Flu clinic suspended - Vaccine pulled as precautionary measure

[petros]

People lining up for their yearly flu shots at hospitals across Saskatchewan are being turned away because of a Canada-wide suspension of the flu vaccine used in the province.​

Marlene Jorgenson and her husband were at City Hospital in Saskatoon on Saturday waiting to get their vaccinations when they heard the news that flu vaccination clinics are on hold until further notice because Health Canada suspended distribution of the vaccine made by the pharmaceutical firm Novartis.​

"I've talked to other people who refuse to get them because they are not sure what's in the vaccine is good for you. But our doctor tells us to get it so we follow his instructions," Jorgenson said.​

She thinks delays and manufacturing problems like this one will only give ammunition to people who are already distrustful of vaccinations.​

"They are thinking it already, then when something like this happens it just accentuates it more," she said.

Novartis vaccines only make up about 20 per cent of vaccines in Canada, but the company manufactures all the flu vaccine used in Saskatchewan.​

The decision to halt all flu vaccinations followed a Health Canada recommendation that a flu vaccine made by Novartis not be used pending a review of the discovery of clumping of particles in the vaccine in Europe.​

"This is a precautionary measure," Dr. Cory Neudorf, Saskatoon Health Region's chief medical health officer, said. "(The vaccine) has been used in lots of people already and there haven't been any reports of an increase in adverse events or safety concerns. It's more an issue of wanting to make sure the vaccine is fully effective before we keep using it."​

Neudorf was also at the hospital Saturday and was tasked with the sometimes difficult job of explaining to people why the vaccine wasn't available.​

"The people who are showing up, we are just explaining to them that this has been suspended temporarily and to keep watch over the next days and weeks," he said.​

Neudorf said the 32,000 to 35,000 people in Saskatoon who already have their flu shots should not be worried about any adverse effects.​

Ashraf Salem was another one of the many people who showed up Saturday morning at City Hospital hoping to get the flu shot for himself and his young son. Salem said he was surprised to hear the news that the flu shots were being suspended.​

"I'm surprised. I had the vaccine before and I found it very effective," Salem said.​

Salem said he will be back when the clinics reopen.​

Neudorf said the review of Novartis vaccine could take weeks. In the meantime, the health region will be looking to the two other manufacturers of the vaccine in Canada. If it is successful in securing another vaccine, the clinics could resume sooner than expected. At the very least, the clinics will likely be extended.​

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix​

 

[SLM]

I never get a flu shot anyway. I'm a 'throw caution to the wind' kinda gal.

lol

 

[petros]

Atta girl!

 

[In Between Man]

If you don't pick your nose, rub your eye, or chew your fingernails with your dirty fingers, and you properly wash your hands before you eat like you should, the chances of you getting the flu are greatly reduced and you won't need flu shots.

I haven't had the flu since child hood - when I was forced to get a flu shot.

 

[damngrumpy]

I do get the flu shot because my wife has COPD and the flu or a cold will cause
God knows how many problems. The scare is not as bad as one thinks. In BC
the vaccine they sourced is not part of the delay and as I understand it there are
three sources that are affected the rest are not. I think i heard on the news that
there are six strains of vaccine there is not problem with but three have problems
because there was some contaminant floating in the bottles of vaccine. These
ones were from Italy, a major supplier.

 

[darkbeaver]

Italy and Switzerland Ban Novartis Flu Vaccines


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Lisa Garber
NaturalSociety
October 29, 2012

Amid political controversy, the Italian government took the highroad last week by suspending sales of flu vaccines when their quality and safety were called into question.
Novartis AG (NOVN) told Italian and Swiss authorities that their products were safe, although the shots did contain particle buildup. Citing Novartis’ failure to provide adequate information for the safe sale of the shots, however, the Italian Health Ministry has banned the 488,000 doses in question.





Read more: Italy and Switzerland Ban Novartis Flu Vaccines
The downside of most vaccines, however, is simply this: they don’t really work. The Lancet published a study involving 13,095 unvaccinated adults, only 2.7 percent of whom developed the flu compared to 1.2 percent of vaccinated adults. The flu vaccine’s efficacy was a humble 1.5 percent.
Meanwhile, even low doses of vitamin D—either through the sun, diet, or supplementation—reduces risk of contracting the flu by 42 percent according to a Japanese study involving 430 children. Vitamin D in moderate amounts has none of the horrible side effects that often occur after vaccination, including but not limited to Type 2 diabetes-linked inflammation, autoimmune disease stimulation, and a deadly nerve disease known as Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

Read more: Italy and Switzerland Ban Novartis Flu Vaccines
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