New Flu Vaccine Linked to Paralysis

by Heidi Stevenson

18 August 2009

In a letter leaked from the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA), the new swine flu vaccine is linked to paralysis, Guillain Barré syndrome. It's the same condition that was caused by the 1976 flu vaccine prepared for an epidemic that never happened, yet the vaccine left about 500 people with their lives forever constrained by paralysis and 25 dead.

Does the government back down even a little over this news? Obviously not. Note that the information was leaked, not handed out to the public. Instead, the HPA is

merely advising neurologists to be on the lookout for paralysis after vaccination—not even asking them to close the barn door after escape, but just to notice when it happens. Even worse, notice that the first line of defense, GPs, were not notified, only neurologists. That's like telling the police department to be aware that an animal might escape from the barn, but not bothering to tell the farmer.

Lightweight coverage of the issue, such as that from Sky News⁽¹⁾, "Nerve Disease Alert Over Swine Flu Jab," would have you believe that it's nothing to worry about, that the paralysis is only temporary. They quote an unnamed HPA spokesman as saying:

"Guillain-Barré syndrome has long been identified as a potential adverse event that would require enhanced surveillance following the introduction of a pandemic vaccine.

But there is no evidence to suggest there is an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome from this vaccine.

There is robust evidence that no increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome arises from seasonal flu vaccination.

The "robust evidence" is not cited. The neurologists who warned the HPA pointed out that the risk of Guillain Barré may be as much as eight times higher from the vaccine, and that the US government withdrew it after only 10 weeks in 1976.

The new flu vaccines are not being thoroughly tested. The manufacturers have been granted the privilege of doing only short-term testing. Worse, we're expected to trust their tests, when they profit only from results suggesting little or no harm from their vaccines.

US citizens shouldn't rest easy. Notice that the information about the vaccine's risks originated out of the US—but the US government didn't deign to warn anyone. Instead, many states are considering making this potentially deadly and debilitating drug mandatory.

Other Flu Vaccine Risks

Guillain-Barré syndrome is not the only risk from the new influenza vaccine. A new adjuvant, squalene, may prove to be even worse, potentially causing autoimmune disorders.⁽²⁾ The vaccine may also include mercury, which has been linked to autism. In discussing the new flu vaccine's risks, the vaccine section coordinator of the Cochrane Collaboration, Dr. Tom Jefferson, stated:

But it could end up being anything because one of the additives in one of the vaccines is a substance called squalene, and none of the studies we’ve extracted have any research on it at all.

The HPA's Professor Miller says:

This monitoring system activates pandemic plans that have been in place for a number of years. We’ll be able to get information on whether a patient has had a prior influenza illness and will look at whether influenza itself is linked to GBS.

Well, isn't that niiiice. Perhaps that gives you a comfy-cozy feeling, but it gives me the impression that everyone who accepts the vaccine is a guinea pig.

The 1976 flu epidemic resulted in one death in the US. The vaccination caused 25 deaths from Guillain Barré syndrome and about 500 permanent paralyses. Should anyone suggest that the risk from the flu is greater than the risk from the vaccine, keep this fact in mind—and then consider all the other risks.