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ThrillsNSpills
11-12-2009, 11:36 AM
A 14-year-old Virginia boy is weak and struggling to walk after coming down with a reported case of Guillain-Barre syndrome within hours after receiving the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu.

Jordan McFarland, a high school athlete from Alexandria, Va., left Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children Tuesday night in a wheelchair nearly a week after developing severe headaches, muscle spasms and weakness in his legs following a swine flu shot. He will likely need the assistance of a walker for four to six weeks, plus extensive physical therapy.

“The doctor said I’ll recover fully, but it’s going to take some time,” the teenager said.
Jordan is among the first people in the nation to report developing the potentially life-threatening muscle disorder after receiving the H1N1 vaccine this fall. His alarming reaction was submitted via msnbc.com's reader reporting tool, First Person, by his stepmother, Arlene Connin.

Increased cases of GBS were found in patients who received a 1976 swine flu vaccine, but government health officials say they've seen no rise in the condition associated with the current outbreak.

So far, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received five reports of GBS in people who received the H1N1 vaccine since Oct. 6, not including Jordan’s case, said Dr. Claudia J. Vellozzi, deputy director for immunization safety.

Out of about 40 million doses of H1N1 vaccine available to date, that’s a far lower rate of GBS than the 1 case that develops in every 1 million people who receive the regular flu vaccine.

"It's much less than we'd expect," she said, adding that many cases go unreported.

In 1976, about 1 additional case of GBS developed in every 100,000 people who were vaccinated against the swine flu, according to the CDC.

Jordan's parents said doctors diagnosed the teen with GBS, a rare muscle disorder that develops when a person’s own immune system attacks the nerves, causing muscle weakness, difficulty walking and sometimes paralysis and death.

Hospital officials didn't dispute that the boy had GBS, but refused to comment on the boy's condition or treatment, even after his family granted permission.

“They don’t want to create a fear or panic in the community,” said Jordan's stepmother, Connin.

Connin and Jordan’s father, Calvin McFarland, both 38, believe the shot sparked the illness that came on 18 hours after the boy’s vaccination.

No clear link
But Vellozzi said there’s no clear link between the new vaccine and the disease.

“We know that GBS and other illnesses occur routinely in the U.S.,” Vellozzi said, noting that 80 to 120 cases are diagnosed each week in the general population.

“There are events that follow vaccination. That’s what they are, they happened to follow vaccination.

Swine flu vaccine: Your stories

Are supplies of H1N1 vaccine reaching your community? Have you had to wait in long lines for vaccine — or been turned away entirely? Has anyone you know become seriously ill with the swine flu virus as a result? To send us your stories, click here.

GBS is among the most severe adverse events being tracked with updated systems developed by the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the American Association of Neurology in order to monitor the rollout of the H1N1 flu vaccine.

So far, CDC officials have received about 1,700 reports of adverse events linked to the new shot, Vellozzi said. Of those, only about 4 percent, or 68, were coded as serious. That’s on par with reports regarding seasonal vaccine.

While any harmful side effect can be devastating for an individual, when it comes to larger public health issues, the H1N1 virus is considerably riskier than the vaccine, experts say.

“The H1N1 illness is making lots of children very ill," Vellozzi said. "There’s lots of illness and lots of death."

So far, more than 4,000 people have died from H1N1 infection in the U.S., according to latest estimates by the CDC.

Since the start of the H1N1 vaccine campaign, the CDC has repeatedly warned that certain conditions, such as miscarriage, heart attack and even GBS occur regardless of immunization, and officials have urged the public not to blame the vaccine for the illnesses, but to report promptly any suspected side effects.

As of early Wednesday, CDC officials said they had received no report from Inova Fairfax about Jordan's condition. Later in the day, however, hospital spokesman Tony Raker indicated the hospital had submitted the report.

After hearing about Jordan's case from msnbc.com, CDC officials advised the family to report Jordan's case themselves.

Vaccine critic Barbara Lowe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center in Vienna, Va., said assuming all potential side effects are coincidence is a mistake. Such an attitude is likely to prevent doctors and other health workers from reporting adverse events in a timely manner, obscuring a true picture of any problems.

Va. teen suffers rare illness after swine flu shot - Swine flu- msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33845867/ns/health-cold_and_flu/?gt1=43001)

Fisher said only between 1 percent and 10 percent of adverse events are reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which was set up to track problems with vaccines. A 1986 law requires reporting of certain adverse events to VAERS, but there are no sanctions for not reporting, Fisher noted. CDC officials said general reporting to VAERS is voluntary.


On rare occasions, flu vaccination can cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions that include difficulty breathing, hoarseness, wheezing, swelling around the eyes or lips, weakness or a fast heart beat.

If any unusual condition occurs after vaccination, you should seek immediate medical attention, tell your doctor what happened, the date and time it happened and when the vaccine was given. Ask your doctor, nurse or health department to report the reaction by filing a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) form. Or you can file this report yourself online at Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (http://www.vaers.hhs.gov).
Source: CDC

Fisher said she suspects that many more cases of GBS have occurred in the wake of the H1N1 vaccines.

"We basically have people blowing it off," she said. "We need to make sure people are reporting."

Eager for protection
Like many parents across the country, Arlene Connin said she was eager to protect Jordan and his brother, Lleyton, 7, against the flu. When she took the boys to their pediatrician for seasonal flu shots on Nov. 5, the provider said H1N1 vaccine was available, too.

There was “not even a thought,” that either boy would have a reaction, Connin said. Within hours, however, Jordan developed severe headaches, chills and back spasms. The family rushed him to the closest hospital, Dewitt Army Community Hospital, where doctors conducted neurological exams, a CT scan and an EKG test.

The small hospital didn’t have the facilities to diagnose or treat Jordan’s illness, so he was transferred by ambulance on Nov. 6 to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., a spokesman said. Doctors there quickly gave Jordan intravenous immunoglobulin, a standard treatment for GBS, Connin said.

“GBS, that’s the diagnosis they gave us and that’s how they were treating him,” Connin said.

A hospital spokesman, Tony Raker, declined further comment on Jordan's case. When an msnbc.com photographer asked to view Jordan's chart, even with his father's permission, hospital officials refused.

Doctors are reluctant to discuss GBS in connection with vaccines, Connin said. Anti-vaccine groups frequently cite the disorder as evidence of vaccine dangers, which public health officials fear will discourage people from getting life-saving protection, especially in the case of H1N1.

Jordan’s experience has made his parents think hard about immunization, even though they’ve always insisted on annual flu shots. Under CDC guidelines for children 9 and younger, Lleyton should receive another booster shot of H1N1 vaccine to protect him fully against the virus.

“I have mixed emotions on that one,” Calvin McFarland, the boys’ father, said. “We’re not sure what we’re going to do about that.”


But don't worry, the CDC doesn't see a connection from shooting neurotoxins into the body and the subsequent neurological dysfuntion.

Coyote
11-12-2009, 11:41 AM
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

Candy Girl
11-12-2009, 06:44 PM
"It's much less than we'd expect," she said, adding that many cases go unreported.




That statement bothers me. It's like push the vaccine even though they know it's going to be harmful. :(

Little Texan
11-12-2009, 07:21 PM
It'd be just my luck that I got the shot and ended up with that disorder, so I'm not even going to risk getting it. If you take all the proper precautions and maintain good personal hygiene, you should be just fine without the H1N1 vaccine, IMNSHO. I'll take my chances without it.

hambon4lif
11-12-2009, 09:17 PM
It'd be just my luck that I got the shot and ended up with that disorder, so I'm not even going to risk getting it. If you take all the proper precautions and maintain good personal hygiene, you should be just fine without the H1N1 vaccine, IMNSHO. I'll take my chances without it.Exactly! It's complete insanity that people are lining up around the building for these things, yet not a damn one of them know for a fact that they're even effective. It's strictly out of fear that people have developed not only what they feel is a physical need, but a psychological one as well. I personally think it's all bullshit, and that it will quite possibly weaken your immune system if anything. My opinion is the same...I'll take my chances too.

It's quite the racket....

Sadly, there are alot of folks who are already psychologically hooked, and feel that if they don't get this shot, they will suffer grave consequences.

They'll also be the first in line once this shit becomes mandatory.

TAKIN WHISKEY
11-13-2009, 10:58 AM
No way in hell I'm getting any kind of flu shot. A healthy immune system can prevent you from getting sick. Worst case scenario, you get the flu and spend a couple of days in bed. My 15 year old daughter got H1N1 and spent a few days recovering. Her doctor said it wasn't even close to being the worst flu strand and to do what anyone who has ever had the flu does. Spend a couple of days resting until you feel better. Before she was diagnosed as having the H1N1 strand I had dipped pizza crust in the garlic butter she was eating from and never got sick myself. This whole thing has been blown way out of proportion. Leave it to the media to scare the general public into making rash decisions.

standin
11-13-2009, 01:37 PM
It is a serious flu, for some. Taken Whiskey, you are fortunate your daughter, you and your family faired well.
My aunt's family did not fair so well, her nephew died directly related to H1N1. He was a young man. And my cousin was down for weeks. I am still recovering and most definitely had a moment of life threating perhaps I should call the EMTs moment. It was only because I had experience severe lung conditions before that I knew how to ride it out and took the chance.

I will be recovering for weeks.

Anonymous
11-13-2009, 02:55 PM
Some of you nailed it right in the head. People are shit scared, because of all this media coverage. It's bullshit!

Vaccines? Haven't had one ever since I was a kid.

Not planning on taking any other, unless It's a case of do or die.

Hospitals & medicines are for losers.

Cheers! :bottle:

TAKIN WHISKEY
11-13-2009, 06:11 PM
standin, I'm sorry to here about your aunts nephew. That just doesn't seem fair. I hope you and your cousin get better soon.

standin
11-13-2009, 06:53 PM
Thanks, Takin Whiskey. I can tell ya' it wasn't no joke. For those that the h1n1 hits just right it kicks ass, and some it doesn't. It is kinda a random thing. You know, unless you are high risk you are not even going to be having the option of taking the vaccine any time soon.

And many will ride it out without docs care. I choose to not go to the docs, for many going to the doc and missing work a not much of an option.

I feel like I should get a teeshirt or something for making it through it.

ELVIS
11-13-2009, 07:05 PM
It's worth considering that Standin is most likely full of crap, so take him or her with a grain of salt...


:elvis:

standin
11-13-2009, 07:30 PM
Fuck you, Elvis.
Take your attention whoring and swing on someone else's skirt.
Simply because you lie consistently does not mean the rest of the world is deranged.
Do you always have to pick fights?
Or are you just intoxicated again?
If you are so bored you feel a need to pick a fight, why continue your life?
~KYNP, k' thx.

Seshmeister
11-13-2009, 09:53 PM
If they spent more time teaching and explaining probability in schools then this thread would look a lot different.

As would the Las Vegas skyline...