Final Flu Files

Dear Friends,

So much has been written, and will be weritten, regarding “traditional flu” and “pandemic flu.” What I have given you is only a little bit. Here are some final news items I found after I did my other flu installments:

“Task force plans response to possible flu pandemic,” subtitle “Military assets seen as vital in crisis,” by Erik Holmes, was the newsline for the December 4, 2006, issue of Army Times.

“Responding to warnings that an influenza pandemic, coupled with a shortage of vaccine, could cause almost one-third of Americans to fall ill, a U.S. Northern Command planning group is developing a game plan to provide military assets for a civilian-led response. …Experts agree that a flu pandemic will hit sooner or later, and that it will constitute a major crisis, pushing government response capabilities to—if not beyond—the limit.

“A May, 2006, White House report…envisions widespread vaccine shortages,…hospitals overwhelmed and short on equipment,…absenteeism from work and school, and the threat of wide-spread civil disorder.

“By law, responding to disasters is primarily a responsibility of local and state government, but they can ask federal agencies…for help.

“ ... the military can provide essential assistance, such as keeping order, setting up temporary hospitals and housing, and distributing medications.”

Metro News, Canada, of Sept. 11-13, 2009, had an article “Swine flu to peak in fall: Study” (metronews.ca) Although the article talked about the swine flu in Canada, it had this important point:

“Indeed, vaccines will come too late to stop H1N1’s spread across North America this fall," according to the paper, published today in the journal Science.

“DoD: Swine flu vaccine coming in October” is the September 14, 2009, story by Michelle Tan in the Army Times.

“'As soon as installations have the vaccine, they should be administering it. The mantra is, The best storage depot for this vaccine is in an arm rather than on a shelf,’ said Army Lt. Col. Hachey, director of preventive medicine for the Office of the Asst. Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Force Health Protection and Readiness. He also stated:

’When you come on active duty, you belong to us and we take care of you. …Part of taking care of you is making sure you are protected, so that includes your Kevlar and it includes your flu shot.’”

I will end my sections on the flu with quotes from a seemingly prescient 1995 pamphlet, “Flu Shots: Do They Really Work?” written by Kristine M. Severyn, R.Ph., Ph.D., founder of Ohio Parents for Vaccine Safety, Dayton, Ohio.

“Although influenza is associated with more disease, hospitalization, and death in ‘at risk’ populations, no adequate controlled studies exist which prove that influenza vaccine reduces the incidence of influenza in these groups.

“For example in the 1994-1995 flu season, the CDC reported that 43% of isolated influenza samples for the predominant virus (type A (H3N2) were not similar to that in the vaccine. Likewise, for another type A virus (H1N1), 87% of samples were not similar to that in the vaccine….

“Depending on the study cited, vaccine efficacy actually ranges from a low of 0% to a high of 96%…”

From 1988 to 1992, Congress mandated a $62 million Medicare Influenza Vaccine Demonstration project. (Note the 1993 MMWR cited above in previous flu email.) “This study, intended to promote Medicare-funded flu shots, yielded a disappointing 31-45% effectiveness ‘in preventing hospitalization for any pneumonia’ during 3 influenza seasons. Results for the 1989-1990 season were described as ‘mixed at best,’ with ‘Medicare payments…significantly higher for those who had been vaccinated.’ Government agencies ‘calculated’ an economic benefit of flu shots to Medicare by manipulating numbers in a computerized simulation until desirable results were obtained. The CDC reported that its theoretical assumptions did not include all vaccine-related costs. Other recently- publicized medical studies with similar economic claims for flu shots have been funded by a vaccine manufacturer.

“…it is nearly impossible to prove if flu shots significantly increase life expectancy in the elderly.”

“Congress and the American taxpayer have been defrauded about the alleged advantages of flu shots. Instead of being an effective prevention, evidence indicated that flu shots may be useless. Although endorsed and funded by federal and state governments, the shots seem only to benefit the companies who make them, public health bureaucrats who promote them, and medical personnel who administer them.”


Commentary:

I hope I have been able to show you how the public is manipulated by government agencies, the ultimate universal vaccination goal of health bureaucrats, and how the media puts out the stories.

The afterword of the book "The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History” by John M. Barry, 2004, says it best:

“So the final lesson of 1918, a simple one yet the one most difficult to execute, is that those who occupy positions of authority must lessen the panic that can alienate the members of society. Those in authority must retain the public’s trust. The way to do that is to distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to manipulate no one. Lincoln said that first, and best. A leader must make whatever horror exists concrete. Only then will people be able to break it apart.”

Unfortunately, our leaders and we, the public, have not learned that lesson. Truly, “history repeats itself."

Bonnie Plumeri Franz