Quote:
Originally Posted by joe_mullen
I was present today at a presentation by the head of the Alberta provincial lab and the Provincial Medical Officer. The stats presented above are misleading as they are from a time period where the H1N1 flu prevalence dipped down but the provincial lab is now finding that the H1N1 flu is escalating at the previously predicted pace (meaning very quickly). As for safety and testing, flu vaccines are not tested in the same way as childhood vaccines as a new one has to be produced on a yearly basis (in this case 2 new ones), therefore, limiting the available time for studies. By definition vaccinations are extremely effective and this has been shown time and time again. In addition, the Provincial lab reported that luckily, this strain has NOT been mutating to any significant degree and therefore they expect a very good match. Furthermore, the mechanism of vaccine production is the same and therefore, the virtually non-existant side effect profile is the same for each annual vaccination.
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What are they basing their figures on? i.e. What % of people that submit with flu-like symptons are actually being tested for H1N1?