FLU 'ODDITIES' [January 1-14, 2010]

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http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.htmlFLU 'ODDITIES' BREAKING NEWS Last updated: Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:30:25 GMTPetition against mandatory vaccines (6550 signatures)WHO to look into claims it exaggerated swine flu 14 Jan 2010 The World Health Organisation is to examine its handling of the swine flu pandemic after accusations that it exaggerated the dangers of the virus under pressure from drug companies. Council of Europe parliamentarian Wolfgang Wodarg called for an inquiry into what he called a "false pandemic" and the way it was handled at national and European levels, claiming pressure from pharmaceutical firms. The Council of Europe is to discuss the claim and whether drug companies influenced public health officials to spend money unnecessarily on stockpiles of H1N1 vaccines later this month.Flu fascism alert! Two CAMC workers fired after refusing flu vaccine 13 Jan 2010 (WV) Charleston Area Medical Center plans to terminate two employees for refusing to take a [deadly] seasonal flu vaccine. The hospital implemented a new policy over the summer requiring all employees to receive the vaccines, either by injection or nasal mist form. Workers were given until Friday to be vaccinated. Some employees were allowed exemptions from the policy because of allergies and other conditions, but hospital spokesman Dale Witte said he is unsure how many employees received exemptions. All exempted employees had to undergo evaluations to prove they had extenuating medical conditions, he has said.The 'false' pandemic: Drug firms cashed in on scare over swine flu, claims Euro health chief 11 Jan 2010 The swine flu outbreak was a 'false pandemic' driven by drug companies that stood to make billions of pounds from a worldwide scare, a leading health expert has claimed. Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, accused the makers of flu drugs and vaccines of influencing the World Health Organisation's decision to declare a pandemic. This led to the pharmaceutical firms ensuring 'enormous gains', while countries, including the UK, 'squandered' their meagre health budgets, with millions being vaccinated against a relatively mild disease. [see: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor 26 Apr 2009. See: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004 UK Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions.]H1N1 Flu Is a False Pandemic, Health Expert Claims 11 Jan 2010 A leading health expert said the swine flu scare was a "false pandemic" led by drug companies that stood to make billions from vaccines, The Sun reported Monday. Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, claimed major firms organized a "campaign of panic" to put pressure on the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic. He believes it is "one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century," and he has called for an inquiry. Wodarg added: "A group of people in the WHO is associated very closely with the pharmaceutical industry."Due to low demand: U.S. scales back H1N1 vaccine, cuts CSL order in half 11 Jan 2010 The United States has scaled back its supply of H1N1 flu vaccine, cutting its order with Australian firm CSL Ltd in half, the company said on Monday. The U.S. move follows other nations which have also cut back swine flu vaccines as health authorities around the world grapple with oversupply due to low demand. The U.S. government has paid for 251 million doses of vaccine from five makers -- GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis and CSL Ltd.Truckloads of Unused Swine Flu Vaccines --People were unsure of pumping a quickly developed vaccine into their bodies. 08 Jan 2010 After months of fear, media coverage and government warnings there wasn't as much demand for the swine flu vaccine in New York state as expected. Truckloads of swine flu vaccines are being returned by counties that say the expected demand for the shots never happened.Millions of doses of swine flu vaccine to be off-loaded 08 Jan 2010 What do you do with vaccine that no-one needs [or wants]? That is the question currently puzzling the Department of Health. Back in May the government signed contracts with two suppliers - GSK and Baxter - to supply 90 million doses of H1N1 pandemic vaccine. The Department of Health has revealed that it has a break clause in its contract with Baxter which had been asked to supply 30 million doses, but it appears there is no get-out clause in the deal with GSK, set to provide 60 million doses. [see: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor 26 Apr 2009.]CAMC set to fire employees who do not get flu vaccine by end of Friday --Charleston Area Medical Center employees who do not get the seasonal flu vaccine by the end of the day Friday are going to lose their jobs. 06 Jan 2010 (WV) Charleston Area Medical Center employees who do not get the seasonal flu vaccine by the end of the day Friday are going to lose their jobs. "The vaccine is a condition of employment" and people who do not get the vaccine will be fired, CAMC spokesman Dale Witte said. Anyone who is not vaccinated by the end of the day Friday will not be allowed to work, Witte said... "Then it will be termination." A CAMC employee e-mailed the Gazette to say, "it looks like the decision to let 80 employees go because they refuse to take the vaccine is actually going to take place."Was Swine Flu a False Pandemic? 04 Jan 2010 That’s the contention by more than a dozen members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which reportedly plans to conduct an inquiry into the influence that drugmakers may have had on the World Health Organization, scientists and governments. A resolution was introduced last month by Wolfgang Wodarg, a member of Germany’s Social Democratic Party who chairs the PACE health committee, and it reads: "In order to promote their patented drugs and vaccines against flu, pharmaceutical companies have influenced scientists and official agencies, responsible for public health standards, to alarm governments worldwide. They have made them squander tight health care resources for inefficient vaccine strategies and needlessly exposed millions of healthy people to the risk of unknown side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines... The definition of an alarming pandemic must not be under the influence of drugsellers."Europe seeks to offload flu vaccines 05 Jan 2010 Western European countries, including Switzerland, are queuing up to shift surplus stocks of the [deadly] H1N1 flu vaccine after low public demand. Amid controversy over its costly swine flu vaccine campaign, France said on Monday it wanted to cancel 50 million of the 94 million doses it had ordered because of over-supply. These latest moves could hit drugmakers' profits, say analysts.France cancels orders for 50 mln A/H1N1 flu vaccine doses 05 Jan 2010 Amid the controversy over the costly A/H1N1 flu vaccination campaign in France, the Health Ministry on Monday announced the cancellation of 50 million doses of vaccine against the epidemic, more than half of what the government had initially ordered. "I have cancelled 50 million doses," French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on TF1 television, adding that those doses had not been paid or delivered.Mega barf alert! Insect Cells Provide the Key to Alternative Swine Flu Vaccination 04 Jan 2010 Scientists in Vienna have developed a new technique for producing vaccines for H1N1 -- so-called swine flu -- based on insect cells. The research, published in the Biotechnology Journal, reveals how influenza vaccines can be produced faster than through the traditional method of egg-based production, revealing a new strategy for the fight against influenza pandemics.Scientists warn of rise in diseases spread from animals to humans 04 Jan 2010 Climate change and environmental disruption are spawning a host of new diseases being passed from animals pharmaterrorists to humans, scientists have warned. At least 45 such diseases have been reported to UN agencies over the past two decades and more are expected to be identified in coming years. Experts at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington claim that the world is braced for an increase in outbreaks due to global warming and changes in land use and farming practices.Man given NT$50,000 after flu vaccine --Panel screening medical cases related to vaccination said have reviewed applications for relief fund in 39 cases connected to A(H1N1) flu inoculation 02 Jan 2010 (Taiwan) The Department of Health (DOH) decided yesterday to offer a relief fund of NT$50,000 to a 35-year-old man because he showed symptoms including numbness in the lower limbs after getting A(H1N1) flu vaccination, making him the first recipient of financial aid related to the vaccine shots. Thirteen days after taking the vaccine shot, the man showed symptoms of fever and numbness in the feet. =====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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