Opposition to swine flu vaccine seems to be growing worldwide
BMJ 2009; 339 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b3461 (Published 26 August 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3461
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I fear Dr Nerlich takes poetic license too far. His offering is
rather short on facts, long on speculation and full of his usual anti-
vaccination canards. For his information, the swine flu vaccine is
undergoing safety trials as we speak; As an Australian he should take
pride in knowing that these were started in his own backyard. In the UK
studies are currently taking place in Leicester, and these should tell us
more about the efficacy and safety profile of the vaccine and will inform
vaccination policy. Yes, it's a "new" vaccine, but people should realise
that flu vaccines are "new" every season. No, it will not be mandatory,
not even for health care workers who will be able to exercise their
choice. I am also afraid that by invoking Godwin's law of Nazi analogies
Dr Nerlich should realise that his argument consists of nothing but
logical fallacies. Is it any wonder that opposition to the vaccine seems
to be growing when there is so much uninformed anti-vaccine propaganda
circulating in the media?
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
I do believe that this gravy train has left the station due to the
fact that you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
As in everyday life, medicine is showing us as well that the only
thing to be learned from history is that we do not learn from it.
This is different in most animals and perhaps that makes their long
term survival more likely than ours.
Warning
I am writing this perfectly sober,
in the land of the proud and the free,
they will come for you late in October
if you're smart it is time now to flee.
They will jab you against your volition
while pretending to guard all your rights,
like the devil himself on a mission
and with dollars and cents in their sights.
Those who fall for the bearers of stuff
that's enriched with the agent squalene,
and quicksilver to smooth out the rough
it's a new and untested vaccine.
Now the flu, whether porker or chicken
is a harmless light illness for most,
but the plot has commenced now to thicken
they will cover from mountain to coast.
You will fight without hope against guns,
for the land of the proud and the free
now behaves like the Reich of the Huns
and the end is a fait accompli .
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Just The Facts Please
Dr. Flegg's comment provides no facts that could conceivably serve to
convince Joe Public that the flu is a serious threat nor that the vaccine
should be on their wishlist.
It is not the spreading of uninformed opinion that is causing an
apparently steadily decreasing number of vaccine "uptakers", on the
contrary, it is the simple, and in some quarters disturbing truth that you
can't fool all of the people all of the time.
There is little question that we are witnessing the rapidly
accelerating demise of a once great profession and to think that it all
started with the worshipping of the god of greed.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests