Yesterday I wrote a blog about the Sunday Herald flu propaganda, which resulted in the Herald removing the original article and replacing the Sunday on Herald emotional blackmail with different Pap. Not content with that, the vaccine "stakeholders" must have also said, "Oi, while we're on the phone, can we rope in Rudman? He's pretty gullible..." and on cue, he produced an "opinion" rant, while Martin Johnson, produced a plodding report. Tomorrow I will have a go at Rudman's Rant.
It seems that it was too much like hard work for the journalists to do a really good in-depth piece of investigative journalism. No sources quoted made any mention of vitamin D - even though the new article for Sunday Herald shows the effect of lack of vitamin D rather clearly. Rudman didn't even try to think for himself. After all, he gets the flu vaccine every year, and considers that his annual saviour. He's just there to satisfy those who like tabloid ranting. Very useful for the Stakeholders, none the less. There is also no mention by any reporter, of anything other than a vaccine, which might actually be "useful". Not a murmur about washing hands, or the medical practices which help prevent the spread of the flu here and here. However, at least they've stopped the ludicrous annual advice to take paracetamol, after the Wellington School of Medicine put a stop to that. I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies.
I must stop using the word "journalists" to describe ... report... ers - and ranters.
These Sunday Herald report .... ers, picked up the phone (or were rung), and report... ed the opinions of three medical muskateers - Dr Lance Jennings, Tim Jellyman and Brenda Saunders. Perhaps they thought that if you talk to three people who all tell you the same thing, it's safe to assume that is the truth?
We are told that:
...and
The H3N2 strand of the influenza virus, which causes hallucinations and crippling nausea, has left about 12 people fighting for their lives
Hallicinations and crippling nausea? That's a first. As in past years, the three muskateers say that "H3N2 could be worse than the Swine Flu" - which they built up in the public's mind, to be the pandemic of the century.
But did you notice THIS:
"Waitemata and Counties Manukau have the highest number of flu sufferers nationwide, but there has yet to be a rise in flu patients hospitalised in those districts."
Here's the fun bit. Martin Johnson's blurb, confirmed that there were NO Aucklanders crammed into a special isolation ward. Yet with far fewer cases than Auckland..... "Canterbury Health virologist Lance Jennings said the severe strain of the flu was causing havoc in Canterbury."
"With H3N2 ... we tend to see more severe outcomes in terms of hospital admissions, admissions to intensive care and death,'' Dr Jennings said
So.... why are Christchurch's hospitals (CB) stretched to the limit with their squiddly rates of the flu, yet nothing is doing in North Auckland (WM) which is ACTUALLY the "hotbed" of cases? Why is Counties Manukau (CM) which this week has the same number of cases as Canterbury (CB), not stretched to the limit like Christchurch is?
How come the flu is causing havoc in Christchurch and not in Auckland? Could it be, Dr Jennings, that THAT statement about the flu causing havoc in Canterbury, is all the proof you need, that down in cold Christchurch, the Vitamin D deficiency is much worse than higher latitude slightly warmer AUCKLAND? Please don't tell me you never thought of that!
What validity does the article's prediction have --- that "the virus is spreading north"? Maybe it has already headed south long ago? But then, if you look at the map on page three in the ESR bulletin, it is happening everywhere, but only causing havoc in the vitamin D-less South Island.
The Ministry of Health and Lance Jennings, do not want to explain to people, that if they took responsibility for their own health, and if they made sure their winter levels of vitamin D were adequate they would not only NOT get the flu, they would be far less at risk for a whole lot of other easily preventable medical conditions. Vitamin D is one "bird" that kills many stones, but no... these experts ALSO don't want to tell people that if their vitamin D levels were low, but near adequate, they might get just a mild dose of the flu. All they want is to shift as much of their their flu vaccine stock out as possible, before 31 July.
Lance Jennings also says that the last time we had H3N2 here, was in 2006.After the Swine Flu, the medical system said that the reason the swine flu didn't hit older people as much as the younger ones, was because we had a similar virus here in the 1950's - before any vaccines were around.Supposedly having H3N2 here in 2006 isn't good enough. But then Lance Jenning's says:
"As far as we're aware at the present time, the H3N2 virus, that's affecting Canterbury at the moment, is similar to the antigens which are included in the current influenza vaccine.
"And similarly with the H1N1 and the B viruses largely in the North Island, as well as the H3N2, they're similar to the antigens in the influenza vaccine.''
The latest ESR Flu report is dated 9th 15 July 2012 (pdf in case they remove it from their website)
Here are the virus TYPES being found:
and
Note that of 826 Influenza like disease swabs taken from people with symptoms that LOOK like the flu, only 188 were H3N2. One third of the rest of the typed flu viruses were NOT H3N2. What flu viruses are in the formulation for all NZ flu vaccines:
So is the H3N2 187 vaccine strain going to protect you against the wild (untyped) H3N2 strains? Lance Jennings guesses that it will. What about all the other viruses which aren't in the vaccine?
Now have a look at how many CASES there have been:
Remember that "ILI" stands for "Influenza like illnesses" which doesn't necessarily mean that it's the flu. It could just be a cold that a doctor thinks is the flu.Waitamata District Health Board, according to ESR has 59 cases at a rate of 608.8 per 100,000. Hmmmm...... Waitamata District Health Board's "about us" page says:
525,000 people huh? By my calculations, in a population of 525,000, a rate of 608.8 per 100,000 - should work out at around 3,200 cases.
But what would I know? My division and multiplication can't be as good as that from people with degrees and lots of letters after their names.So 59 cases in 525,000 people must work out at 608.8 per 100,000.OR... is that about 10 per 100,000 people which is pretty much within baseline levels?
Lance Jennings goes on about how at least 10% of vaccinated people will get the flu. Nowhere, do I see an ESR analysis of how many vaccinated people are getting the strains of the flu which they are vaccinated against. Why not?
Oh. A question. Are vaccinated people MORE susceptible to getting the other strains out and about which are not in the vaccine?
According to these Canadian researchers who looked at the issue for the very first time after the H1N1 vaccine.., the answer to that question is "yes". What would these experts say if they found most of the people in hospital ARE vaccinated? dismiss that by saying, "They were types NOT in the vaccine"? Or ask the question, "Are the Canadian researchers correct, and just maybe vaccinating people leads to greater susceptibility?"
Given that the influenza vaccination rate is so low in this country this year - around 25% so far, surely the questions above could be asked and answered by the ESR..., but... would ESR actuall dare to open their eyes and see if this is the case?
Have I asked the medical system these questions? There is no point. They don't answer them. People who question, and don't want to conform, are ignored. The message being fed to the media is the KISS message. Keep It Simple Stupid:
You must conform.
Don't ask intelligent questions.
