Higher H1N1 flu risk after receiving seasonal flu vaccine

[lamazeteacher]

i went to a canadian news link posted on another site, and saw the following article:

(two and a half weeks after i had the seasonal flu vaccine, i got the flu, which seems to validate the article.)

i wonder why the information hasn't been picked up by the cdc.

seasonal flu shot may increase h1n1 risk

last updated: wednesday, september 23, 2009 | 10:03 pm et

cbc news

across canada, public health authorities are fiercely debating the idea of shortening, delaying or scrapping their seasonal flu vaccination campaign in favour of mass inoculation against h1n1. (greg baker/associated press) preliminary research suggests the seasonal flu shot may put people at greater risk for getting swine flu, cbc news has learned.

"this is some evidence that has been floated. it hasn't been validated yet, it's very preliminary," cautioned dr. don low, microbiologist-in-chief at mount sinai hospital in toronto.

"this is obviously important data to help guide policy decisions. how can we best protect people against influenza?"

it's important to validate the information, which has not been peer reviewed, to make sure it's not just a fluke, and that the observation is confirmed elsewhere such as in the southern hemisphere, which just completed its seasonal flu season, or in the u.s. and uk.

four canadian studies involved about 2,000 people, health officials told cbc news. researchers found people who had received the seasonal flu vaccine in the past were more likely to get sick with the h1n1 virus.

researchers know that, theoretically, when people are exposed to bacteria or a virus, it can stimulate the immune system to create antibodies that facilitate the entry of another strain of the virus or disease. dengue fever is one example, low said.

no seasonal flu shot?

the latest finding raises questions about the order in which to get flu shots.

across canada, public health authorities are debating the idea of shortening, delaying or scrapping their seasonal flu vaccination campaign in favour of mass inoculation against h1n1.

the main reason is that h1n1 may be the dominant strain of influenza circulating when the fall flu season hits, meaning it could be a waste of time and resources to mount a seasonal flu vaccine campaign.

health authorities in quebec are considering cancelling or postponing seasonal flu shots for some groups, such as healthy, younger adults.

the public health agency of canada says it's up to provinces and territories to decide on when to roll out flu shots.

"we don't know with this year's flu shot how it interacts with the pandemic flu shot, so it's a worry," said dr. michael gardam, director of infectious diseases prevention and control at the ontario agency for health protection

here's another thing about transmission of disease causing contaminents in the air we breathe that we've known about planes, which have issues about opening windows, but in office, hospital, clinic, and hotels there are often no openable windows.....

"most buildings, especially business centres and hospitals are sealed, with no openings for fresh air circulation; questions were raised in the late 1970's and early '80's about safety / hazards or hvac and, i believe, we are now seeing some of the results."

skol_fir wrote:posted 2009/09/30

at 11:00 am eti have just come across a succinctly worded blog article from today, written by an md, which emphasizes the foolishness of following hearsay evidence to craft public policy. thousands of lives could be endangered because a premature news release scares people into avoiding potentially life-saving measures. we need to pay heed to his warning.

the article is entitled "cold flusion" and can be found at:

-- http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=1940 --

internal links

timing of h1n1, seasonal flu shots debated

swine flu

how it's unfolding: a timeline swine flu raises questions about sick leave policies (sept. 25, 2009) seasonal flu shot may increase h1n1 risk (sept. 23, 2009) swine flu hits vancouver and island schools (sept. 23, 2009) swine flu protocol signed for first nations (sept. 19, 2009) swine flu vaccines to fall short: who (sept. 18, 2009) h1n1 vaccine in babies worries expert (sept. 17, 2009) swine flu outbreak hits vancouver island first nations (sept. 17, 2009) fears over h1n1 flu rising in nwt community (sept. 17, 2009) h1n1 vaccine priority groups released sept. 16, 2009 h1n1 vaccines get u.s. approval sept. 15, 2009 1 dose of canada's h1n1 shot protects adults: company sept. 14, 2009 address swine flu vaccine fears, doctor urges sept. 11, 2009 vaccinate kids early to fight swine flu sept. 10, 2009 h1n1 infects cells deep in lungs sept. 10, 2009 swine flu deaths top 2,800 worldwide sept. 4, 2009 canada's swine flu vaccine coming in october sept. 3, 2009 swine flu vaccine on schedule: health minister sept. 2, 2009 flu vaccine plan will be too slow: cmaj august 31, 2009 feds, first nations leaders at odds on swine flu preparations august 29, 2009 swine flu vaccine funding boosted august 27, 2009 swine flu 'czar' needed: cma journal august 17, 2009 canada to order 50.4 million h1n1 vaccine doses august 6, 2009 universities brace for fall swine flu wave july 30, 2009 canadian swine flu vaccine set for october july 17, 2009 alcohol-based sanitizers for flu-hit first nations delayed over substance abuse fears june 23, 2009 who declares swine flu pandemic, no change in canada's approach june 11, 2009 swine flu epidemic in decline: mexico may 3, 2009 no sustained spread of swine flu virus outside north america: who may 2, 2009 canada doing all that's needed to respond to swine flu: pm april 30, 2009 who boosts pandemic alert level to 5 april 29, 2009 [/url]

h1n1 confirmed in toronto teen's death comments344|recommend286

a 13-year-old minor league hockey player from the toronto area has died as a result of the h1n1 flu virus.

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headlines

h1n1 vaccine clinics hit by 'pent-up demand' the federal government has ordered enough h1n1 vaccine for every canadian, but it's not possible to provide it to everyone all at once. h1n1 confirmed in toronto teen's death a 13-year-old minor league hockey player from the toronto area has died as a result of the h1n1 flu virus.

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

(Two and a half weeks after I had the seasonal flu vaccine, I got the flu, which seems to validate the article.)

Yeah, that doesn't really "validate" anything.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Please expand your comment. I'm interested in knowing how you formed your conclusion. (sort of like asking you to show your math calculations - joke)

The study (if it is validated, which I doubt it will be) can only show that there is a correlation between people having had the seasonal flu shot and having a higher risk of getting H1N1. Many people assume that this means that having the seasonal flu shot caused the higher risk of H1N1. In reality, there are too many variables to determine causation. I am more apt to believe, like Morte, that the people who opted to take the seasonal flu shot last year were those who were already at higher risk for seasonal flu, and thus already at higher risk for the H1N1.

One other possibility is that the people who elect to get the seasonal flu shot are more health conscious, thus more apt to seek medical attention for flu s/s and then to demand h1n1 testing. This could make it appear that that group gets it more often, when in reality many many more people are getting sick with h1n1 but treating the mild cases at home, and many of those who do seek medical attention are not being tested for the virus.

I could think of many other reasons that would show correlation between having the seasonal flu shot and risk for h1n1, but scientifically I cannot see how having the seasonal flu shot can cause a higher risk for h1n1. Like I said, I just don't buy it. Until they can identify the reason for a supposed causation, I assume it to be correlation related to unidentified factors.

[Laidback Al]

"We are still waiting for the public release of the data." quote from post#9

What data, Laidback Al?

The study in Canada didn't involve data regarding who got seasonal flu vaccine prior to this year......

To clarify, the article is apparently being peer-reviewed and has not yet be published. Presumably the conclusions drawn by the researchers are based on some kind of data and analysis of that data. I would be interested in seeing the data and determining for myself whether or not the correlations are statistically supported.

And, like Purple_Scrubs, I would like to see the evidence for causation. What would be the scientific explanation that an influenza vaccination would make you more susceptible to H1N1 infection. If that were generally true, then the more people that get flu vaccinations, the more flu infections we should see every season. That obviously doesn't happen.