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Oct / Nov 2007
by Margaret Jang
Setting It Straight by Dr. Hal Huggins Influenza Vaccines: What’s In That Needle? by Dr. Sherri J. Tenpenny Regular Columns: Horoscopes for October and November by Laura with Judy LeBeau Marketing for Healing Professionals by Juliet Austin, MA, Marketing Coach Nutrition by Lisa Marie Bhattacharya (Whitaker) by Yoga Teacher Sheri Kauhausen Inspirations - Magic Doorways by Devrah Laval Advertorials: Struggling with a Serious Illness? Touch for Health Feng Shui and self actualization BootCamp for the Brain Reconnect To Your Soul
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Influenza Vaccines: What’s In That Needle?from the book: FOWL! Bird Flu: It’s Not What You Think Dr. Sherri J. Tenpenny
The “regular” flu shot Each year between January and March an FDA advisory panel selects the three influenza strains it expects to be the most widespread during the upcoming flu season. Admitting that the process is an “educated guess” the CDC sends the selected seed virus to the FDA for approval prior to distribution to the manufacturers for production. The annual flu shot contains three separate strains: two influenza A strains and one strain of influenza B. Most commonly, two strains are the same as the preceding year’s shot; one new strain is selected each year and then modified in the lab through the reassortment process before it is added to the seasonal shot. Two viruses – the new strain expected to hit the population during the upcoming season and a second influenza virus known to grow well in eggs – are injected into fertilized chicken eggs. The genes from the two viruses “mix together” through the reassortment process, forming as many as 256 possible newly created genetic combinations. Researchers select the virus for the vaccine that has both the (H) antigen from the upcoming year’s virus and the internal genes from the virus that grows well in eggs. That new virus, along with the two other strains from the previous year, make up vaccine for the current season. The next few manufacturing steps can be tricky. Vaccine production is a slow, cumbersome process utilizing 500,000 fertilized chicken eggs per day for up to eight months. The two primary manufacturers of the influenza vaccine for the U.S. market, Chiron and Sanofi-Aventis, order hundreds of millions of eggs that become “mini-incubators” for the cultured viruses. The first step of the process involves a labor-intensive method known as “candling” – examining by hand each and every egg with a specialized light. This process allows for the handler to discard any eggs that have not been fertilized, are not growing, or have cracks in the shell. When the embryo in the fertilized egg is 11-days old, selected eggs are labeled with specific identification numbers and placed into a tray with the blunt end up. The tops are cleaned using a 70 percent ethanol wipe and a tiny tuberculin needle is used to punch a small hole into the shell over the air sac. The amniotic membrane of the chicken embryo (the egg white) is then injected with a drop of viral-containing solution. Enough solution is contained in each syringe to inoculate three eggs before it is discarded. The puncture hole in the egg is sealed with a spot of glue and eggs are maintained for two to three days in a controlled environment between 91.4°F and 93.2°F (33°C and 34°C). During that time, the viruses infect the lungs of the developing chicken embryo and begin to rapidly replicate. Several days later the eggs are placed into a cooler and chilled to 39°F (3.8°C) overnight. The next day sterile forceps are used to chip open the shell and the fluid from the three similarly inoculated eggs is collected into a test tube. The gooey viral suspension must be centrifuged – sometimes more than once – to remove as much chicken blood and tissue solution as possible. Some residual egg proteins frequently remain within the final product, hence, those persons with an egg allergy are strongly advised against receiving the flu shot. After this “purification” step, a test is performed to detect the presence of an active form of the virus; if none is detected, the specimen is discarded. If virus is present the solution is submitted for further chemical processing before it is placed into ampoules for sale. The entire process, from egg selection to viral harvest, can take at least six months. Post-egg production: After the viruses are separated from the egg, they are inactivated (killed) with formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. The surface antigens, (H) and (N) are then “split” by a detergent called Triton® X-100. The process spreads the surface antigens apart, increasing the probability of developing an antibody response. Traces of Triton X-100, made by Dow Chemical, can remain in the vaccine solution. Product information on this compound states the following: “Excellent detergent, dispersant and emulsifier for oil-in-water systems. Uses: Household & industrial cleaners, paints & coatings, pulp & paper, textile, agrochemical, metal working fluids, oilfield chemicals. The suspension of viruses and chemicals is further concentrated in a centrifuge using a sucrose (table sugar) solution and then suspended in sodium phosphate-buffered isotonic salt solution. In one of the final steps, a 0.05 percent concentration of gelatin is added as a stabilizer, and in many cases, thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative, is still added to the multidose vials of the flu vaccine. Some types of influenza vaccines also include 500 micrograms of gentamicin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, added during the production process to inhibit the growth of bacteria that may be in the suspension.
Two other chemicals, tri-butylphosphate and polysorbate 80, then become part of the “chemical soup” of the vaccine. Tri-butylphosphate, a detergent and polysorbate 80, also known as Tween80?, is an emulsifier. Both are used to disrupt the surface of the virus, making the (H) and (N) antigens more accessible to the immune system. Polysorbate 80 is also found in ice creams and other “fake foods.” Resin is added to ostensibly eliminate “substantial portions” of these chemicals, but undoubtedly, residuals of these chemicals remain in the vaccine when injected.
By the time the flu shot is ready for packaging, the solution contains the following: various egg proteins, Triton-X100, formaldehyde, resin, gelatin, tri-butylphosphate, polysorbate 80, and in some instances gentamicin. To preserve this chemical brew, in doses of up to 25 micrograms thimerosal (a mercury derivative) is still added to many of the shots. After detailing this vivid description of the manufacture of the influenza vaccine, the thought of injecting this into your body—or the body of your baby—should be repugnant. |
For those not repulsed by the idea of injecting the above solution into your body, perhaps knowing that the vaccine won’t prevent you from getting the flu will add to your perspective.
A report released by the Cochrane Collaboration in January 2006 concluded that there was no evidence that injecting children six to 23 months of age with the influenza vaccine was any more effective than a placebo. After a review of 51 studies involving more than 260,000 children, including 17 papers translated from Russian, the co-author of the study and coordinator of the Rome-based Cochrane Vaccine Project, Dr. Thomas Jefferson, concluded that mandates to vaccinate babies is based on very little evidence. Furthermore, the reviewers found no evidence to back claims that vaccines prevent deaths from influenza or other serious complications in this age group. As for “safety studies,” there aren’t any. “We were astonished to find only one safety study of inactivated vaccine in children under two years; that was carried out nearly 30 years ago and only in 35 children,” stated the review author. Dr. Jefferson went on to strongly chide the governments of Canada and the U.S. for their mass vaccination policies stating, “Research should be done before anybody makes a decision, not afterward. Otherwise, you’re in the business of experimenting with your population.” Also released in January 2006 by the Cochrane Collaboration was a report that determined the results for vaccinating healthy adults were equally as dismal. Twenty-five reports of studies involving nearly 60,000 people were included. Overall, vaccination reduced the risk of influenza by only 6 percent and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day (0.16 days.) The reviewers concluded that universal immunization of healthy adults was not supported by the results of this review. The Cochrane Collaboration is the same organization that concluded the effectiveness of flu shots, particularly in the elderly, was “wildly overstated,” as reported in The New York Times on September 21, 2005. Let’s see, the flu shot is not effective in babies, its effectiveness in the elderly is “wildly overstated,” and is not recommended for healthy adults. By any measure, that is just about everyone.
There is little doubt that the new bird flu vaccine will come with the same criteria: It will be experimental, it will have no proof of safety, and it will lack efficacy. Keep these studies in mind as the hype for mass vaccination begins. And what else is in those eggs? Dr. Sherri J. Tenpenny is the Director and Founder of OsteoMed II, a clinic in Ohio, established to provide alternative, traditional and preventive medicine. She is also the president of New Medical Awareness Seminars, LLC. She is a graduate of the University of Toledo and Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri. Dr. Tenpenny is Board Certified in Emergency Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine.
She has lectured internationally on health issues at numerous conferences, conventions, and universities and is a regular guest on radio talk shows. In addition, she has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers and internet sites. Dr. Tenpenny is an alternative medicine researcher and highly sought after for her ability to present scientific information regarding vaccination hazards in a straight forward way.
Dr. Sherri Tenpenny views bird flu as an environmental issue rather than a health care crisis. In Asia, a variety of pollutants such as dioxin, pesticides and raw sewage in the water supply can disrupt the immune systems of migratory birds and chickens and make them more susceptible to the H5N1 virus, she explained. Tenpenny said that the culling of rural chickens and the destruction of small farms is an agenda of multinational agribusinesses who favor “vertical” industrial farming. Their methods include genetically modifying chickens so that their growth cycle is greatly reduced (if humans grew as fast as GM chickens they’d weigh 350 lbs. by the age of two). Warning about the upcoming H5N1 flu shot, Dr. Tenpenny said the cell lines being used for the vaccine may be grown from dog kidneys, caterpillar eggs and other material that will have a strong possibility for viral contamination. Further, she cautioned that the government may eventually make such vaccinations mandatory, linking them with the ability to receive the new National ID card. Her books, DVD’s CD’s and e-zine are available at www.nmaseminars.com (awkward web site - go to DVD’s, CD’s, Books) and her find her book from which this Chapter 8 was taken - “FOWL! Bird Flu: It’s Not What You Think” - New Revised addition. At her web site, also look for her new release: “Exceptions To The Rules: How to Exercise Your Right to Refuse Vaccines.” If you want even more information about Dr. Tenpenny, and her work, you can listen to het interviews at: www.coasttocoastam.com/guests/285.html Spotswood, Stephen. “NIAID Researching, Predicting The Future Of Flu,” U.S. Medicine, December 2004. )
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