<p>[Woman</a> Disabled by Flu Shot Reaction](<a href=“FOX 5 DC”>FOX 5 DC)</p>
<p>An Ashburn, Virginia woman is in the fight of her life after suffering a very rare side effect to the seasonal flu shot.</p>
<p>The vast majority of doctors say flu shots are safe. In this case, the FDA says they found nothing wrong with this particular batch, but sometimes there are complications.</p>
<p>That’s apparently what happened to Desiree Jennings, and now her life will never be the same.</p>
<p>Are we looking to eliminate all risk- might be hard on the birth rate.
did you realize
[CNN.com</a> - U.S. has second worst newborn death rate in modern world, report says - May 10, 2006](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/05/08/mothers.index/]CNN.com”>CNN.com - U.S. has second worst newborn death rate in modern world, report says - May 10, 2006)</p>
<p>When I was in the hospital after having my first, my husband came to see me after spending time in the waiting room talking to another father. ( of twins)
I asked what room his wife was in… but I never met her, she had died.</p>
<p>Roughly 30,000 people die in the U.S. alone from the “regular” flu every year. The vast majority would be alive today live if they had the sense to get a flu shot. Flu shots save lives; this woman’s case, while tragic, does not diminish the efficacy of prevention for the vast majority of the population.</p>
<p>The U.S. tends to have a higher newborn mortality rate because there are more likely to be interventions in the U.S. Most other countries would declare the newborn stillborn.</p>
<p>How tragic.</p>
<p>What they need to invest some effort in is finding out a way to determine who will have bad reactions, rather than telling us that flu shots are safe for everybody, every time. It simply is not true. It may be true for the majority of people, but it’s not true for everybody. The medical profession has known that flu shots cause bad reactions in a very few people for decades.</p>
<p>* U.S. tends to have a higher newborn mortality rate because there are more likely to be interventions in the U.S. Most other countries would declare the newborn stillborn.*</p>
<p>stillborn infants are included in infant mortality rate</p>
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<p>I don’t think any responsible organization is making that claim. Every immunization, every medical procedure (including dental cleanings) comes with risk. Skipping the immunizations and procedures comes with risks, too. Many people forget that last part.</p>
<p>My heart goes out to this young woman.<br>
The fact is - correlation does not equal causation. It is entirely possible the flu shot did not cause her condition. In over half the cases of dystonia the cause is unknown. An infection also could have caused it. the article said she became ill 10 days after the flu shot. Perhaps this illness caused her condition rather than the shot.</p>
<p>The problem with articles like this is that some people will develop an unnecessary fear of getting a flu shot.</p>
<p>I have heard that the flu shot does not really prevent flu deaths, it prevents pneumonia deaths. I have also seen the chart (will try to look for it) from the CDC site (not other) that shows the deaths from flu holding pretty the same for the past 30 years or so, even though the inocullation campaigns result in more people getting the shots every year.</p>
<p>And about newborn mortality rates - no matter which way we count it it stays that the US has the highest (or almost there) rate of all the industralized countries.</p>
<p>We have to sign consent forms, detailing risks, for all immunizations - including flu vaccines. Is that not standard?</p>
<p>Anyway, reading consent forms can be daunting when you get to the section on possible risks - and in that vein, imagine having to read and okay a consent form each time you drove your car or got on a plane or … (fill in the blank).</p>
<p>A friend’s father died after a medical procedure that had a 97% success rate. She said that the 3% loomed larger when her dad was in that group.</p>
<p>So sorry about the young woman - no matter the cause.</p>
<p>Another few reactions posted recently one from Korea and the other NY:</p>
<p>[The</a> Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Additional Death Linked to Flu Shot Reported](<a href=“http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/10/15/2009101500806.html]The”>Additional Death Linked to Flu Shot Reported - The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - National/Politics > National)</p>
<p>Additional Death Linked to Flu Shot Reported
An 80-year-old woman died today an hour after receiving her annual flu shot raising the number of influenza vaccine-related deaths in Korea to five in the last 10 days, according to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs.</p>
<p>The exact cause of the woman’s death is still under investigation, but health authorities confirmed that a 51-year-old man who died last Friday two days after receiving his flu shot was the victim of another disease and that the vaccine was not the cause of his death.</p>
<p>There have been growing concerns over the safety of domestically-produced flu vaccines since the country’s first three vaccine-related deaths were reported last week.</p>
<p>[City</a> Nurse Stricken With Rare Syndrome After Flu Shot | NBC New York](<a href=“City Nurse Stricken With Rare Syndrome After Flu Shot – NBC New York”>City Nurse Stricken With Rare Syndrome After Flu Shot – NBC New York)</p>
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<p>…and they’re certainly telling everyone about it. My husband just got his flu shot. I’ve got the eleven pages of dense-text handouts and a copy of the signed consent form right here.</p>
<p>Guillane-Barre syndrome is another risk and gets a lot of press. A French study, however, found that having influenza can cause Guillane-Barre syndrome.
Again, while there may be a correlation - the causation has not been proven.</p>
<p>
It is generally not influenza that kills people. It is the secondary infections and complications that cause mortality. Influenza vaccine prevents people from getting influenza.</p>
<p>All rather meaningless without any sense of the base rate. How many people have gotten this vaccine? How many people would die from the flu without the vaccine? </p>
<p>Pulling out an extreme case or two does not warrant massive and expensive attempts to make something zero risk. Everytime you walk out your door, you risk your life. People die everyday in this country from choking on food, or pulling in an appliance, or crossing the street or enjoying Halloween. Nothing is without risk; we can’t prevent all small risks at any cost (no matter how tragic the outcome of those small risks).</p>
<p>Having had asthma and pneumonia as an adult, I will take my chances with the flu shot.</p>
<p>I had mine last week and today have a slight fever and a bad headache, earlier. Is it because of this? Possibly. Or another virus. All things considered, I know how sick I have gotten from secondary infections that take much longer to heal from than the actual flu. </p>
<p>I am still on the fence on the swine flu shot, but am leaning that way due to risk factors, age and the school population I work with.</p>
<p>littlegreenmom,</p>
<p>From what I am reading these days, most of the serious complications from H1N1 are respiratory in nature. Due to your past medical history, particularly the asthma, I would go ahead and get the vaccine. Every time this virus makes the rounds, there is a chance for it to mutate into something even more dangerous. Then there will be a stampede to get that vaccine and you wouldn’t want to miss out on it at that time.</p>
<p>Nrdsb4,</p>
<p>Thanks for that info. That is what I am hearning around these parts, too. My work is having a swine flu clinic in 3 weeks. I should sign up before it is too late.</p>
<p>Not sure about the teenagers in my house - shot, or no? One has had asthma as a child but is off his meds in the last year or so. He would be at higher risk, of course. But how about a healthy teen with no major health problems? </p>
<p>I know that the elderly seem to be more immune to H1N1, overall.</p>
<p>littlegreenmom -
read the articles I posted here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/793988-h1n1-myth.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/793988-h1n1-myth.html</a></p>
<p>Personally, I would encourage all young adults, healthy or not, to get vaccinated for H1N1. Also go to [url=<a href=“http://www.flu.gov%5DFlu.gov%5B/url”>http://www.flu.gov]Flu.gov[/url</a>] and read the CDC recommendations.</p>
<p>When I first started hearing about the “swine” flu they said this was no ordinary seasonal flu, this one will knock you on your a$$ for a full week, much more serious. Now I am hearing the symptoms are relatively mild… oh, but it is more likely to affect young people where the seasonal flu is more likely to affect older adults, so it is imperative that everyone get vaccinated. OK, get your story straight, and let me know how it all works out.</p>
<p>Thanks, Just a Mom.</p>
<p>This is why I love CC parents and students!</p>