A campuswide email recently reported that currently 27 students are ill, which brings the semester total up to 85 students and 1 staff member who have reported flu-like symptoms.
In the midst of swine flu hysteria, there is finally a preventative measure: the H1N1 vaccine.
However, before rushing to receive the vaccine, one should research the side effects. Some scientists fear the new vaccine is linked to Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a potentially deadly and paralyzing disorder.
A confidential letter warning British neurologists of the dangers of the H1N1 vaccine was leaked to the British Daily Mail, written by Professor Elizabeth Miller, head of the United Kingdom Government’s Immunization Department of the Health Protection Agency. Miller discussed the consequences of the swine flu vaccine used during the mass vaccination in the United States in 1976.
The 1976 vaccine was withdrawn from use after only ten weeks of distribution due to the discovery of the dangerous side effects, such as GBS. The vaccine was said to have increased the risk of GBS by 800 percent. Over 500 cases of GBS were found and 25 people died from respiratory failure after severe paralysis.
Some are asking why the current vaccine is being rushed out for distribution without being first thoroughly tested for potentially harmful side effects.
On a national level, pregnant women and children are being given priority for receiving the vaccination, though vaccine trials on these subgroups are not yet complete. Doctors suggest the risks of contracting the H1N1 disease are higher and more dangerous for pregnant women and young people. They say the risk of contracting H1N1 is more significant than the risks of the vaccine.
Despite concerns about side effects of the new H1N1 vaccine, doctors in both the United States and the United Kingdom have claimed there is no legitimate evidence that the swine flu vaccinations of 1976 caused the hundreds of cases of GBS and the resulting deaths.
The common side effects of the H1N1 vaccination are reported to include headaches, malaise, muscle pain, chills, nausea, fever and vomiting.
These effects do not differ greatly from those of the regular seasonal flu vaccination.
Other scientists and health officials claim that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) spread of the swine flu pandemic is unjustified and misleading. Some officials have reported that the distribution of flu vaccines as a general practice is useless and ineffective.
Dr. Anthony Morris, former Chief Vaccine Control Officer of the United States Federal Drug Administration (FDA) argued, “There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine thus far developed is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza.”
A recent campuswide email said that Connecticut College is a state-designated site for distributing the H1N1 vaccine and has now started offering the vaccine to a limited number of students according to the criteria and priorities determined by the state of Connecticut and the CDC.
If additional supplies become available, Student Health Services will offer the H1N1 vaccine to more students.
While a number will certainly get the vaccination if it becomes widely available, others voice concerns.
One student explained why she does not want to receive the vaccine: “I don’t really think it’s necessary. Swine flu is overhyped. I don’t want a vaccine that has been rushed to be put out and is the first round of a vaccine.”
In light of the 85 students who have reported flu-like symptoms so far this semester, campus administration has been taking steps to keep students informed about taking preventative measures against the H1N1 disease which include washing your hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue and avoiding close contact with sick people.
Additional reporting by Claire Gould
Photo by Julie McMahon
I wish that more students were tested for H1N1 so we could have a sense on whether there is a bunch of swine flu going throughout campus, or just regular flu or a bad cold.