoptosis in cultured neurons; however, the signaling pathways resulting in cell death have not been well characterized. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the mode of cell death in an in vitro model of thimerosal-induced neurotoxicity, and more specifically, to elucidate signaling pathways which might serve as pharmacological targets. Within 2 h of thimerosal exposure (5 microM) to the human neuroblastoma cell line, SK-N-SH, morphological changes, including membrane alterations and cell shrinkage, were observed. Cell viability, assessed by measurement of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in the medium, as well as the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, showed a time- and concentration-dependent decrease in cell survival upon thimerosal exposure. In cells treated for 24 h with thimerosal, fluorescence microscopy indicated cells undergoing both apoptosis and oncosis/necrosis. To identify the apoptotic pathway associated with thimerosal-mediated cell death, we first evaluated the mitochondrial cascade, as both inorganic and organic mercurials have been reported to accumulate in the organelle. Cytochrome c was shown to leak from the mitochondria, followed by caspase 9 cleavage within 8 h of treatment. In addition, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was cleaved to form a 85 kDa fragment following maximal caspase 3 activation at 24 h. Taken together these findings suggest deleterious effects on the cytoarchitecture by thimerosal and initiation of mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis.
Thomas J. Hagele, Jessica N. Mazerik, Anita Gregory, Bruce Kaufman, Ulysses Magalang, M. Lakshmi Kuppusamy, Clay B. Marsh, Periannan Kuppusamy, Narasimham L. Parinandi,
Lipidomics and Lipid Signaling Laboratory, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, United States
Correspondence: Address correspondence to Narasimham L. Parinandi, PhD, Room 611-A, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, The Ohio State University, 473 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. E-mail:narasimham.parinandi@osumc.edu
Currently, mercury has been identified as a risk factor of cardiovascular diseases among humans. Here, the authors tested the hypothesis that mercury modulates the activity of the endothelial lipid signaling enzyme, phospholipase D (PLD), which is an important player in the endothelial cell (EC) barrier functions. Monolayers of bovine pulmonary artery ECs (BPAECs) in culture, following labeling of membrane phospholipids with [32P]orthophosphate, were exposed to mercuric chloride (inorganic form), methylmercury chloride (environmental form), and thimerosal (pharmaceutical form), and the formation of phosphatidylbutanol as an index of PLD activity was determined by thin-layer chromatography and liquid scintillation counting. All three forms of mercury significantly activated PLD in BPAECs in a dose-dependent (0 to 50 µM) and time-dependent (0 to 60 min) fashion. Metal chelators significantly attenuated mercury-induced PLD activation, suggesting that cellular mercury-ligand interaction(s) is required for the enzyme activation and that chelators are suitable blockers for mercury-induced PLD activation. Sulfhydryl (thiol-protective) agents and antioxidants also significantly attenuated the mercury-induced PLD activation in BPAECs. Enhanced reactive oxygen species generation, as an index of oxidative stress, was observed in BPAECs treated with methylmercury that was attenuated by antioxidants. All the three different forms of mercury significantly induced the decrease of levels of total cellular thiols. For the first time, this study revealed that mercury induced the activation of PLD in the vascular ECs wherein cellular thiols and oxidative stress acted as signal mediators for the enzyme activation. The results underscore the importance of PLD signaling in mercury-induced endothelial dysfunctions ultimately leading to cardiovascular diseases.
(More studies on the damage that vaccination and their components are known to do)
CDC reports that approximately 100 children die of the flu every year.
It was reported by the panel that 40-50 children die of flu per year, and that the 86 that have died from H1N1 this far had vastly exceeded that number. I told the panel that my understanding was that the number was 100 per year, and that we had not yet exceeded that. I had gotten that number from this CDC video that was posted a year ago on their You Tube Channel (50 seconds in Dr. Jeanne Santoli states that about 100 children die of influenza every year).
They have either doubled the real number, or cut it in half, presumably to encourage vaccination.
So my question is... was CDC inflating the number of children who die per year from the flu last year to scare parents into getting the seasonal flu vaccine OR are they deflating number of children who die per year from the flu this year to scare parents into getting the H1N1 vaccine?
[Update: CDC has reported that pediatric flu deaths have ranged between 46 and 153 over the last six years. CDC has apparently chosen the lowest year of pediatric flu deaths to use as their "average" to make this years flu deaths seem like they are twice the 'average'.
How many children have died from flu-associated complications during previous flu seasons?
* During the 2003-04 season, 153 flu-associated deaths in children were reported to CDC. (This data was collected by CDC.) * During the 2004-05 season, 47 deaths in children were reported to CDC. (This is the first year that influenza mortality in children became a nationally reportable condition.) * During the 2005-06 season, 46 deaths in children were reported to CDC. * During the 2006-07 season, 76 deaths in children were reported to CDC. * As of June 14, 2008, 83 deaths in children occurring during the 2007-08 season have been reported to CDC.
(Note: The counts above are of flu-associated deaths among children according to the flu season the deaths occur, not when they are reported to CDC.)
So pediatric deaths over the last 5 years average 81.
In Maine, no children have died from the flu this year, despite the fact that it has been one of top three states where the virus first became widespread.
It should also be noted that CDC is currently stonewalling a CBS News request for accurate H1N1 flu numbers. Additionally, CDC turned down a request to expidite CBS's FOIA request for the information on state H1N1 numbers because CDC has determined the request is “not a matter of widespread and exceptional media and public interest.”
Read that again... accurate numbers on H1N1 are “not a matter of widespread and exceptional media and public interest.”]
Thimerosal Containing Vaccines are legally classified as Hazardous Materials
Because of the mercury content in these vaccines, they cannot be thrown away, or even disposed of according to medical waste guidelines. To do so would be illegal.
They must be disposed of according to HazMat rules. From the Wisconsin guidelines:
Some vaccines are preserved with 1:10,000 or 0.01 percent Thimerosal (see the vaccines in the table titled "Thimerosal Content in Some U.S. Licensed Vaccines" at www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm that have .01% in the Thimerosal Concentration column). Thimerosal contains about 50 percent mercury by weight. Vaccines with 1:10,000 or 0.01 percent Thimerosal have about 50 mg/L mercury, which exceeds the 0.2 mg/L hazardous waste toxicity characteristic regulatory level for mercury. According to state and federal hazardous waste management requirements, discarded Thimerosal-preserved vaccines may need to be managed as hazardous waste, using the waste code D009 (mercury).
It is illegal to manage Thimerosal-preserved vaccines as infectious waste or regular trash.
A (just in case) correction on my statement on mercury concentrations in vaccines. I may have said "parts per million" when I meant "parts per billion", but I can't remember.
None the less, the mercury concentration in the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots is exponentially larger than what is considered hazmat material. A comparison of mercury concentrations from Pediatrics:
0.5 parts per billion (ppb) mercury = Kills human neuroblastoma cells (Parran et al., Toxicol Sci 2005; 86: 132-140).
2 ppb mercury = U.S. EPA limit for drinking water http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html#mcls
200 ppb mercury = level in liquid the EPA classifies as hazardous waste. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/mercury/regs.htm#hazwaste
25,000 ppb mercury = Concentration of mercury in the Hepatitis B vaccine, administered at birth in the U.S., from 1990-2001.
50,000 ppb Mercury = Concentration of mercury in multi-dose DTaP and Haemophilus B vaccine vials, administered 4 times each in the 1990's to children at 2, 4, 6, 12 and 18 months of age. Current "preservative" level mercury in multi-dose flu (94% of supply), meningococcal and tetanus (7 and older) vaccines. This can be confirmed by simply analyzing the multi- dose vials.
In my home state of Maine mercury disposal is regulated by The Hazardous Waste Rules Chapter 850
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Chapter 850: IDENTIFICATION OF HAZARDOUS WASTES
B. Identification of hazardous wastes by characteristics
(5) Characteristic of toxicity
(b) A waste that exhibits the characteristic of toxicity has the EPA Hazardous Waste Number specified in Table I which corresponds to the toxic contaminant causing it to be hazardous.
Table I. Maximum Concentration of Contaminants for the Toxicity Characteristic
What this means is that if you took one of the vaccines being injected into the children at my son's elementary school outside and squirted it onto the pavement, a hazmat rules would be triggered and a hazmat team must be called in to clean it up.
[Update 07/23/10 - Now that the "pandemic" has passed, and so few decided to take this toxic vaccine, tens of millions of doses are being destroyed. As I said they must be, via hazmat rules. Clean Harbors in Norwell, MA is offering their services. Via Occupational Health and Safety Magazine:
Service Will Incinerate Unused H1N1 Vaccine Jul 23, 2010
Clean Harbors, based in Norwell, Mass., is offering the service to health care providers because multiple doses of the vaccine contain enough mercury-based Thimerosal to be treated as a hazardous waste.
Clean Harbors of Norwell, Mass., now offers H1N1 Vaccination Incineration Services that will profile, collect, and dispose of unused 2009 H1N1 vaccine for health care customers nationwide. Multiple doses of the vaccine contain enough mercury-based Thimerosal to be treated by EPA as a hazardous waste and will be incinerated. Vaccine dated at the end of 2008 and early 2009 is now at the end of its shelf life and must be disposed, according to the company....
Hazardous materials do not belong in children. Period.]
EPA says you must weigh 550 lbs. to safely process the mercury in a flu vaccine
EPA daily limits on mercury intake are .1 mcg per kilogram of weight. 1 kilo = 2.20462262 pounds My 55 pound 7 year old therefore weighs 25 kelograms.
25 x .1 = 2.5
The EPA says that my son should receive no more than 2.5 mcg of mercury in a day. The vaccine he will be offered at school contains ten times that amount.
I weigh 255 lbs or 116 kelos. 116 x .1 = 11.6
The vaccine is still more than twice what a big girl like me should be exposed to.
Further these EPA standards are based on ingested methyl mercury, the kind found in fish, (only about a tenth of which is absorbed through the GI tract into the blood stream). We have already seen from the Burbacher study above, that injected thimerosal becomes trapped in the brain at a much higher rate than ingested mercury. So the EPA standards I am using are probably should be upped by ten fold when being applied to vaccination.
EPA/FDA/CDC will not set safety limits for injected methyl mercury, despite the demand from parents for them to do so for many years.
No one has died from mercury
One of the panelists, a physician, suggested that no one has died from mercury in vaccines. This is a disingenuous statement as vaccine deaths are attributed to the vaccine as a whole, not to the components of the vaccine. And of course Death is a known outcome of vaccination and is covered under the HHS Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
And yes... peoplehavediedfrommercury. Government agencies and states are trying to eliminate mercury in daily life, but it is still in vaccines.
Bills and laws limiting and eliminating mercury are ubiquitous now. It is the height of cognitive dissonance to say that mercury should be eliminated from the environment, but injected into babies as young as 6 months.
And all this is true BEFORE you even begin the discussion on whether or not mercury containing vaccines can cause autism. CDC has done only ONE study of the relationship between vaccines and autism. A HORRIBLE study. It took a very fat bestseller to explain just how many shenanigans went into this study. Julie Gerberding was finally forced to tell congress that the study methods were "useless" in answering the question, 'does mercury in vaccines cause autism', and she did it the cowards way... a quiet report that was leaked to a reporter a few months later. No formal retraction or apology has been issued and the study is still touted as proof that vaccines don't cause autism. Note that this paragraph is the first time the word "autism" is even appears in this piece. And the last.
Now consider the statements like this that CDC are making:
Dr. Anne Schuchat appearing on The Doctors - "Now the other questions people have...and.. .I get this all the time...is about mercury. It's about the Thimerosal preservative. I want to say there have been a lot of studies about that. There's no scientific link between the thimerosal preservative and any kind of long term problem".
CDC is lying about the safety of thimerosal. Don't trust them, don't trust me. Do your own research and fact check everyone. It is your health and the health of your family.
Today Thomas R. Frieden, head of CDC appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to testify on H1N1 and in a response to a question from Congressman Darrell Issa, said that the CDC would like to create federal mandates forcing vaccines on the public.
Issa asked about the "push back" from the New York medical professionals to the states mandate that they receive the H1N1 and seasonal flu shot and the case that the state has for forcing the vaccines. Frieden expressed the opinion that he believed that the state mandate is warranted, and that he thinks such mandates should take place at a federal level, although not this year.
This echos Julie Gerberding's comments to the New York Times last week in regard to the NY manndate that CDC wanted to implement forced vaccines while she was there.
"The unions do not oppose vaccination “but we oppose a mandatory program,” he said. “This is: ‘You don’t get the shot, you’re fired.’ ”
Some prominent health experts, however, were delighted.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called New York’s move “a big deal.”
She had pushed for years for mandatory vaccinations — not just to protect health care workers, she explained, but to protect their patients, who are often aged, have weakened immune systems or are bedridden after surgery, which increases pneumonia risks.
“We tried to market the idea, to push people, to educate,” she said. “But looking back, broadly speaking, we failed. It’s time to look at a more aggressive approach.”
By contrast, her successor, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, said last month that even though he expected a surge in swine flu deaths this winter and even though C.D.C. guidelines give health care workers first priority for the new vaccine, he would not push to make vaccinations mandatory."
Apparently the NYT was only partially right that Frieden wouldn't push for forced vaccinations. He wants to force them, just not this year.
Video can be found here, Issa/Frieden discussion starts at 43:20.
UPDATE: Listening to Frieden again, I can't tell if he is talking about mandating vaccines for health care workers or for the general public. Not that either are acceptable. But I don't think that a mandate for health professionals would be anything but a precedent for mass forced vaccination.
Remember all those talking heads on TV that keep saying that mercury is gone from vaccines and won't be in the H1N1 flu shot? They are misinforming you.
Does the Swine Flu shot have mercury in it? The answer is yes... some of them.
If you decide to get the shot, INSIST on seeing the vaccine package insert. If you are offered a shot that is drawn from a vial, that will be a mercury containing vaccine.
Keep in mind that many parents of children with autism reported that their child received a shot from a multi-dose vial, and then saw the nurse throw the bottle away. Mercury is a heavy metal, and if the nurses who use that vial do not "shake vigorously before use" then the mercury settles at the bottom and the last person to get a shot drawn from that vial gets a "hot shot" with all the mercury in it.
This week the FDA released the vaccine package inserts for the upcoming H1N1 vaccines:
____________________________________________________________________
The H1N1 Sanofi Vaccine Package Insert:
"Sanofi Pasteur 449/454 Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine" 10 September 2009_v0.3
FULL DOSE MERCURY VACCINE - 25mcg
EPA says that safety limits are .1mcg per kg of weight per day, which makes th...is vaccine safe for anyone who weights 550 lbs!
Do you weight 550 lbs?
____________________________________________________________________
The H1N1 CSL Vaccine Package Insert - Version 2.0
"Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine, a sterile suspension for intramuscular injection, is supplied in two presentations:
• 0.5 mL preservative-free, single-dose, pre-filled syringe.
• 5 mL multi-dose vial containing ten doses. Thimerosal, a mercury derivative, is added as a preservative; each 0.5 mL dose contains 24.5 micrograms (mcg) of mercury."
MERCURY VACCINE - 2mcgEPA says that safety limits are .1mcg per kg of weight per day, which makes this vaccine safe for anyone who weights 550 lbs!
Do you weight 550 lbs?
IF you are getting the shot, read the packaging, make sure it is Hg free. And think twice about getting this shot.
____________________________________________________________________ Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited BLA 1750 September 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Vaccine
"Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine, a sterile suspension for intramuscular injection, is supplied in two presentations:
• Prefilled single dose syringe, 0.5-mL. Thimerosal, a mercury derivative used during manufacture, is removed by subsequent purification steps to a trace amount (≤ 1 mcg mercury per 0.5-mL dose) (3, 11)
• Multidose vial, 5-mL. Contains thimerosal, a mercury derivative (25 mcg mercury per 0.5-mL dose). Thimerosal is added as preservative."
"a trace amount" - Mercury at nanomolar amounts can cause mitochondrial damage so severe that it causes cells to self destruct.
MERCURY VACCINE - 2mcgEPA says that safety limits are .1mcg per kg of weight
per day, which makes this vaccine safe for anyone who weights 550 lbs!
Do you weight 550 lbs?
____________________________________________________________________
Pay close attention to Section 17.2 where they discuss that patients are CONTAGIOUS after getting the nasal form of this vaccine.
This can actually ...spread the disease that the CDC is supposedly trying to prevent.
Note that the adverse reactions section reports that a side effect of the H1N1 flu shot in about ten percent of recipients is..... the flu itself.
___________________________________________________________________
IF you are getting the shot, read the packaging, make sure it is Hg free. And think twice about getting this shot.
I have heard it reported that that mercury in vaccines has been proven safe... this is absolutely false.
A reminder of what mercury does to brain cells:
I will update this page as information is made available
A participant in the german H1N1 vaccine trials reports serious adverse reactions, including coughing up blood, but the lead researcher blows it off. Yet another story of problems in vaccine safety studies that are ignored.
Why test a vaccine exactly, if you already have decided what the outcomes can or cannot be? Apparently Heir Doctor will only accept 'redness and swelling at the injection site' as a side effect.
The article does not say which version of the vaccine he got. Wish there was more information on this case.
A swine flu vaccine test subject from Munich complains about horror side-effects – researchers deny allegations
Munich – A harmless prick – and thereby possibly save thousands of people. This is what several hundreds of volunteers thought, who each collected a payment of 250 Euro for their participation in the study of the swine flu vaccine trial at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University.
One of them has now quit the trial: The Diploma-businessman Axel Sch. (40). He claims : "The vaccination has made me ill! – the test is irresponsible.” He says that within a few hours after the vaccination, on August 10, he had sweat on his forehead. "I felt totally beat. On the third day, my kidneys and head were aching and I got a fever. I then had a coughing fit - and the wash basin was suddenly red - it was blood!“
LMU-medical researcher Frank von Sonnenburg, who is in charge of the country-wide study, doesn’t consider these accounts credible. He says that such side-effects cannot be related to the vaccine. He does not deny that, as with other flu-vaccinations, flu-like symptoms may occur as a reaction to the vaccination. "Additionally, there may be light pain, redness or swelling at the injection site."
"Obviously many of the test subjects would have side-effects. We do such a study precisely because we want to find out any possible side-effects. If flu cases were to become more severe and we had not done any tests, – there would be a big outcry by everyone."
Was the vaccine admitted too quickly to the study? The fact is that in this composition, the vaccine has not yet been applied to humans. The Federal Health Minister Ulla Schmidt explained on Wednesday that she had felt put under pressure by the pharmaceutical industry from the beginning. Criticism is being voiced with increasing frequency. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institute points out that side-effects to this vaccine are to be more expected than in connection with a normal flu-vaccine. The Paediatric Association points to a possibly increased number of unknown side-effects.
Probably because of this, the USA only test vaccines without so-called adjuvants. These lead to greater side-effects, explains study leader Frank von Sonnenburg. "The adjuvants produce more anti-bodies, which is why the body’s defensive reaction is also greater." Kidney pains and bloody cough of the kind Axel Sch. Experienced were however not to be expected, even with this adjuvant. "We conduct a clean study."
Axel Sch. however insists that his complaints were a result of the vaccination. "Surely it is no coincidence that they occurred directly after the vaccination." He criticizes the university, saying that he was not properly informed prior to the study. He said that for three days he was flat on his back during this heat. "When I phoned the LMU, they simply asked me the question needed to fill in their form and told me to see my doctor." He now wants the medical costs and loss of earnings compensated by the medical insurance covering the trial.
Axel Sch. has participated in medical trials even when he was a student. He had also had good experiences with an LMU flu-vaccine study. "This is the reason why I immediately consented when they asked me if I would test the new vaccine."
Now his trust in research is gone, he is quitting the vaccine trial. In October he will fly to Latin America for professional reasons. He had looked forward to traveling unconcerned – by then he would have received the second of three vaccinations. "I’m not fearful just the same – I don’t belong to an at risk group. Also, the swine flu can’t possibly be as bad as the side-effects of the vaccine."
As I previously mentioned, my dear husband has started a new company called Maine Bunk Beds. Non-Toxic, safer beds for kids. Yesterday we came up with a simple three step plan to become wealthy beyond our imaginations.
1. Get the government excluded Maine Bunk Beds from any product liability.
2. Get the government to not allow kids to attend school if they didn't buy the recommended number of Maine Bunk Beds.
3. Get the government to stage PR campaigns where mock riots were held with people resorting to violence if they couldn't get their hands on a Maine Bunk Bed.
On April 26, a national public health emergency was declared by officials in the U.S. Departments of Health and Homeland Security. 1,2 We were told it was necessary to declare a national emergency because people were getting sick from a new swine flu virus that began in Mexico and might cause a deadly influenza pandemic.
So far, the vast majority of people who get sick with swine flu have symptoms that are no worse than the regular flu and recover completely. 3,4,5, 6
Three Week Testing of Swine Flu Vaccines
The declaration of a national public health emergency last spring set a chain of events in motion: some schools were closed, 7 some people were quarantined 8, 9 and drug companies were given billons of tax dollars to create experimental swine flu vaccines. 10 These new vaccines are being fast tracked by the FDA. We are being told they will only be tested for a few weeks on a few hundred children and adults 11 before being given to children in schools in October.
Liability Protection for Vaccine Injuries & Deaths
Under federal legislation passed by Congress since 2001, an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) 12,13,14 allows drug companies, health officials and anyone who gives experimental vaccines to Americans during a declared public health emergency, to be protected from liability if people get hurt.
Safety and Informed Consent At Risk in Schools
The National Vaccine Information Center has been a vaccine safety watchdog since 1982. We are questioning the need to turn schools into medical clinics this fall where swine flu vaccines being rushed to market will be given to children first. We are calling on the Obama Administration and state Governors to provide solid evidence to parents that it is necessary to give children experimental swine flu vaccines in schools.
Are the states prepared to obey vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act,15 which include:
1. Giving parents written information about vaccine benefits and risks before children are vaccinated; 16
2. Keeping a record of which vaccines the children get, including the manufacturer’s name and lot number;
3. Recording which vaccines were given in the child’s medical record;
4. Recording serious health problems that develop after vaccination in the child’s medical record and immediately making a report to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) 17
Will States Compensate Vaccine Injured Children?
And there are more questions that need to be answered: Are the states prepared to provide financial compensation to children harmed by swine flu vaccines given in schools? Are parents going to be given complete, truthful information about swine flu vaccine risks and have the right to say “YES” or “NO” before their children are lined up and vaccinated in the school setting?
Vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry a risk of injury or death and those risks are greater for some than others. 1 in 6 children in America is learning disabled18. 1 in 9 has asthma 1 in 150 develops autism. 1 in 450 has diabetes and millions more suffer with allergies and autoimmune disorders. Will the swine flu vaccine be safe for them?
Although it is a good idea for health officials to prepare for a worst case scenario and stockpile vaccines, it is a bad idea to turn schools into medical clinics and basically test experimental swine flu vaccines on children first. Especially when nobody has any liability. That has the potential to hurt children instead of keeping them well.
NVIC Oct. 2-4 Conference Addresses Vaccine Risks
This Oct. 2-4, 2009 in Washington, D.C., parents concerned about the lack of vaccine safety and informed consent protections in the vaccination system will gather with doctors, scientists, bioethicists, legal experts, journalists, and consumer advocates at the Fourth International Public Conference on Vaccination to talk about the science, policy, law and ethics of vaccination.
Register now
– Special Early Bird registration ends on July 31.
Click here for more information about swine flu, swine flu vaccines, public health laws that govern you and you family, and how you can be better prepared to make well informed decisions during the declared national public health emergency.
Endnotes:
1 U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Press Briefing on Swine Influenza with Dept. of Homeland Security, Centers for Disease Control and White House. April 26, 2009.
2 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Determination That A Public Health Emergency Exists. April 26, 2009.
3 Gale J. Bloomberg News. Swine Flu May Be Less Lethal Than Earlier Estimated, Study Says. July 6, 2009.
4 Schmid RE. The Seattle Times. Study: New flu inefficient in attacking people. July 2, 2009.
5 Centers for Disease Control. FluView. 2008-2009 Influenza Season Week 27 Ending July 11, 2009.
6 Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Office of Vaccine Research and Review. Regulatory Considerations Regarding the Use of Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Vaccines. July 23, 2009.
7 US Department of Education. H1N1 Flu & U.S. Schools: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions. May 5, 2009.
8 NBC. Marine Tests Positive for Swine Flu. April 29, 2009.
9 CBS. DHS Sets Guidelines for Possible Swine Flu Quarantines. April 28, 2009.
10 The Independent. Obama earmarks emergency funding to fight swine flu. July 16, 2009.
11 Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Office of Vaccine Research and Review. Regulatory Considerations Regarding the Use of Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Vaccines. July 23, 2009.
12 Project Bioshield Act of 2004 (PL 108-276)
13 The Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006 (PL 109-417).
14 Nightingale SL, Prasher JM, Simonson S. Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Enable Use of Needed Products in Civilian and Military Emergencies, United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases Vo. 13, No.7: July 2007.
15 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (PL99-660)
16 CDC. Fact Sheet for Vaccine Information Statements.
17 MedAlerts. Online Access to the U.S. VAERS Database.
18 Fisher BL. Vaccine Safety Research Priorities: Engaging the Public. National Vaccine Advisory Committee. April 11, 2008.
Just one more product that they can make, that even when used correctly can kill someone, or many someones, and they have no responsibility what so ever.
The article does not state whether or not the shots will be covered under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund, but I will assume for the time being that they are unless I find out otherwise.
But it is of little comfort as the VICP is not known for speedy justice. If one gets justice at all, it can take years (or decades in the case of Hannah poling who was injured almost ten years ago, got a judgment in her favor in November of 2007, still has not seen dime one, and whose parents don't anticipate seeing the first payments until at least 2010). Then that "justice" is doled out one scoop at a time by the court, whom you have to go to and ask for said cash for expenditure X and they say yes or no. My favorite story was of a child who was in a wheelchair and grew out of that wheelchair and petitioned the court to get some of her money to buy a new wheelchair and the court said "no, we already bought you a wheelchair" which was the wheelchair that she had just grown out of.
I guess the court cannot be too careful with all those crafty crippled tweeners running their little "street wheelchair" rackets.
Keep in mind, that the plan as of now is to dispense tens of thousands of doses of vaccine in September BEFORE THE SAFETY TESTING IS IN, and then go back and reformulated the next round according to the safety testing.
If you get the shot before mid October, you are assured of getting one that has no studies to back it up, and for which the people making it hold NO liability.
This for a disease which is killing around 1 in 400,000 people who catch it, and probably less than that.
(Just a reminder that the autism rate reported by the DOD of their dependents is 1 in 88. I believe that the government is spending 8.5 billion on Swine Flu this year. Proportional response?)
Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers
By MIKE STOBBE, Ap Medical Writer – Fri Jul 17, 8:15 pm ET
ATLANTA – The last time the government embarked on a major vaccine campaign against a new swine flu, thousands filed claims contending they suffered side effects from the shots. This time, the government has already taken steps to head that off.
Vaccine makers and federal officials will be immune from lawsuits that result from any new swine flu vaccine, under a document signed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, government health officials said Friday.
Since the 1980s, the government has protected vaccine makers against lawsuits over the use of childhood vaccines. Instead, a federal court handles claims and decides who will be paid from a special fund.
The document signed by Sebelius last month grants immunity to those making a swine flu vaccine, under the provisions of a 2006 law for public health emergencies. It allows for a compensation fund, if needed.
The government takes such steps to encourage drug companies to make vaccines, and it's worked. Federal officials have contracted with five manufacturers to make a swine flu vaccine. First identified in April, swine flu has so far caused about 263 deaths, according to numbers released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.
The CDC said more than 40,000 Americans have had confirmed or probable cases, but those are people who sought health care. It's likely that more than 1 million Americans have been sickened by the flu, many with mild cases.
The virus hits younger people harder that seasonal flu, but so far hasn't been much more deadly than the strains seen every fall and winter. But health officials believe the virus could mutate to a more dangerous form, or at least contribute to a potentially heavier flu season than usual.
"We do expect there to be an increase in influenza this fall," with a bump in cases perhaps beginning earlier than normal, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration approved the regular winter flu vaccine, a final step before shipments to clinics and other vaccination sites could begin.
The last time the government faced a new swine flu virus was in 1976. Cases of swine flu in soldiers at Fort Dix, N.J., including one death, made health officials worried they might be facing a deadly pandemic like the one that killed millions around the world in 1918 and 1919.
Federal officials vaccinated 40 million Americans during a national campaign. A pandemic never materialized, but thousands who got the shots filed injury claims, saying they suffered a paralyzing condition called Guillain-Barre Syndrome or other side effects.
"The government paid out quite a bit of money," said Stephen Sugarman, a law professor who specializes in product liability at the University of California at Berkeley.
Vaccines aren't as profitable as other drugs for manufacturers, and without protection against lawsuits "they're saying, 'Do we need this?'" Sugarman said.
The move to protect makers of a swine flu didn't go over well with Paul Pennock, a prominent New York plaintiffs attorney on medical liability cases. The government will likely call on millions of Americans to get the vaccinations to prevent the disease from spreading, he noted.
"If you're going to ask people to do this for the common good, then let's make sure for the common good that these people will be taken care of if something goes wrong," Pennock said.
___
AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report from Washington.
Your favorite CDC director and mine, Julie Gerberding, is back to help ABC news scare you into vaccinating with the rushed and poorly tested H1N1 flu shot by using the now tried and true, "On no... there's gonna be a vaccine shortage, get yours now", offense in their piece:
(UPDATE: After getting some criticism for scare mongering, ABC changed the title of the piece to, "CDC Downplays Swine Flu Vaccine Fears: Goverment Health Officials Say U.S. Preparations Should Preclude Risk of Shortage")
A few years back, there was an actual seasonal flu shot shortage because of a failure in manufacturing, and the news reported on it. To everyone's surprise, people RAN to get shots, even waiting in long lines. More people got flu shots that year than ever.
So now, they do it every year just before the fall. Get your flu shots before they run out! So of course the are using this tactic with swine flu (FYI, I listened in on the HHS National Biodefense Science Board meeting today on the Swine Flu and they are expecting to have tens of millions of vaccines available by September 15th [or sooner] and more than 190 million available by October, that is most of the US just in the first two months of flu season)
After the scare piece, Dr. Gerberding is introduced to us for a short interview thusly:
"Joining us now from Atlanta, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Julie Gerberding. ... do you have an update on when that vaccine might be available?
Dr. Gerberding shares with us:
Well if everything goes well, we should have vaccine early in the fall. But we've never had the luxury of being able to count on vaccine as the magic bullet in the early months. We know there is not going to be enough globally, and it will be many months before we can even cover our own population under the best scenario...
I am sure the public feels reassured about the vaccine by seeing the familiar face of a public health official talking about "magic" vaccines.
Except that Dr. Gerberding is not a public health official any more. She is now a PR consultant.
Gerberding left CDC in January at the request of the Obama administration and subsequently went to work for the global giant PR firm Edelman as an "adviser on global health strategy".
And Edelman represents PHARMA. And AstraZeneca, Novartis, Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories, and Johnson & Johnson.
"The PR genius behind all stages of Merck's HPV and Gardasil campaigns is the PR giant Edelman. The world's largest independent PR firm, Edelman boasts more than 2,100 employees working in 46 wholly owned offices worldwide, plus the additional resources of more than 50 affiliates. They report $299 million in revenues for FY 2006. In addition to Merck, Edelman works on behalf of the industry lobby group PhRMA, as well as some of the largest pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Novartis, Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories, and Johnson & Johnson. They proudly promote their health-related expertise as being adept in pioneering "health relationships with health care companies, advocacy organizations, foundations, NGOs and academic institutions." Co-optation, anyone?"
Edelman has made a name for itself outside of the pharmaceutical realm as well. A key chapter in Edelman's long and sordid history is their work on behalf of Big Tobacco. For example, in 1978, Edelman, working on behalf of R.J. Reynolds, produced a document titled Taking the Initiative on the Smoking Issue: A Total Program. The introduction states "The public mind-set against cigarettes is so firm that one cannot conscientiously promise miracles from the campaign suggested here. But we believe this program, executed effectively, can begin to slow or reverse the growing negative trends in public opinion regarding smoking; can stimulate a more balanced media coverage of smoking; and can generate a more congenial dialogue between smokers and non-smokers.... (Read that whole article.)"
Nice eh?
(Especially considering Gerberding was trying to end smoking at CDC, but then went to work for a PR firm that promotes smoking.)
In fact Richard Edelman, Dr. Gerberding's boss, is quite open about the fact that he makes his living by lying to the public creative truthing.
“In this era of exploding media technologies there is no truth except the truth you create for yourself.” – Richard Edelman
Edelman put his skills to work in praising Gerberding:
"Just prior to Dr. Julie Gerberding’s January 2009 resignation as Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, advertising industry mogul Richard Edelman praised her as a “selfless crusader, a throw-back to a time when public service was the highest calling.” Edelman cited Gerberding’s ability in “humanizing communications” and “the need to tell stories to buttress traditional CDC reliance on science and facts.”
So there you have it. Today Dr. Gerberding has come full circle from a public health official making ridiculous statements that shilled for PHARMA, to a PHARMA shill posing as a public health official.
Same schtick, just someone else signing a bigger check to her.
Watching this again, how could we have not just assumed that she would go into public relations.
UPDATE: Apparently the good doctor has begun making the rounds offering up a 'live healthy' message, that begins with slipping in a subtle message that is in the interests of PHARMA.
The day after the ABC interview, this opinion piece surfaced:
Robert Reich reported that Pharma was trying to kill part of the health reform bill that would drive down drug prices.
Julie is as entitled to her opinion as I am to mine, however she is not disclosing her conflicts of interest.
What are my conflicts of interest, you ask? Well in five years of blogging I have received about $1,850 in donations from individuals and ad sales from Lee Silsby (I discontinued ads cause I don't wanna mess with it). That works out to about $1.71 per blog post, as I have written 1082 of them.
My child is not in the Vaccine Injury Compensation pipeline and we are not suing anyone over anything.
Another Update: Another day, another new Gerberding article. Nothing since she left CDC in January, and now three in three days.
This one is her in Forbes praising NYC for its trans-fat ban.
I didn't see any conflicts of interest there. But I thought surely they woman would not just be talking about good health for the sake of her health.
Then tonight I realized that her successor at CDC, Thomas R. Frieden, was the NYC Health Commissioner who put the trans-fat ban in place. Well no conflict of interest there, just praising her successor.
But then I did another search on Edelman and Source Watch says that Edelman has some government PR contracts. I wonder if CDC is one of those government contracts.
Edelman and Gerberding met working together at a CDC Foundation where he was on the board. I wonder if that won him a contract.
I wonder if Edelman and co. were responsible for her "Pretty in Pink" makeover for the CNN interview? The change in her look was dramatic.
I will see if I can find out if there is a formal relationship between CDC and Edelman PR.
Update: On January 25th 2010, after a legally mandated one year waiting period, Julie Gerberding took her new position as the head of the vaccine division of Merck.
Recently I watched the BBC Documentary, "The Century of the Self", which details how Sigmund Freud's theories on the human psyche were used by his nephew to give birth to the PR industry. It was truly astonishing to see how we have been abused for a hundred years.
I am tacking it on to the end of this post as it is relevant.
Take the time to watch this four hour series. It is quite the wake up call to start thinking for yourself.
I have considered my self psych and media savvy, but I had no idea how many of my decisions had been made for me.
“We must shift America from a needs to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old have been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man’s desires must over shadow his needs.”
- Paul Mazer, Public Relations, Lehman Brothers in the 1930’s
Wait... I thought that H1N1 was such a huge threat that we needed to rush out a vaccine to everyone on the planet with as little as five days of safety testing, and that HHS "anticipated" being voluntary, but could be made mandatory for everyone.
But apparently is it also so small a threat that we don't even need to track how big the threat is any more.
You have got to be kidding me.
Apparently they mentioned this little tidbit under their breath as they were leaving a room or something, because their official spokesman was baffled when someone asked him about it.
I try very hard not to become cynical on vaccine issues and rush to blame over zealous vaccination policies on motives of financial gain, but I don't know how not to go there when the agency calling for world wide swine flu uptake stops measuring the need for such uptake.
As soon as they stop counting, no one can make the arguement that this vaccine will be necessary because we won't know how many people are actually dying from it. Which is fewer and fewer, now that the number of people infected is actually in the millions.
So we are just supposed to take WHO's advice to take a minimally tested vaccine, with out knowing if it really is necessary? Knowing full well that THEY don't even know if it is necessary?
When will health policy makers begin acting in good faith with the people who are supposed to be following their polices? Because now they know that we know that they don't even know if this shot is necessary?
I just we are just supposed to turn off our brains, not think for ourselves, have no desire to make informed health decisions and hand over our cash (via taxes, insurance premiums or actual cash) and get a shot because some people we don't know with letters after their names said so.
Come to think of it, who is the WHO anyway? Who are they accountable to, what do they know about me and my family, and why do I care what they think? If they are wrong in their recommendations and policies, or even criminal, what recourse do I have? Writing a strongly worded letter?
...becoming cynical...
W.H.O. Says It Plans to Stop Tracking Swine Flu Cases New York Times
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: July 16, 2009
In a move that caught many public health experts by surprise, the World Health Organization quietly announced Thursday that it would stop tracking swine flu cases and deaths around the world.
Skip to next paragraph
Related
Times Topics: Swine Flu (AH1N1 Virus) | World Health Organization
The announcement, made in a “briefing note” posted on the organization’s Web site late in the day, perplexed some experts, and even baffled a W.H.O. spokesman, Gregory Hartl, who said in an e-mail message, “I don’t have reliable info” about what his agency would track instead.
Only a little earlier in the day, Mr. Hartl had confirmed that Argentina, with 137 swine flu deaths since June, had surpassed Mexico, where the epidemic began in February, as the country with second largest number of swine flu deaths. Mexico has 121, and the United States, with a much larger population, has 211.
The last W.H.O. update, issued on July 6, showed 94,512 confirmed cases in 122 countries, with 429 deaths.
Many epidemiologists have pointed out that, in reality, millions of people have had swine flu, usually in a mild form, so the numbers of laboratory-confirmed cases were actually meaningless. And performing the tests has overwhelmed many national laboratories.
The briefing note said countries would still be asked to report their first few confirmed cases. It also said countries should watch for clusters of fatalities, which could indicate that the virus had mutated to a more lethal form. Other “signals to be vigilant for,” it said, were spikes in school absenteeism and surges in hospital visits.
In London, the Sunday Times is reporting that "When the new vaccine for swine flu arrives in Britain, regulators said this weekend, it could be approved for use in just five days."
No word yet on how long the trials for the H1N1 shots will last in the US.
I have spoken to an official at the Maine health department who is reporting that the vaccine delivered here will be one that comes in multidose vials, therefore will be a mercury containing vaccine.
Last week, HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that HHS was "anticipating a voluntary" H1N1 vaccine program this fall, which leaves room for the possibility that HHS could change their minds and make it mandatory.
I would encourage everyone to keep an eye on this story as it develops, as hastily manufactured, tested and delivered vaccines that are not held up to the same scrutiny that is standard during FDA licensure certainly would have a greater potential for adverse reactions when introduced to the general public.
Swine flu vaccine to be cleared after five-day trial
July 12, 2009 The Sunday Times
byJon Ungoed-Thomas
The path of a popular medicine from the laboratory to the chemist or doctor’s surgery can involve years of clinical trials on a select group of patients.
When the new vaccine for swine flu arrives in Britain, regulators said this weekend, it could be approved for use in just five days.
Regulators at the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) said the fast-tracked procedure has involved clinical trials of a “mock-up” vaccine similar to the one that will be used for the biggest mass vaccination programme in generations. It will be introduced into the general population while regulators continue to carry out simultaneous clinical trials.
However, regulators said fast-tracking would not be at the expense of patient safety. “The vaccines are authorised with a detailed risk management plan,” the EMEA said. “There is quite a body of evidence regarding safety on the trials of the mock-up, and the actual vaccine could be assessed in five days.”
The UK government has ordered enough vaccine to cover the entire population. GPs are being told to prepare for a nationwide vaccination campaign.
Dr Peter Holden, the British Medical Association’s lead negotiator on swine flu, who has been attending Department of Health meetings on the outbreak, said GPs’ surgeries were prepared for one of the biggest vaccination campaigns in almost 50 years.
He said although swine flu was not causing serious illness in patients, health officials were eager to start a mass vaccination campaign, starting first on priority groups. First, the jabs would reduce the chances of a shortage of hospital beds because of people suffering from swine flu. Second, it would reduce the effect on the economy by ensuring workers were protected from the virus.
“The high-risk groups will be done at GPs’ surgeries. People are still making decisions over this, but we want to get cracking before we get a second wave, which is traditionally far more virulent.”
Holden said it was likely the elderly would be given their seasonal flu jab as well as the swine flu vaccination. The new vaccine is likely to require two doses.
Details of the inoculation plans emerged after the death of a patient, reportedly a middle-aged man, at a hospital in the Basildon area of Essex. The victim had no underlying health problems, but officials say there is no evidence the swine flu virus had mutated into a more dangerous strain.
Holden said it would be the biggest campaign in response to an outbreak since mass vaccination against smallpox in 1962. He said surgeries would be aiming to inoculate about 30 people an hour in a “military-style operation”.
The Department of Health said it had still not finalised which groups would be vaccinated first, but children, frontline health workers, people with underlying illnesses and the elderly are likely to take priority.
The European Commission is also identifying population groups which it believes should get priority. It is keen to ensure that countries such as the UK, which had ordered supplies of the vaccine in advance, do not cause inequities in treatment elsewhere in Europe.
It warned health ministers in a note circulated last month that if the vaccines were more readily available in some countries it could cause “vaccine tourism/shopping in other member states”.
About 15 people have died of swine flu in Britain, but most of those infected get only mild symptoms. According to the latest figures from the Health Protection Agency, the UK has had 9,718 confirmed cases of the disease.
The Federal Government has begun the push of the swine flu vaccine, even before the vaccine has been completed.
It is more than a bit disconcerting to hear that the government is recommending a vaccine, and has decided to administer it in schools, before it has even been completed much less tested. The mantra of CDC on vaccines has always been, "the benefits outweigh the risks". Yet we have no vaccine or test upon which to base a risk/benefit analysis. This for a virus that appears to be less dangerous than the seasonal flu.
In 1976 CDC decided to launch a similar campaign. It was a disaster. Swine flu never came to fruition, and 4,000 people were permanently injured or killed by the shot.
In 1979, 60 Minutes did a story on the damage. It aired only once, but resurfaced last month on the internet.
It is obvious why it only aired once.
It is REMARKABLE how closely this story parallels our own. 30 years later, the CDC seems to have learned nothing about anticipating and dealing properly with vaccine injury. You could have taken these exact same quotes out of this story and put them in an autism story.
So did this exchange happen in 1979 or in 2009?:
Interviewer: "Why does this report from your own agency list neurological complications as a possibility?"
Director of CDC: "I think the consensus of the scientific community was that the evidence relating neurologic disorders to immunizations was such that they did not feel that this association was a real one."
The ads encouraging my parents to get the swine flu shot back then were not PSA's that took seriously their right to informed consent and educated them on the risks and benifits of getting the vaccine, they were PR pieces (including scare tactics, "...but Dotty had a heart condition and she died") put together by Madison Avenue.
Not only has HHS not learned to treat the public respectfully and be straight with them on this vaccine, they have lowered the bar on their PR push... all the way. This advertising push will be brought to you not by reasoned physicians upholding their ethical obligations by offering a comprehensive overview of risks and benifits, it will not even be brought to you by the professional ad men who sell you cars and beer, it will be brought to you by you:
Create a Flu Video & Be Eligible to Win $2500
So now you can not only be entertained by Fred Figglehorn, you can also get your medical advice from him.
HHS gets around these sticky ethical delemma's of being honest with the public and not trading on emotions or fears, by letting the public scare and cajole themselves into getting the shot.
As much as CDC claims that it wants to gain back credibility on vaccine issues, moves like this say different.
