1976 Swine Flu Propaganda [Archive]

Ice

18th September 2009, 01:57 PM

Canadians are haveing a huge fit over this flu as well. And now there is a new contraversy with the aboriginals over it. I couldn't get the link to work right so I just copied and pasted it in here.

Cause Announcement from First Nations & Aboriginal Rights
Grim delivery comes as federal government sets vaccine priority

OTTAWA — On the same day the federal government announced who would be first in line for the H1N1 vaccine, First Nations chiefs in Manitoba were saying dozens of body bags were included in medical supplies sent to their reserves.

Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Wednesday she ordered an investigation into the "disturbing" reports of body-bag shipments to First Nations communities hit hard by the H1N1 flu.

At least 4 reserves in Manitoba reported they recieved body bags in shipments from Health Canada on Tuesday. The shipments also included hand sanitizer and face masks.

"This says to me they have given up," said Garden Hill Chief David Harper.

Harper said Wasagamack counted at least 30 body-bags in a shipment of supplies sent to the nursing station. God's River received 20 of them. Garden Hill and St. Theresa's Point also had body-bags in their shipment but, hadn't counted them.

The communities are about 600 km northeast of Winnipeg.

"This is an ominus sign that the government is predicting a grim outcome," said Cheif David McDougall of St. Theresa's Point.

Normally, Harper said, the RCMP on the reserves get a few body-bags but, the nursing station does not. He said the workes who unpacked the boxes were shocked when they saw the bags.

"It's very insensitive," said Harper. "It's like sending body-bags to soldiers in Afghanistan."

Harper said he contacted Aglukkaq's office Wednesday morning, but heard nothing from her by late afternoon.

Aglukkaq said she learned about the body bags in a confrence call with First Nations leaders Wednesday morning.

"I have ordered my deputy minister to conduct an immediate and thorough inquiry into the situation, and I will continue to work with the First Nations, provinces and territories to insure that all Canadians are informed and protected against H1N1," she said.

She said she did not know anything about the body bag shipment. Including whether or not Health Canada was actually behind it.

"Once I have more information, I can speak to that," she said. "Right now, I am asking the same questions you are."

The federal government, which is responsible for health care on First Nations, has faced sustained critisim over it's response to flu outbreaks on reserves this spring.

Meanwhile, federal health officials are recommending that people who are at greatest risks of complication from swine flu -- people under 65 with chronic conditions, pregnant women, children six months to less of five and those living in remote and isolated settings and communities -- should be among the first to be vaccinated.

The priority list released by the Public Health Ageny of Canada is designed to decrease sickness and deaths and try to maintain the smooth functioning of society during an anticipated fall H1N1 outbreak.

But the list comes amid growing concerns sohts will arrive to late to immunize vulnerable groups and hold back a fresh wave of illness.

The first vaccinations are not expected to begin until early November.

Reporting in the journal Science last week, U.S. researchers warned substantial spread of H1N1 is expected to begin this month, with the epidemic peaking in mid to late October.

Regulators have been working on ways to reduce the time required for getting the vaccine out, raising concerns that people will be exposed to an incompletly tested vaccine.

"We're rushing to get them out in time so the testing is going to be for a very short period of time, and on a comparitivly small sample of people," says Arthur Schafer, Director of Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba.

"The vaccine will be less well tested, and the enitre Canadian supply will be adjuvanted," he said.

Adjuvants are compounds added to vaccines that boost the effect of the dose. "The adjuvant chemical potentially makes this a much riskier drug to give to children or pregnant women," Schafer says.

On Monday, vaccine maker GlaxxoSmithKline announced its pandemic vaccine induced a strong immune response after a single dose in a trial involving 130 healthy adults. The company is conducting 15 other studies in more than 9,000 volunteers accross Eurpoe, Canada and the U.S.

Canada Ordered 50.4 million vaccines doses from GlaxxoSmithKline, based on the assumption two doses would be needed and that 60 percent of the population would need it, or want it.

But so far, the pandemic hasn't reached the overall severity planners had predicted, or expected from a pandemic flu. Officials also can't be sure, so far, the overall mortality or severity is much diffrent from regular season flu.

Most patients infected with the pandemic virus have mild symptoms and recover fully within a week, even without medical treatment. "The case fatality rate" has been estimated at around 0.4 percent, which is higher than the average seasonal flu, but on the same order of magnitude.

However, experts can't predict who is likely to have severe outcomes. H1N1 can cause accute respiratory distress syndrome, viral pneumonia, and multi-organ failure.

Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's cheif public health officer, has said the vaccine "is clearly the one strategy that allows us ultimatly to prevent spread of the pandemic."

As of September 15th, a total of 76 deaths related to H1N1 had been reported in Canada since the outbreak began in April.

A national, hospital based surveillance network is also being put into place to monitor for vaccine realted adverse reactions and measure the vaccine's impact on H1N1 related hospitalizations and deaths.

The Winnipeg Free Press with files from Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service