Flu Vaccine Recommendations for UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy

Flu Vaccine Recommendations for UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy

Unlike the US, where the CDC recommends that nearly everyone over 6 months of age get the annual seasonal influenza shot, many other countries only recommend the shot (or, "the jab" as it is known in the UK) for person's aged 60 or older. In fact, most reserve the recommendation for people over 65 (with no underlying medical condition).

The US stands in sharp contrast, where the recommendation is that "everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year starting with the 2010-2011 influenza season."
http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2010/r100224.htm

By contrast, the Europeans suggest that only those with underlying medical conditions (and not as many as in the US) and those over 65 get the shot.

It is not clear what the leading driver is for this disparity. It could be a number of factors, including; influence of the large pharmaceutical companies, legal structures (in the US vaccine makers shielded from civil liability), structural and political reasons, or, perhaps just hysteria.

Source: www.eurosurveillance.org

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/images/dynamic/EE/V15N44/MERECKIENE_Tab1.jpg

UK Department of Health forced to disclose Swine Flu spending

The BBC’s Martin Rosenbaum reports that the UK Department of Health (DOH) spent £ 239 million (approx. US $ 382 million) on the swine flu vaccine last year.

The Department of Health initially resisted requests for the information with flimsy claims of commercial confidentiality. As we now know, the swine flu “pandemic” was vastly over hyped, and much of the swine flu vaccine had to be discarded (at taxpayer’s expense).

Rosenbaum reports that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) received the lion share of the bounty for its Pandemrix vaccine, with the rest going to Baxter Int’l (BAX) for Celvapan.

Still, it wasn’t easy getting the information. At first DOH refused to respond to a freedom of information request. BBC then had to appeal to the information commissioner. As Rosenbaum points out, this “case illustrates the limits of commercial confidentiality under FOI. It shows how claims sometimes made by public authorities about possible damage to commercial interests are not necessarily strong enough grounds for refusing freedom of information requests.“

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/opensecrets/2011/02/bbc_forces_disclosure_of_swine.html

The Flu is slowing in the UK

"Medical News Today" is reporting a drop in flu cases in the UK.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/215666.php

"In the past week, the number of number of GP consultations in England has fallen to 24.1 per 100,000, down from 40.7 per 100,000 the previous week. The baseline level is 30 per 100,000 and the peak level was 124.4 per 100,000 in the flu report dated 30 December."

Is a serious swine flu outbreak heading to the US? Or, is this just more crappy journalism?

According to US News & World Report, H1N1 flu ("swine flu") is hitting the UK hard, and may be headed to the US.

Apparently, planes travel from the UK to the US. Thus, the report conjectures that the US may be hit.

Of course, this is based on nothing other than a need to create a sensational headline and is typical of the fear mongering that goes along with the topic.

So, reader be warned, US News & World Report continues to set the bar extremely low.


http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/research/articles/2011/01/20/h1n1-flu-is-raging-in-britain-could-us-be-next?PageNr=1