Monday, 25 March 2013
Should All Children Be Vaccinated Against Influenza?
Last year it was suggested by 'experts' that a new universal vaccination programme should be introduced to protect our children against influenza.
At the time I thought it was another ridiculous idea which would drift into the long grass. However now the Scottish government are planning to vaccinate every child in Scotland.
Children already receive 12 vaccinations against eight diseases by the time they start school.
It's well documented that the flu vaccine is not effective because science has shown that there is no single virus that causes the flu. It takes time to produce vaccines so a new vaccine can't be instantly produced when a new type of flu starts to cause problems.
The Scottish government says vaccinating children is a 'cost-effective' way of cutting flu cases in adults, but campaigners said the proposed flu vaccine, Fluenz (the same one proposed for use in England), is a weakened form of the live virus which is administered using a nasal spray and is in fact a 'very effective way to spread flu'.
The campaigners also highlighted warnings from the makers that there is a chance the virus in the vaccine could cause infection if it was transmitted to someone who has a weak immune system. However the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health agrees every child between the age of two and seventeen is to be offered the vaccine from next year.
I do hope the majority of parents shun this latest craze because I cannot see pumping children full of vaccine, when it's recognised that it will not be effective, is good for their health.
This makes me wonder who is the greatest beneficiary from this latest idea? It's certainly not going to be the children so surely it can't be Astra Zeneca, which is the pharmaceutical company making the new vaccine. Oh another tiny detail - it's made using hens' eggs so cannot be given to children with a known severe allergy. All seasonal flu vaccines must be updated annually to match the three most common strains of the disease in circulation.
A nice wee earner for Anstra Zeneca I think and at the expense of some children's health.
As a footnote, I'm offered the flu vaccine each year, but politely refuse it. I witnessed my mother's reaction to it for some years, yet her GP (with her agreement) continued to give it to her. It took some weeks for her to recover from the side effects, but as she treated all doctors like gods, she believed her GP was doing his best for her and wouldn't listen to other advice.