Swine Flu Vaccine Shortage: Why?

Millions of Americans already have been infected with swine flu. Forty-six states have widespread flu, and the president has declared a national emergency.
But only recently have U.S. health officials discovered why manufacturers can't deliver as much swine flue vaccine as expected.



Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say for months, the companies didn't realize how far short their vaccine "yields" were falling. That's because they didn't have the chemicals — called reagents — that would have told them how much active ingredient they had in their vaccine production vats.
"To really understand how much product you have, you need to do potency tests," says Dr. Anne Schuchat, chief of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. She says reliable tests used to measure potency were delayed.
"When they were run, the manufacturers basically found out that the product they had was actually less than they thought they had," Schuchat said in an interview with NPR. "That wasn't something we knew a long time ago. That's relatively recent."
On top of that, there were glitches in new machines manufacturers installed to put vaccine in vials and package the vials. So there was an unexpected bottleneck in the so-called fill-and-finish part of getting vaccine out the door.
The CDC didn't realize the combined effect of these problems until mid-October. That's when it revised its projected swine flu vaccine delivery dates downward.
The problems have left local public health officials frustrated and bewildered.
"The vaccine situation is quite frustrating," says Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the health commissioner for Los Angeles County.
"The numbers we were asked to anticipate and plan for have turned out to be gross overestimates of what has been supplied to us," Fielding says. "I don't understand what the issues are with the manufacturers, that from one week to the next they can't give us more accurate estimates."
Los Angeles County got its first delivery of vaccine against the new H1N1 flu last week. It got 300,000 doses for a city of 10 million, with no real idea of when to expect more. Two-thirds went to private health care providers, one-third to free public clinics.
Fielding says before now the county canceled dozens of vaccine clinics. When the first ones opened this past weekend, demand was brisk. People had to wait up to three hours to get a flu shot, and Fielding says he saw few people drop out of line.
Vaccine yield problems with swine flu are not new. Last July, vaccine manufacturers reported problems in growing the new H1N1 virus - or, rather, a hybrid of the swine flu virus and a standard vaccine virus strain - in chicken eggs. That's a crucial step in the current technology for making flu vaccines.
However, CDC scientists thought those problems had been overcome. Unfortunately, not so. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that some vaccine manufacturers have had only one-fifth the viral yield from chicken eggs that they expected.
Some manufacturers are reportedly working with a different "seed" strain of vaccine virus that gives better yields.
Meanwhile, the flu virus is spreading rapidly. No one knows when to expect the crest of this wave of the swine flu pandemic — the second wave since the new virus first appeared last April. Scientists at the University of Washington predict it will be sometime in November. Others decline to make projections.
Vaccine production won't be able to catch up very soon. The CDC's Schuchat says that raises an obvious question.
"People wonder whether, when the vaccine is available for you or those in your family, will it be too late for that vaccine to give you any benefit?" she acknowledges.
"It's hard to make an argument that the vaccine is going to protect very many people at the rate it's coming out," says Dr. Marc Lipsitch of the Harvard School of Public Health, a CDC consultant. "Much of this wave will be over by the time most Americans have access to the vaccine."
Schuchat disagrees. She says even when this wave of swine flu peaks, there will still be time for many people to get vaccinated.
"A key point is that when the peak occurs in any one area, half the people who are going to become infected haven't yet become infected," Schuchat says.
Fielding, the Los Angeles County health commissioner, thinks Schuchat is right.
"I don't think it's too little, too late," Fielding says. "I think it's too little. Obviously for people who get sick or who get very seriously ill, it's too late. But for many others, I think it's going to arrive in time to help prevent disease."
Dr. Donald Burke, dean of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health, thinks swine flu vaccine will not come in time to protect most Americans against the current wave of infection. But he thinks there is a "very real possibility" of a third wave of swine flu in December or after the first of the year.
"So even if we see a peak now, I will stand with the recommendation to get vaccinated," Burke says. Some think if enough children get vaccinated in November and December, that could prevent or blunt a third wave.
But CDC officials are currently chary of predicting when the vaccine will be available in quantities sufficient to protect the 159 million Americans who are considered at highest risk of the new H1N1 flu.
"Given how far off some of the projections have been from what we have now," CDC director Thomas Frieden said ruefully last week, "I would prefer to just take it one day at a time, one week at a time."

Vaccine revolt! Swine flu vaccine support crumbles as flimsy rationale for H1N1 shots becomes apparent

(NaturalNews) Public support for the swine flu vaccine is evaporating by the day as the rationale for the vaccine appears increasingly ludicrous to anyone paying attention. Moms, nurses, day care workers and members of the general public are increasingly realizing that Big Pharma's rationale for swine flu vaccination just doesn't add up.

Recent polls conducted by the mainstream media indicate that more than fifty percent of moms are refusing to expose their children to the swine flu vaccine, and nurses and health practitioners across the US and UK are going vocal with their opposition to the vaccine.

Legal action against the FDA's approval of the swine flu vaccine is already underway (http://www.naturalnews.com/027205_v...), and public protests are gaining momentum in raising awareness about the primary objections to the swine flu vaccine. Intelligent, informed people everywhere are saying NO to this vaccine!

Popular support for the vaccine is crumbling by the day, and health authorities are now turning to exaggerated scare stories to try to drum up demand for their vaccines. Where scientific credibility is lacking, fear is being invoked in its place.

Why the swine flu vaccine doesn't add up

So why is the justification for the swine flu so flimsy? It all comes down to these five crucial reasons being pushed by the vaccine industry... but as you'll see below, each of these five reasons is demonstrably false!

Reason #1) The H1N1 swine flu pandemic is dangerous and deadly!

Why it's flimsy: While the infection rate of H1N1 is currently high, the fatality rate is remarkably low. In fact, it's no higher than a normal, seasonal flu.

Reason #2) The vaccine protects you from the virus!

Why it's flimsy: There is absolutely no scientific evidence demonstrating that the swine flu vaccine offers real-world protection against the circulating H1N1 virus. While there is evidence showing that it produces antibodies, as people who have studied vaccine effectiveness already know, the mere existence of vaccine-induced antibodies doesn't directly translate into functional, real-world immunity! Vaccines are often, in effect, fabricated immunity that often don't provide practical immune defense in the real world.

Reason #3) The vaccine is perfectly safe, even for kids!

Why it's flimsy: This reason is truly laughable. None of these vaccines have been properly safety tested by the FDA or the drug companies. They were approved by the FDA with a waiver, utterly bypassing the normal process of long-term safety testing that the public expects the FDA to enforce. In fact, according to attorney Jim Turner, the FDA's baseless approval of these swine flu vaccines is a violation of federal law. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027205_v...)

Reason #4) There's nothing else you can do to protect yourself from the swine flu (therefore you must take the vaccine shot).

Why it's flimsy: This reason is an outright lie. In order to sell more vaccines, the pharmaceutical industry (and all its bureaucratic cohorts at the CDC and WHO) are intentionally keeping people ignorant of far safer and more effective options such as vitamin D and anti-viral herbal remedies.

H1N1 (swine) influenza (Swine flu)

Swine influenza is flu virus usually found in pigs. The virus occasionally changes (mutates) and becomes infectious in humans. When this happens, the disease becomes a concern to humans, who have little or no immunity against it. This means the virus has the potential to spread quickly around the world. It also may be more difficult to treat than the usual, seasonal human flu viruses.

Symptoms

Symptoms of H1N1 flu infection in humans are similar to classic flu-like symptoms, which might include:

• Fever above 100.4 °F
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Headache
• Chills
• Muscle aches
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting

Treatments

Most people who get H1N1 flu will likely recover without needing medical care. Doctors, however, can prescribe antiviral drugs to treat people who become very sick with the flu or are at high risk for flu complications.

If you need treatment for H1N1 flu, the CDC recommends that your doctor give you zanamivir (Relenza) or osteltamivir (Tamiflu). These drugs work best if you receive them within 2 days of becoming ill. You may get them later if you are very sick or if you have a high risk for complications.

To prevent infection with H1N1 flu, people living in the same house as someone diagnosed with the virus should ask their doctor if they also need a prescription for these medicines. Careful respiratory hygiene and frequent hand-washing are also recommended steps for reducing the risk of getting H1N1 flu.

Aspirin or products that contain aspirin should not be given to anyone 18 years old or younger.

Causes

In the spring of 2009, cases of human infection with H1N1 flu were confirmed in Mexico and in several states in the United States. Cases of infection in humans were also reported in other countries.

The H1N1 flu virus is contagious and can spread from human to human. At this time, it is unknown how easily it can spread between people.

It is known that flu viruses can spread from pigs to people, and from people to pigs. However, you CANNOT get H1N1 flu virus from eating pork.

Human-to-human infection with the H1N1 flu virus likely occurs the same way as seasonal flu, when an infected person coughs or sneezes into air that others breathe in. People may also get infected by touching something with the virus on it, such as a door knob or counter, and then touching their mouth or nose.

You can find an updated case count of confirmed H1N1 flu infections in the U.S. at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site.

Tests & diagnosis

If you think you have been exposed to H1N1 influenza, call your health care provider before your visit. This will give the staff a chance to take proper precautions to protect them and other patients during your office visit.

If the H1N1 flu becomes widespread, there will be little need to continue testing people, so your health care provider may decide not to test for the flu virus.

Your doctor may perform the following physical exam:

• Auscultation (to detect abnormal breath sounds)
• Chest x-ray

Your doctor can test for the H1N1 flu virus using a nasopharyngeal swab (a swab of the back of the inside of your nose), or grow it in a culture. However, this will likely happen only if:

• You are at high risk for flu complications.
• You are very sick.

Prognosis

The outlook depends on the severity of the infection and the type of H1N1 influenza virus that caused it.

The H1N1 flu outbreak in Mexico has resulted in 106 confirmed deaths thus far. At least 27 deaths had been reported in the U.S. at the time of this writing. Deaths have occurred in other countries as well. Officials were preparing for more.

For more information, visit:

• CDC - www.cdc.gov/swineflu
• World Health Oganization - www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

Prevention

People who work with pigs who might be infected should use protective clothing and special breathing masks.

Other steps you can take:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue away after using it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. You may also use alcohol-based hand cleaners.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, to avoid getting infected by germs.
• Avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you do get sick, consider staying home from work or school.

Complications

Severe illness may occur along with:

• Pneumonia
• Respiratory failure
• Death

Like seasonal flu, H1N1 flu may make other chronic medical problems worse.

A vaccination used to treat swine flu in 1976 was associated with some cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder that leads to nerve inflammation that causes muscle weakness.

When to contact a doctor

If you are ill and have any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.

In children, emergency signs include:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish or gray skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and a worse cough

In adults, emergency signs include:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and a worse cough