Anaphylaxis in Canada – worse than earlier reported
by Richard Seah
Cases of anaphylaxis – severe allergic reactions – in Canada following H1N1 vaccination are much worse than originally reported.
Early reports said there were six cases. This was enough to raise alarm bells and to have vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKilne recall a batch of vaccines associated with the cases. The batch contained 170,000 doses, of which about 150,000 doses had been administered. This meant that the incidence of anaphylaxis was 4 in 100,000, which is about 13 times the expected incidence of just 0.32 in 100,000.
Now, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has confirmed that there were, in fact, 24 cases of anaphylaxis, including one death of a man in his 80s. This means the incidence rate is actually 16 in 100,000, or about 50 times higher than expected!
Not surprisingly, PHAC Head Dr. David Butler-Jones was quick to divert blame from the flu vaccine, but to point out that the person who died had other medical conditions. This has been the typical response of pro-vaccine doctors and government health officials whenever an adverse event follows vaccination.
“It’s important to remember that just because a medical event follows vaccination, it may not have been caused by the vaccination; it may have been caused by other factors, as unfortunate events continue to occur with or without vaccine,” Dr Butler-Jones told a news conference.
This is what Barbara Fisher, Co-founder & President of the US National Vaccine Information Center, has to say about such responses. Speaking in 2001 about the Prevnar PCV7 vaccine (for pneumonia) being approved in spite of several babies dying during the vaccine trials, she said: “What’s scientific about that? That every time something bad happens after vaccination it’s ‘coincidence’? That’s not science, that’s politics.”
Anaphylaxis develops quickly, usually within minutes of being exposed to a substance (most commonly food, insect stings and drugs/vaccines) that the person is allergic to. Symptoms include breathing difficulties, weak but rapid pulse, sudden drop in blood pressure, swollen lips / tongue / throat that makes breathing and swallowing difficult, hives. vomiting, anxiety, feelings of “impending doom”, etc. Immediate medical treatment is needed, failing which the person may lose consciousness and die.
Such severe allergic reactions are rare but have happened before. Some years back, when Australia rolled out its HPV vaccination programme (against cervical cancer), it also recorded a higher than normal anaphylaxis rate of 2.6 in 100,000.
However, nobody seems able to explain how anaphylaxis might be associated with ONE BATCH of vaccines but not others, which was apparently what happened in Canada. When asked about that by a Canadian newspaper, Dr John Treanor, a flu vaccine expert at the University of Rochester, New York said it is “a difficult question to answer”.
Posted on November 27th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Homeopathic fIrst aid for anaphylaxia from any causes: Keep a stock of Aconite 30c. Take 1 pill / tablet every 15 minutes until symptoms subside or emergency medical help arrive. These can be purchased legally via the internet.