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FDA Responds to Doctors Refusing to Give H1N1 Vaccine
November 10, 2009 3:33 PM
ABC's Lisa Stark reports from Washington:
As government health officials encourage people to get vaccinated against the H1N1 vaccine, they are running into opposition from an unusual source: doctors. Some doctors have decided they will not give the vaccine, and are telling patients not to get it. Those doctors have been quoted as saying they are concerned that the vaccine is too new.
Today, the head of the Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to physicians to explain how the vaccine was developed and how its safety is being monitored. The letter, from FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, tells physicians that “understanding more about the manufacturing and approval process for these vaccines should help you to answer (patient) questions."
It points out that the H1N1 vaccine was developed in exactly the same way as the seasonal flu vaccine. The process, writes Dr. Hamburg, has “produced effective and very safe vaccines time and time again.” She says that the companies that are manufacturing the H1N1 vaccine are the using “same factories where they are licensed to manufacture seasonal influenza vaccines – using the same equipment and the same testing procedures.”
The FDA also reminds doctors that in the clinical trials involving 3600 patients, there have been no adverse effects. Finally, the agency says it is looking for any rare and serious side effects, and encourages doctors to report any adverse effects they see. “We are not cutting any corners,” insists Hamburg, and see adds, “The benefits of preventing serious consequences from infection with the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus far outweigh the risks associated with vaccination.”
It’s a message that has made sense to many patients who have waited hours in line for the vaccine, which is still in limited supply. It’s a message the government is hoping all doctors will understand as well.
November 10, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (11)
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I would bet that many of the doctors who suggest patients skip on the H1N1 vaccine also suggest they skip on the seasonal flu vaccine.
Posted by: Dr. Angela - York, PA Chiropractor | Nov 10, 2009 5:03:50 PM
1. wash your hands
2. gargle w/warm water and salt or Listerine
3. clean out your nostrils
4. don't touch your face/mouth/eyes etc. until you sanitize your hands.
These simple techniques will greatly help prevent infection.
Posted by: Gerald | Nov 10, 2009 5:33:18 PM
I don't panic when I watch TV unlike most of the rest of this country.
Scary how terrified people can be.
Man up and be brave kids.
Asthmatics should get the vaccine btw, others should just be braver.
Posted by: A Snake | Nov 10, 2009 7:39:12 PM
I bet some of these anti - H1N1 flu shots are also religious right wack jobs.
Posted by: tensai13 | Nov 11, 2009 1:02:44 AM
If vaccines are safe, why does the federal government have a “Vaccine Injury Trust Fund” of over ONE BILLION dollars? Why has Obama given immunity to the manufactures of this vaccine? Why do I have over 100 cases of REAL REACTIONS to this vaccine, including DEATH and yet, no one on fox news, komo or any other reporter given this a story? Why are there mothers LOSING THEIR BABIES after getting the shot when they are pregnant? Answer me those questions and I may listen but until then, no vaccines.
Posted by: Pig Fli | Nov 11, 2009 1:48:28 AM
My husband won't even allow me to get my kids shots, and I agree with him. It hasn't been tested long enough, and I think there have been bad reactions and outcomes from getting this shot, we just aren't told. Just because the government says it's alright doesn't make it true. I met a lady just yesterday at a doc appointment for my son who was so sick she could barley sit there without looking like she was going to fall out of her seat, and she had just gotten the h1n1 shot she said, was healthy and no illness symptoms 2 days before it. So what do you think made her so ill in 2 days out of the blue?
Posted by: concerned mother | Nov 11, 2009 8:24:53 AM
I bet some of these anti - H1N1 flu shots are also amoral atheist left whack jobs.
Posted by: Noz | Nov 11, 2009 10:29:53 AM
I say hogwash to Pig Fli. I don't think you're a doctor, and I don't think you have 100 patients that have had negative affects from the vaccine. Also, the “Vaccine Injury Trust Fund” was originally created back in 2006 to cover all vaccines, not just H1N1. You don't think if people are dying left and right, it wouldn't make the national news? Talk about Conspiracy Theory... It is posts like this that mar people's understanding and negatively impact their judgement. Do what you want to do, but don't muddy the waters for everyone else. I do believe that some people will have some side effects, but your figures are ridiculous.
Posted by: Grim Reaper | Nov 11, 2009 11:38:40 AM
Surely the FDA can recall that problems with the bad things it approves are not necessarily immediately apparent. Sometimes it is years before serious side effects are apparent, even then it takes time to get the FDA to admit a problem.
Posted by: Ed Taylor | Nov 11, 2009 12:33:53 PM
Ed, now that is a coherent argument and/or stance that I can buy. In either case, it is very interesting to see how firm people are on both sides. I am in the middle. I have a wife and daughter who both have asthma. I was holding out for the first round to ensure there were no major immediate issues, but long term ramifications that may exist still have me slightly concerned.
Posted by: Grim Reaper | Nov 11, 2009 1:00:19 PM
You go doctors ! You know what's in the vaccine now .. and you know the harm that can be caused.
The vaccine itself says that woman can miscarriage and that it can sterilize us.
all goes with the governments plan to control the population. Evil. Don't be duped !
Posted by: Angela | Nov 20, 2009 10:43:13 AM
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