Letter passed off misinformation about H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine

To the Editor:

I'm writing in response to Wesley Thompson's letter published in the Oct. 29 edition. There was a shocking amount of misinformation in the letter, and I couldn't simply stand by and let it go without a rebuttal. The letter mentions thimerosal, a preservative used in some of the H1N1 vaccines. Newsweek in February printed a great article on thimerosal and how it was believed to be linked with autism, I highly suggest looking it up on their Web site. It is called "œAnatomy of a Scare" by Sharon Begley.

The science turned out to be complete bunk but the people got into an outrage over it, leading to some bans. In the end there is currently no convincing evidence that vaccines or Thimerosal cause autism. The mercury from one dose in the swine flu vaccine totals about 25 micrograms; one would get more mercury by eating a tuna-fish sandwich (Oct 9, Tara Parker-Rope, www.NYT.com).

The letter mentioned squalene, and that it may cause Gulf War Syndrome. This too turns out to be completely false. Studies have found that there is no connection between the two (June 2009, PubMed.gov), and that squalene does not induce an immune response (Aug 21, 2009, Joseph Albietz, sciencebasedmedecine.com).

The letter is correct in mentioning that getting a vaccine after one has already gotten swine flu is useless; your body would be already creating anti-bodies against the flu, and that is the whole point of the vaccine.

Lastly, the letter mentions the flu vaccine campaign in 1976. I'll defer to the World Health Organization: "Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is an acute disorder of the nervous system. It sometimes develops following a variety of infections, including influenza. Studies suggest that seasonal influenza vaccines could sometimes be associated with an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome on the order of one to two cases per million vaccinated persons. During the 1976 influenza vaccination campaign, about 10 persons per million vaccinated persons developed GBS, which stopped the vaccination campaign and led to the withdrawal of the vaccine. The reason why GBS developed in association with that specific vaccine has never been firmly established. The potential for the development of a similar risk with future vaccines can never be firmly excluded. However, the influenza A (H1N1) vaccine will be manufactured according to established standards and post-marketing surveillance will be conducted to monitor potential development of any serious adverse events following administration of vaccine. Safety monitoring systems are an integral part of strategies for the implementation of the new pandemic influenza vaccines" (July 12, 2009, www.WHO.int).

As for why Congress passed a law protecting pharmaceutical companies in case of a lawsuit regarding the vaccine (and I could not find anything mentioning such a law from any reputable source), we can chalk it up to big pharma having big money allowing them to buy big lobbyists and cover their backsides in case of emergency.

I urge to always do their own research, especially when it comes to their health. Be skeptical, use reputable sources, trust large groups of scientific organizations (like WHO) over the opinions of a lone dissenter (Dr. Tenpenny), but don't trust either blindly. The stakes are too great; this is your life we are talking about.

Adam Blenner, freshman
Ohio University
Athens