Swine flu…”When pigs fly”

Here we go again folks…remember the smallpox media blitz after 9/11 touting a significant biological warfare threat? Followed up by the Anthrax scare? Well let’s start there before we dive into the “swine flu.”

Okay take a look at this statement straight from the CDC website:

In June 2001, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made recommendations for using smallpox (vaccinia) vaccine to protect persons working with orthopoxviruses and to prepare for and respond to a possible terrorist attack involving smallpox (Source)

Two things to notice here:

Look at the date of the recommendation.
Look at why they’re recommending a smallpox vaccine.

Questions for you to answer:

When was the World Trade Center attacked? (Answer: September 11, 2001)
When was there ever a bio-terrorist attack? (Answer: Never)
If President Bush set aside $509 million for smallpox vaccine production, but people never got the vaccine, where did all the money go? (It’s been estimated that it would actually cost $1 Billion, and who’s paying for that? Yes…you the taxpayer).

Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way…without any smallpox or anthrax outbreaks (except the imaginary threats portrayed by the media)…let’s jump into the next money maker “Swine Flu.”

Most people aren’t even aware that Swine Flu is not a “new” thing (I was one of them, until I did the research). The media portrays this virus as the new superstar alongside what Kanye West is stirring up. And people bite. With words such as “Pandemic” and “Outbreak” how can it not get your attention right? But what the media isn’t coughing up is the 1976 accounts of the swine flu. Yup, same thing happened back then and we’re going through it all over again, with the exact same reactions.

Let me summarize what played out back then:

A soldier at Fort Dix was diagnosed with the flu of H1N1 strain.
NIH told the ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) and they planned a mass “vaccination” program.
The government allocated $137 million for the production of a vaccine.
The vaccine manufacturers made one request: that the federal government indemnify them against claims of adverse reactions as a requirement for release of the vaccines
August 2, 1976 – a few men at the American Legion in Philadelphia died from “flu-like” symptoms, but was later discovered they had contracted “Legionnaire’s disease.” But since the swine flu scare was going around, the media quickly portrayed it to be linked. Mass hysteria continued.
Vaccinations commenced
Reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome from the vaccination surfaces, approximately 565 cases noted and 25 who died. (I know of a patient who’s family member was affected by this).
Vaccinations halted after 10 weeks

Here’s a quote that was stated in Reuter’s Health section:

Tests show the swine flu vaccine closely matches the H1N1 virus, which suggests it will protect people well. Children also respond to the vaccine just as they do the seasonal flu, meaning those over 10 need one shot while children 9 and under need two.

Did that say “closely” matches? Let me let you in on a little immunology secret…your immune system doesn’t function on closely matching in order to be effective. It’s sort of like a lock & key mechanism…the lock doesn’t open if the key “closely” matches. It just doesn’t. The article also states:

Swine flu is already widespread in 21 U.S. states. But the virus so far is proving to be milder than expected, with a death rate similar to that of seasonal flu.

If the death rate is similar to the seasonal flu, why is the media in an uproar over this? Well, all you have to do is look back into history and see that we’re just repeating what’s been done before. Unknown scare, media pushes out the message, government responds by allocating tax payer money to drug companies to produce vaccines and people bite. Give it a few months and people will stop talking about it when Brittney Spears or Paris Hilton hits the town again. Yup, the swine flu is nothing more than makin’ bacon.