I didn't want to blog on this topic. I did not want to open the can of proverbial worms. I did not want to engage the scary media people, the hyped up parents or the misinformed. However, due to the increasing number of emails received with concern to this subject I will in fact address the issue. The issue I speak of is H1N1.
Before I begin my verbal insults of the medical profession and your local news station I will make a disclaimer. I am the parent of two, innately healthy, unvaccinated children who have optimally functioning immune systems. Never have their arms been extended to take in a toxic soup of chemicals. Never have they cried from needle pricks. Never have I been awakened by the high pitched fever scream of a freshly vaccinated child. Never have I walked into a doctor's office asking for advice on the soreness, the fever or the wailing to be told it is "normal". Perhaps we are not "normal". I can live with that.
With that said, and a clear warning of my biased, yet extensively researched opinion on all things vaccination I will continue with the blog.
It seems that this morning Ontario citizens woke up with increased fear of the dreaded swine flu (and no, I will not further sensationalize the name with capital letters). We poured our morning coffee and either turned on the morning news or picked up the paper. Regardless of the form of media first introduced to you in the early hours of this day the result was the same. A child had died in our province. A victim, stated the media, of H1N1. Suddenly message boards everywhere were a flurry of activity and parents started to doubt their doubts about the vaccine.
Being a parent myself I can understand the hysteria many parents feel today. My heart mourns for the child who passed and more so for the family he left behind. One can not possibly imagine the grief and despair they must feel. Our imaginations at what they must be going through are not wicked or evil enough to come close to that realization. But I sincerely hope that all parents are not allowing the death of this child to cloud their view - their rationalization.
There is a blatant force of misinformation and scaremongering in this country. The only place worse on earth wherein people are made to feel fearful and doubtful of all that they know is the United States. This past weekend President Obama declared a medical state of emergency. The president himself claimed that H1N1 was responsible for 1000 deaths in the United States. From an onlookers respect this sounds plausible. After all, we all know that for the last four months the first news story on any television channel was about the swine flu and its recent victims. I dare say that with all the deaths I have seen attributed to the swine flu the number of attributable deaths should actually be more. But I am smarter than that.
I find it interesting that even the president of the United States would be so careless as to make such a big statement, foolishly forgetting that Americans (and Canadians) are smart people with computers - computers to verify or nullify the very words he speaks.
1000 deaths? Oh, Mr. President. How could you think us so stupid?
The Center for Disease Control is the end all be all, it seems, for all things statistical concerning diseases of man. The CDC's own website clearly shows it has not been tracking cases of H1N1 since August of this year. One must wonder then, where Mr. Obama got his information. And why the scare tactic of declaring an emergency if his own governing body of all risks to public health doesn't see the need to track the same virus the president thinks so harmful. Why? Because it simply is not as harmful as the media has lead us to believe.
The actual incidence rate of confirmed cases of H1N1 is a mere two per cent. Yes, TWO percent. Of all the suspected cases of H1N1 only TWO percent have been confirmed to be the actual swine flu. Two per cent. It seems to me that everyone I know seems to know someone who has contracted H1N1. Either there are a lot of doctors telling patients they have H1N1 without the benefit of a positive lab swab or the numbers are way off. Something doesn't add up. In fact if you look at more common things like cancer and heart disease you will see that the stats offered in H1N1 are far less alarming than need be. In 2007 one in every 350 Americans contracted some form of skin cancer. In 2005 heart disease was responsible for 27% (CDC website) of all deaths in the U.S. alone. Do we turn on our televisions every night and hear frantic reports of fear mongering and standing in line to put out your arm and take in that cocktail of chemicals for the benefit of skin cancer or heart disease? No, we don't.
I have had a flurry of emails from daycare providers asking me about my stance on H1N1. These ladies want to know what I am doing to prevent this epidemic from entering my home. Some providers are so bold as to ask if I will demand the parents of the children in my care to get their child vaccinated. As a parent I would be appalled at anyone other than my spouse demanding such things. When did we, as daycare providers earn the right to force medical procedures and decisions on parents? We didn't before and we don't now.
For now I will sit and wait. I'll wait for the hysteria to die down, for the next big disease process to be renamed, and for big pharma to step in and save humanity as we know it with their pills and syringes. And while I wait I will silently pray that none of the children in my care ever have to put forth their tiny little arm to take in the toxins. In fact, I would love to have a daycare full of children who have never had to extend that tiny little arm. Send me the innately, perfectly immune children and I will welcome them with open arms.
I am not afraid. I do not live in fear. I have done my research. I live a healthy life. I have faith that the power that made the body will heal the body. And that, my friends is the short answer. With that I leave you this:
Dr. Mercola and The Swine Flu
For concerns, advice or suggestions I welcome your email at judytrickett@yahoo.ca
11 comments:
I am starting to see the "Disagree" reactions come in. I can't say it was unanticipated!
You rock! My kids will take the flu any day over a bunch of chemicals that will never leave their system.
Is Dr. Mercola the head bobbing dude they had on CTV news this afternoon telling everyone how they should get their kids vaccinated because what if one of them were to die and then we'd all say, if only we'd done the right thing and gotten the vaccine! I found him distracting to look at whoever he was. I do not plan on vaccinating my family. We are in the middle of an outbreak in my city in Saskatchewan. Our heath districs has over 50 confirmed cases and well over 10 percent of the student population in our city's schools are out sick at the moment. For days on the CTV news they show the same clip of our hospital and our high school saying how bad it is here etc etc. I've had lots of sickness here with my own kids, myself and daycare kids. Hand Foot and Mouth disease is going around here as well. i'm not bothered. Yes all this stuff is contagious but we're dealing with it, no one is panicking and I'm not turning kids away. And there is no way I'd demand kids be vaccinated or don't come here lol, although that might be a good way to get out of this business altogether :)
So Judy, wow, I give you credit, no vaccinations for your kids? Wow, i know only a handful of families who do that today. My boys have always had the regular immunizations from public health and neither have suffered any adverse reactions, although you hear so many talk about the relation of immunizing and autism or other health issues. As far as flu shots though, none of my family has ever bothered with these and we usually make out okay. It is disturbing to hear about that 13 yr old boy though, so sad for his family how quickly it happened. My kids were complaining about sore necks the other day but I think they're okay. Each kid missed a day of school, one last week, one the day after thanksgiving. Notes came home yesterday from the school division stating each kid must be out for 5-7 days if they are sick. One of my daycare families is dealing with this right now, she sent her kid back to school yesterday and she was called to come get her because it hadn't been 5-7 days. luckily she is a great mom and would never ever think to pawn her 'sick' kid off on the babysitter :)
I'm not a dcp, I'm only following your blog because I've read your posts on cpo.
I just want to thank you though because as a parent I also had my doubts about the vaccine for my 7 month old but now I feel much better about not getting her done.
I wish I had had the cahones (sp?) to refuse to vaccinate her period because I also have my misgivings about those, but luckily she did not have any reactions so far.
Anyway, just wanted to thank you and say great blog!
Great blog today Judy! My kids have had the basic vaccinations but that's it...no chicken pox vaccination, no flu shots or any other ones they're trying to force/scare parents into getting. Filling our bodies with all these unnecessary vaccines is not a good thing...is this not why we have super bugs...because we don't give our bodies a chance to fight anything naturally...we always turn to drugs to fight it for us.
I read about the boy that died in Ont. but it said it was not confirmed that he died directly from H1N1 and they were still looking into the cause.
I am not overly concerned with this strain of the flu. My husband had type A flu (the same type as H1N1 but not that specific strain)and while it was bad...it wasn't nearly as bad as the media and the government makes us believe. The kids in my care came every day he was sick, because by the time we realized it was the flue they were already exposed...no one else got sick AT all. I require vaccinations for enrolling in my care, but I would simply not accept a family if they chose to not vaccinate...rather than "force" a parent to do something against their beliefs. I did ask parents to get their kids a flu shot; but they all do anyway. I am proud of you for sticking to your guns...and I say a prayer for that child, his family and all the true victim's of H1N1!
I think the difference with the H1N1 hysteria is that it is affecting and killing children. Truthfully if everyone thought back to past years and the flu's that have gone through most of the people who passed away were elderly. It most often hit nursing and retirement homes, and as awful as it is that the elderly were dying for some reason it didnt seem to be as big of a deal. Now that H1N1 has been affecting children and pretty much by passing the regular targets, parents and the media alike are worried and warning parents. I understand your decision to not get the shot but did go and get it for myself and my daughter today. I did research myself as well and have decided this is what is best for my family.
Thank you, thank you thank you Judy.
I really needed this. You are my hero, I'm so proud of you for sticking with your belief system.
I was opposed to the H1N1 vacc until today when I read the story about the 13yr old boy. I have a medical background and the story just did not make sense to me, I need more information. That seems to be the problem here on PEI, we need ALL of the information, every news station, gov't website and newspaper has conflicting information so we are unable to make an INFORMED decision because we are lacking the information to do so.
You have given me courage to keep my children's tiny little arms safe from the vaccine.
Again, my family thanks you!
Adrien Sherry
Very controversial topic...no unexpected opinions coming from this blog so far. The H1N1 vaccine can't be thrown in the same mix as regular immunizations though (which I just have to add - the research studies linking some vaccines with autism are methodologically flawed and are not a reason not to vaccinate....the reason those precious unvaccinated Canadian children out there can live healthy lives without immunizations is because of the safety provided by the rest of us - from herd immunity - what a disservice for them when they grow up and want to travel!).
H1N1 causes a relatively mild flu in most people and has definitely been oversensationalized by the media. However, this flu strain is particularly deadly in young children (compared with most types of flu which target the elderly). Kids between 6 months and 5 years are at greatest risk of becoming infected, and if infected they are at greatest risk of becoming severly ill, requiring hospitalization, and dying. Those at greatest risk are kids btw 6 months and 2 years of age, especially those who attend any form of day care. Based on this information gathered by Canada public health and the CDC in the US is seems to be prudent to vaccinate young kids. The decision, I guess, is whether you'd rather take the relatively small risk (with potentially devastating consequences) of your child contracting H1N1, or the relatively small risk of vaccination related adverse effects (without devastating consequences).
Just to add to my above comment....most emergency departments in the country are only testing patients who are sick enough to require hospital admission for H1N1. Patients who are well enough to go home are not being tested because results take about 48 hrs to come back and are therefore not useful in the emerg setting (ie. the results won't change the ED doc's treatment). Docs are telling patients they have the flu and when asked that yes, it is likely to be H1N1 (because that is what is most commonly coming back from the nasal swab testing being done). This would be the reason for the 'discrepancy' in numbers that Judy noted above. Just think of your tax dollars being used judiciously in this area!
Thanks for this post. Our daycare provider is "requiring" all kids to have this vaccine. We don't want our kid to get it. We haven't broached this topic with our provider yet... any advice?
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