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Doug Allan

Study raises red flag for universal flu vaccine | Toronto Star - 0 views

www.thestar.com/...for_universal_flu_vaccine.html

flu

shared by Doug Allan on 29 Aug 13 - No Cached
  • A new study sounds a cautionary note for work that is being done to try to develop vaccines to protect against all subtypes of influenza.
  • The research describes a phenomenon in which vaccination against one strain of flu actually seems to raise the risk of severe infection following exposure to a related but different strain, an effect called vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease.
  • The scientists say it’s not currently known why the effect happens. Nor is it clear that it would be seen in other species — this research was done in piglets — or with the kinds of flu vaccines used to protect people. But they suggest the findings should be considered during the development and assessment of experimental universal flu vaccines.
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  • in British Columbia who contracted H1N1 in the spring and summer of 2009. People who had received a seasonal flu shot the previous autumn were more likely to contract the new pandemic strain.
  • Still, the finding is reminiscent of something that was observed in people in Canada during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
  • The authors cautioned against drawing a line between what happened to the pigs in the study and what might happen with people.
  • Her findings, which were initially dismissed by many in the global influenza research community, were later replicated in studies done in other provinces as well, leading some to dub the phenomenon “the Canadian problem.”
  • “I think . . . what they’re showing is a biological mechanism that warrants further evaluation in terms of its relevance to the use of seasonal vaccines in humans and what that may mean for the next pandemic threat,” Skowronski said.
  • It’s a frustrating target for flu vaccine designers. There are 17 known hemagglutinins, which give flu viruses the H in their name. (Most don’t currently infect people.) The hemagglutinins on H1 viruses look different than those on H3 viruses, and antibodies to one don’t protect against another.
  • Even within a subtype — H1, for instance — there are different strains, and a vaccine against one might offer lots, some or no protection against another. And all these hemagglutinins are constantly changing, which is why flu vaccines have to be updated almost every year.
  • Instead of being protected, the H1N2-vaccinated pigs developed more severe disease than exposed pigs that hadn’t been pre-vaccinated. When the researchers tested the blood of the vaccinated pigs, they found high levels of antibodies that attached to the stalk of the H1N1 hemagglutinin, but not to the head of the protein.
  • Skowronski and others suggested the work demonstrates the complexity of influenza immunology — the science of how the viruses interact with immune systems. “The problem is everybody wants influenza to be simple and be like other vaccine-preventable diseases. And it’s not,” Skowronski said.
  • Infectious diseases expert Dr. Michael Osterholm said with influenza, there is always a complicated interplay between the virus and the person the virus infects, one that is influenced by what viruses and vaccines the person’s immune system has previously encountered.
  • “It really drives home the need to be very cautious about what are we actually accomplishing.”
  • Doug Allan on 29 Aug 13
     
    Mandatory flu shot anyone?
Govind Rao

Union: Can't force mask use ; HEALTH: About 30 hospitals implemented policy which force... - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246243|kldn|20150911|229048645

from heather Ontario infectious disease nursing nurses union

shared by Govind Rao on 11 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • The Kirkland Lake Northern News Fri Sep 11 2015
  • TORONTO -- The Ontario Nurses Association says hospitals will no longer be allowed to shame health-care workers into getting a flu shot following an arbitrator's ruling striking down a "vaccinate or mask" policy. About 30 Ontario hospitals implemented the policy, which forces nurses and other hospital workers to wear an unfitted surgical mask for the entire flu season if they do not get the influenza vaccine, ONA president Linda Haslam-Stroud said Thursday. The test case was against the Sault Area Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, which tried to use the policy to boost their staff immunization rates, added Haslam-Stroud.
  • "The sad part about it is it was giving our patients a false sense of security, and we knew that," said Haslam-Stroud. The Ontario Hospital Association said it was disappointed in the arbitrator's ruling. "In light of the arbitrator's decision we are considering a number of options," said OHA president Anthony Dale. "In addition, we will continue to work with government and our partners on best practices for the upcoming flu season."
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  • Arbitrator Jim Hayes found the "vaccinate or mask" policy was unreasonable, and "a coercive tool" to force heath-care workers to get the flu shot. Experts testified that it was illogical to force healthy nurses to wear masks, and Hayes concluded the masks were not protecting patients or nurses from the flu.
  • "They were basically coercing and shaming nurses into getting the influenza vaccine if they individually chose not to take it," she said. "They made them all wear masks and they had little stickers on their name tag that everyone knew meant 'I don't have my vaccine.' " The policy made private medical information public because everyone could tell who had been vaccinated and who had not, said Dr. Michael Gardam, director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network and Women's College Hospital in Toronto. "Essentially they are outing you, because your personal health information -- whether you get vaccinated or not -- is now public knowledge because you're forced to wear a mask," said Gardam. "People know who you are."
  • The influenza vaccine is only about 40 to 60 per cent effective even in good years, said Gardam, which means all hospital workers should wear masks all the time if they were actually effective at preventing the spread of the flu. "So the only way you can really explain that argument is to say 'well, it's not really that the masks are working,' " he said. "It's because the masks are a way of driving you towards vaccination."
  • The policy "was symbolic rather than a scientifically based tool in the fight against influenza," and amounted to a "draconian shaking of the finger at nurses," said Haslam-Stroud. The ONA said there are provisions in its agreements with hospitals that require a non-vaccinated nurse to move to another ward if the medical officer of health determines there is a flu outbreak in the area where he or she works. "I am not going to suggest that anyone should be forced to take the vaccine," said Haslam-Stroud. "I personally take it, but it is an individual right as a nurse." The "vaccinate or mask" policy started in B.C. hospitals before moving to some health-care facilities in New Brunswick and Ontario.
  • FRANK GUNN/CANADIAN PRESS FILES • The Ontario Nurses Association says hospitals will no longer be allowed to shame health-care workers into getting a flu shot following an arbitrator's ruling striking down a "vaccinate or mask" policy.
Govind Rao

25 Facts About the Pharmaceutical Industry, Vaccines and "Anti-Vaxers" | Global Research - 0 views

www.globalresearch.ca/...5433260

from heather infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 26 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • By Julie Lévesque Global Research, February 25, 2015
  • During the recent measles outbreak, the mainstream media blamed the epidemic solely on non vaccinated children, even though people who were vaccinated caught the disease and some vaccines have proven to be inefficient in the past.
  • In reality, many so-called “anti-vaxers” are not ALL totally against vaccines.
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  • Why is the media so keen on portraying Big Pharma critics as crazy, uneducated, unscientific and irresponsible people?
  • Dr Marcia Angell worked for over two decades as editor of The New England Journal of Medicine.  She was fired after criticizing the pharmaceutical industry, which had exerted an overriding and negative influence on the scientific literature. She said: “It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published.”
  • China has measles outbreaks but 99% are vaccinated
  • Mandatory Chickenpox Vaccination Increases Disease Rates, Study Shows
  • In a 2012 measles outbreak in Quebec (Canada) over half of the cases were in vaccinated teenagers
  • Seasonal Flu Shots still contain thimerosal.
Govind Rao

Implications Of Mandatory Flu Vaccinations For Health-Care Workers - Health News - redO... - 0 views

www.redorbit.com/...ations-for-health-care-workers

from heather infectious disease staffing

shared by Govind Rao on 28 May 14 - No Cached
  • May 27, 2014
  • Canadian Medical Association Journal Employers planning to implement mandatory influenza vaccination policies for health care workers need to understand the implications, according to an analysis published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Vaccination rates among health care workers are less than 50%, well below the level necessary for herd immunity. Evidence indicates that vaccination of health care workers can benefit patient health, leading to a move by many to consider mandatory influenza vaccination as a condition of employment or to require employees to wear a mask during influenza season. Many health care workers favor condition-of-service influenza vaccination policies. However, in Canada, condition-of-service policies must comply with employment law, provincial human rights codes and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Condition-of-service policies that apply to unionized employees must be consistent with collective labor agreements, and vaccination policies should allow exemptions for religious beliefs and practices.
Govind Rao

The evidence and politics of mandatory health care worker vaccination - Healthy Debate - 0 views

healthydebate.ca/...health-care-worker-vaccination

from heather infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 06 Feb 14 - No Cached
  • by Sophia Ikura, Christopher Doig & Andreas Laupacis (Show all posts by Sophia Ikura, Christopher Doig & Andreas Laupacis) February 6, 2014
  • Unions oppose mandatory vaccination policies
  • ONA representative Vicki McKenna
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • However, the BC government and New York State have instituted policies that require workers to either be vaccinated or wear a mask.
  • Michael Gardam, Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control at University Health Network says that the debate has galvanized a growing group of experts, including the authors of the Cochrane review, who believe the limited efficacy of the flu shot generally does not warrant a policy of mandatory vaccination for workers.
Govind Rao

Lancaster House | Headlines | Arbitrator upholds mandatory flu shot policy for health... - 0 views

lancasterhouse.com/...92xc48jz

infectious disease lancaster house arbitrator flu shot

shared by Govind Rao on 07 Feb 14 - No Cached
  • February 7, 2014
  • Dismissing a union policy grievance, a British Columbia arbitrator held that a provincial government policy requiring health care workers to get a flu shot or wear a mask while caring for patients during flu season was a reasonable and valid exercise of the employer's management rights.
  • Arbitrator upholds mandatory flu shot policy for health care workers
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • The Facts: In 2012, the Health Employers' Association of British Columbia introduced an Influenza Control Program Policy requiring health care workers to get a flu shot or wear a mask while caring for patients during flu season, which the union grieved. The employer, representing six Health Authorities in B.C., implemented the policy in response to low vaccine coverage rates of health care workers and an inability to achieve target rates of vaccination through campaigns promoting voluntary vaccination commencing in 2000. Acting on the advice of Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer, and relying on evidence suggesting that health care worker vaccination and masking reduce transmission of influenza to patients, the employer moved towards a mandatory policy. Asserting that members had the right to make personal health care decisions, the B.C. Health Sciences Association filed a policy grievance, contending that the policy violated the collective agreement, the Human Rights Code of British Columbia, privacy legislation, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Extensive expert medical evidence during the hearing indicated that immunization was beneficial for the health care workers themselves, but was divided as to whether immunization of health care workers reduced transmission to patients. The evidence was similarly divided as to the utility of masking.
  • Comment:
  • Having determined that the policy was reasonable under the KVP test, Diebolt turned to the Irving test applicable to policies that affect privacy interests, which he characterized as requiring an arbitrator to balance the employer's interest in the policy as a patient safety measure against the harm to the privacy interest of the health care workers with respect to their vaccination status. Determining that the medical privacy right at stake in the annual disclosure of one's immunization status did not rise to the level of the right considered in Irving, which involved "highly intrusive" seizures of bodily samples, Diebolt further held that the employer's interest in patient safety related to a "real and serious patient safety issue" and that "the policy [was] a helpful program to reduce patient risk." Diebolt also considered that the employer had chosen the least intrusive means to advance its interest in light of the unsuccessful voluntary programs and in providing the alternative of masking. To quote the arbitrator: "[W]eighing the employer's interest in the policy as a patient safety measure against the harm to the privacy interest of the health care workers and applying a proportionality test respecting intrusion, based on the considerations set out above I am unable to conclude that the policy is unreasonable."
  • Diebolt also upheld the masking component of the policy as reasonable, finding on the evidence that masking had a "patient safety purpose and effect" by inhibiting the transmission of the influenza virus, and an "accommodative purpose" for health care workers who conscientiously objected to immunization. Observing that mandatory programs have been accepted in New Brunswick and the United States, Diebolt also considered that regard should be paid to the precautionary principle in health care settings that "it can be prudent to do a thing even though there may be scientific uncertainty." Moreover, he held that the absence of a reference to accommodation did not make the policy unreasonable, noting that this duty was a free-standing legal obligation that was not required explicitly to be incorporated into the policy and that any such issue should be addressed in an individual grievance if made necessary by the policy's application. He also rejected the union's submission that the policy could potentially harm health care workers' mental and physical health, considering the evidence to fall short of "establishing a significant risk of harm, such that the policy should be considered unreasonable."
  • Turning first to the KVP test, specifically whether the policy was consistent with the collective agreement and was a reasonable exercise of the employer's management rights, Diebolt noted that the only possible inconsistency with the collective agreement would be with the non-discrimination clause, given his ruling regarding the scope of Article 6.01, and that he would address this issue in his reasons with respect to the Human Rights Code. Diebolt then turned to the reasonableness of the policy and found, after an extensive review of the conflicting medical evidence that: (1) the influenza virus is a serious, even fatal disease; (2) immunization reduces the probability of contracting the disease; and (3) immunization of health care workers reduces the transmission of influenza to patients. Accordingly, Diebolt reasoned that the facts militated "strongly in favour of a conclusion that an immunization program that increases the rate of health care immunization is a reasonable policy."
  • Diebolt instead regarded the policy as a unilaterally imposed set of rules, making it necessary to establish that they were a legitimate exercise of the employer's residual management rights under the collective agreement and met the test of reasonableness set out in Lumber & Sawmill Workers' Union, Local 2537 v. KVP Co., [1965] O.L.A.A. No. 2 (QL) (Robinson). In addition, given that the policy contained elements that touched on privacy rights, Diebolt held that the policy must also meet the test articulated in CEP, Local 30 v. Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd., 2013 SCC 34 (CanLII) (reviewed in Lancaster's Disability & Accommodation, August 9, 2013, eAlert No. 182), in which the Supreme Court of Canada held that an employer cannot unilaterally subject employees to a policy of random alcohol testing without evidence of a general problem with alcohol abuse in the workplace, based on an approach of balancing the employer's interest in the safety of its operations against employees' privacy.
  • In a 115-page decision, Arbitrator Robert Diebolt denied the grievance and upheld the policy as lawful and a reasonable exercise of the employer's management rights.
  • The Decision:
  • As noted by the arbitrator, no Canadian decision has addressed a seasonal immunization policy similar to the policy in this case. However, a number of decisions have addressed, and generally upheld, outbreak policies mandating vaccination or exclusion on unpaid leave. B.C. Health Sciences Association President Val Avery expressed his disappointment in the arbitrator's ruling, stating: "Our members believed they had a right to make personal health care decisions, but this policy says that's not the case." Avery said the Association is studying the ruling and could appeal. On the other hand, Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s chief medical officer of health, applauded the decision, calling it a "win for patients and residents of long-term care facilities."
  • In 2012, Public Health Ontario changed its guidelines to call for mandatory flu shots because not enough health care workers were getting them voluntarily. Other municipal public health units – led by Toronto Public Health – also called for mandatory shots. Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Arlene King, stated in November 2013 that, while the government wants to see a dramatic increase in the number of health care workers who get a flu shot, it is stopping short of making vaccinations compulsory, but has instead implemented a three-year strategy to "strongly encourage health care workers to be immunized every year." She acknowledged, however, that the number of health care workers getting inoculated remains at 51 percent for those employed in hospitals and 75 percent for those in long-term care homes. For further discussion of the validity of employer rules, see section 14.1 in Mitchnick & Etherington's Leading Cases on Labour Arbitration Online.
Govind Rao

How to talk about folks reluctant to vaccinate - 0 views

policyoptions.irpp.org/...t-folks-reluctant-to-vaccinate

from heather infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 11 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Patrick Fafard Blog post, February 23, 2015
  • First it was Ebola, now it is the measles, not forgetting of course the annual debates about influenza. Of course I am talking about infectious diseases and the fact that every once in a while they become front-page news. Inevitably, the conversation quickly shifts to those among us who choose not get vaccinated or have their children vaccinated. While I think that everyone should do everything they can to get vaccinated, I have to concede that some among us do not share that view. More importantly, we need get beyond labelling anyone who is reluctant to embrace vaccination as an ‘anti-vaxxer’. The common account of a so-called anti-vaxxer is very negative indeed.  These people are described as a bit nutty, reject the benefits of modern science and are thought by many to be the functional equivalent of folks who think the moon landing was a hoax or that the theory of evolution should be disregarded or who think Elvis still walks among us. This view is wrong.
Govind Rao

Health care workers, mandatory influenza vaccination policies and the law - 0 views

www.cmaj.ca/...1076.short

from heather infectious disease cma

shared by Govind Rao on 23 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • CMAJ October 7, 2014 vol. 186 no. 14 First published May 26, 2014, doi: 10.1503/cmaj.140035
  • Vanessa Gruben, LLB LLM, Reed A. Siemieniuk, MD, Allison McGeer,
  • Over the last few years, there has been increasing discussion about the importance of influenza vaccination for health care workers. There is consensus that all health care workers should receive the influenza vaccine annually,1–4 but the actual vaccination rates in this group remain below 50%.5,6 In response to this low rate and the evidence that vaccination of health care workers is associated with improved patient outcomes, an increasing number of expert and professional groups recommend that annual influenza vaccination be a condition of service in the health care industry.7,8
Doug Allan

Why this expert is against making flu shots mandatory for health-care workers - The Glo... - 0 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...article21057766

flu

shared by Doug Allan on 27 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • “A few years ago, I was also for mandatory flu shots [for health-care workers],” Gardam says. “Then what happened is I started reading and I started going back to the original studies. I don’t feel that I can sugar-coat those any more.”
  • It turns out that the evidence in favour of mandatory vaccination policies is far from conclusive. For instance, a review of the medical literature published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in July, 2013, found vaccinated health-care workers had no measurable benefit on flu rates or the number of related complications of long-term-care residents. Another review by researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the quality of evidence for reduced influenza death and total number of cases among patients to be moderate and low, respectively.
  • Gardam says he is still being criticized by other public-health professionals for an opinion piece published in the summer in which he argued that such campaigns are not based in evidence. Another physician, based in Western Canada, is so concerned about the consequences of expressing his opposition to mandatory flu-shot campaigns that he agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity.
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  • The truth is the flu shot is about 60-per-cent effective, on average, in healthy adults. Depending on the year, that number can vary. It’s certainly better than nothing, and until a better vaccine comes along, it is the best way to prevent the flu.
  • He also points out that a few of the loudest voices to have argued in favour of mandatory vaccination policies have received research and other funding from vaccine-makers.
  • The physician argues that given the limited effectiveness of the annual flu shot and the lack of evidence showing that mandatory campaigns can reduce transmission rates, health-care workers should retain the ability to choose.
  • It’s also true that there’s no reliable, high-quality evidence showing that vaccinating every health-care worker greatly reduces flu cases and deaths.
  • So why create a battle with health-care workers instead of using the facts to make a reasoned, compelling argument encouraging them to get the flu shot, wash their hands and stay home when sick?
  • Coercion and threats may work in the short term, but they surely aren’t a good basis for truly effective health policy.
Govind Rao

Ontario Council of Hospital Unions - defending healthcare in every community - 0 views

www.ochu.on.ca

from heather cupe Ontario private clinics privatization

shared by Govind Rao on 17 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • Request for an inquest was denied; Family sues hospital for son's death, Sept. 12 Toronto Star - Mon Sep 16 2013 Family sues hospital for son's death, Sept. 12
  • the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), which represents front-line staff at St. Joseph's in Hamilton where the death occurred, publicly called for an inquest.
  • Mandatory flu shot for health staff misdirected November 2, 2012To save lives, prevent thousands of needless deaths stop provincial policies that cause medical errors, bed sores and superbug ... [Read More]infections
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  • To target health care workers and take away their right to choose by making the flu shot mandatory, is misdirected in the face of recent evidence that 41 per cent of people who get a flu vaccine receive no protection against the flu,” says Michael Hurley the president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU).
  • Mandatory Flu Vaccinations for Health Care Workers CUPE encourages health care workers to get an influenza vaccination if they can safely do so. But making flu shots mandatory for health care workers is a serious intrusion on the freedom and personal autonomy of health care workers that may sometimes have detrimental effects on their own health.Forcing people to take flu shots against their will may well undermine public confidence in vaccination programs, even vaccination programs with an excellent results and high safety standards.
  • Govind Rao on 16 Oct 13
     
    Union calls for halt to move procedures from hospitals to private clinics Submission by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions / CUPE on the Proposed amendment to O. Reg. 264/07 made under the Local Health System Integration Act, 2006 and A Regulation under the Independent Health Facilities Act - Prescribed Persons .  The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions / CUPE represents 30,000 workers in hospitals across the province, including Registered Practical Nurses, service workers, and administrative workers. We are opposed to the government’s plan to move surgical, diagnostic, and other work from public hospitals to private clinics. Our objections can be summarized as falling within seven distinct areas: 1] Quality • Even minor operations can go wrong. We believe that, in contrast with hospitals, it is unlikely private clinics will be able to handle emergencies and that they will likely simply call EMS. Will ambulances be able to move patients to hospitals when things go wrong? (We say “when” advisably, as sooner or later there will be problems.) Indeed, private surgical clinics first came to public attention when a patient died and the paramedics arrived to find a patient with no vital signs. Is it appropriate to establish a system that inherently requires extra time to effectively treat patients who fall into emergency situations? This is particularly troubling as underfunding and restructuring have challenged EMS response times. The government and government officials must be prepared to accept responsibility for such deaths if this plan is approved. 
Govind Rao

Vaccine mandates in the US are doing more harm than good | The BMJ - 0 views

www.bmj.com/...bmj.h4576

from heather infectious disease us

shared by Govind Rao on 28 Aug 15 - No Cached
  • BMJ 2015; 351 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h4576 (Published 26 August 2015) Cite this as: BMJ 2015;351:h4576
  • Allan S Cunningham, retired pediatrician, Cooperstown, NY, USAcrabarbicus62@gmail.com
  • Tightening the rules for non-medical exemptions is not justified and will increase parental mistrust and resistance, argues Allan S CunninghamSince my medical career began in 1962 I have seen the harmful effects of nearly all of the vaccine preventable diseases on the US immunization schedule. I have enthusiastically administered many thousands of vaccine doses and am glad that my children and grandchildren are well vaccinated. However, the current attitudes of public health officials about vaccine mandates and exemptions are arrogant and patronizing.
Govind Rao

Important Update: Arbitrator rules mandatory flu vaccine or mask policies violate worke... - 0 views

www.ochu.on.ca/...ne_violates_workers_rights.php

from heather infectious disease Ontario cupe hospital

shared by Govind Rao on 14 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • 11/September/2015
  • Issue Analysis: The Ontario Nurses Association vs. Ontario Hospital Association/ Sault Area Hospital - “Vaccine or Mask” Arbitration Ruling.Background:On December 13, 2013, the ONA filed a policy grievance in relation to the Sault Area Hospital’s “vaccine or mask (VOM)” policy. The Policy, which came into effect on January 1 of 2014, required all health care workers (HCWs) in the Hospital to either get the influenza vaccine or wear a facemask for the entire duration of the flu season. Though the Employer ultimately argued that the Policy was intended to protect patients from contracting influenza from unvaccinated patients, testimony and evidence produced during the arbitration indicated that in fact the Policy came in direct response to a low staff vaccination rate. Notably, similar and/or identical policies have been adopted at hospitals throughout Ontario, as well as in other jurisdictions throughout North America. In 2013, an arbitrator in BC, ruled against the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association of British Columbia in an identical grievance against the Health Association Employers Association of British Columbia.
Govind Rao

Mandatory flu vaccinations for health care workers |Defending Public Healthcare - 0 views

ochuleftwords.blogspot.ca/...u-vaccinations-for-health.html

from heather Ontario cupe hospital infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 19 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • December 18, 2013
  • Mandatory flu vaccinations for health care workers
  • But making flu shots mandatory for health care workers is a serious intrusion on the freedom and personal autonomy of health care workers that may sometimes have detrimental effects on their own health.    Forcing people to take flu shots against their will may well undermine public confidence in vaccination programs, even vaccination programs with an excellent results and high safety standards. 
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Employers do not provide any sick leave to half of CUPE hospital workers. 
Govind Rao

Vaccinate or mask pays off - 0 views

www.cmaj.ca/19

from heather infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 05 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • CMAJ January 6, 2015 vol. 187 no. 1 First published December 8, 2014, doi: 10.1503/cmaj.109-4959
  • Health care organizations in two provinces are starting to reap the benefits of mandatory influenza vaccination policies, despite strong push-back from health workers, said experts at the Canadian Immunization Conference in Ottawa.
  • Policies recently introduced in BC and New Brunswick that require health workers to get vaccinated or don a mask during flu season have deeply divided staff of all stripes. Some argue such policies are crucial for patient safety; others, an undue infringement of personal freedoms. There have been walkouts, terminations and grievances launched.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The health authority introduced a compulsory “vaccinate or mask” policy in 2012. It came on the heels of a disappointing voluntary campaign in which just 46% of Horizon workers got the flu shot. Now vaccination rates are holding steady near 70% and absenteeism has dropped an average of two hours per employee. “Multiply that by 13 000 employees and it doesn’t take long to start saving some money,” said Babineau.
Govind Rao

RFK Jr. decries 'holocaust' of forced vaccination - 0 views

www.wnd.com/...olocaust-of-forced-vaccination

from heather infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 13 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • 'They get the shot' and '3 months later their brain is gone'
  • bill introduced to the California Assembly after a measles outbreak infected more than 100 people that would no longer allow parents to exempt their children from vaccines because it goes against their personal beliefs.
  • Kennedy charges information about the dangers of vaccines has been suppressed because of the influence of pharmaceutical companies.
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  • Kennedy was in Sacramento to attend a screening of the film “Trace Amounts,” a documentary he claims helped halt a forced vaccination measure in Oregon.
Govind Rao

H1N1 virus returns, triggering flu vaccine warning - British Columbia - CBC News - 0 views

www.cbc.ca/...-flu-vaccine-warning-1.2469285

from heather infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 19 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • oung children, people with chronic health conditions advised to get vaccinated
  • Dec 18, 2013
  • Health officials in B.C. are advising young people to get a flu vaccine after determining that the H1N1 influenza strain, which circulated during the global pandemic in 2009, has returned to become the predominant strain this flu season.
Govind Rao

H1N1 vaccine and narcolepsy link discovered - 0 views

www.cmaj.ca/...E371

from heather infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 08 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • CMAJ September 8, 2015 vol. 187 no. 12 First published July 27, 2015, doi: 10.1503/cmaj.109-5118
  • Carolyn Brown
  • Researchers have found a clue to the cases of narcolepsy seen after H1N1 infection and vaccination that also sheds light on the safety of vaccines and adjuvants. A study published July 1 in Science Translational Medicine shows that a nuclear protein found in both H1N1 influenza virus and some H1N1 vaccines blocks a receptor for hypocretin, a neuropeptide associated with wakefulness. But it only affects people with a specific genetic make-up (human leukocyte antigen [HLA] haplotype) that is rare in Canada, but more common in the northern European countries.
Govind Rao

Finnish Scientists Identify Link Between GlaxoSmithKline's Swine Flu Vaccine Pandemrix ... - 0 views

www.globalresearch.ca/...5423154

from heather infectious disease US

shared by Govind Rao on 06 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • By Amirah Al Idrus
  • January 06, 2015
  • Of the more than 30 million people in almost 50 countries who have received GlaxoSmithKline’s ($GSK) Pandemrix, close to 800 have developed narcolepsy. And now, for the first time, a team from Finland thinks it knows why. Comparing Pandemrix with Arepanrix, a vaccine used in Canada with the same adjuvant, the researchers found that Pandemrix had more of one structurally altered viral nucleoprotein–a disparity lead researcher Outi Vaarala attributed to the way the vaccines were prepared.
Govind Rao

Trading away our health - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246200|ntnp|20150316|216491837

from heather trade drugs

shared by Govind Rao on 16 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • National Post Mon Mar 16 2015
  • Last week, behind closed doors in a hotel in Hawaii, negotiators from a dozen countries met to continue negotiations on a trade agreement that will affect an estimated 800 million people and 40% of the global economy: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The negotiations, which began in 2010 between Canada, the United States and 10 other Pacific Rim countries, are being conducted without opportunity for public scrutiny. Currently, U.S. President Barack Obama is asking Congress to grant him the authority to fasttrack the TPP without amendments from lawmakers. Of the many issues at stake, the implications are especially critical for ensuring affordable health care and access to medicines for the millions of people in developing countries where Doctors Without Borders works and also for Canadians.
  • We know from leaks of the TPP draft text that some governments are attempting to dismantle public-health safeguards enshrined in international law by extending the length of time that brand-name medicines are protected by patents to create new types of monopolistic protection. As a result, pharmaceutical companies will be able to charge unduly high prices for several more years, thereby restricting access to affordable life-saving generic medicines. This will disproportionately affect those who can least afford to pay. Currently, in the poorest countries and even at the lowest global price available, the cost of immunizing a child using World Health Organization recommended vaccines has risen a colossal 6,700% since 2001. The stricter intellectual property rules under negotiation in the TPP will only further limit competition, keep prices artificially high and keep vaccines out of reach.
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  • e know that the best way to reduce these high drug prices and improve access to treatment is through generic competition. In fact, everyone from ministries of health to medical humanitarian organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and donorsupported global health institutions rely on affordable, quality generic medicines for 85% of their health programming. Yet certain provisions proposed by the U.S. and other countries in the TPP could greatly limit the reach and effectiveness of these programs, thereby diverting badly needed resources away from patient care. Canada supports many important global health programs but the effectiveness of this support is at risk. This year, Canada contributed $500 million to the replenishment of the Gavi Vaccine Alliance's fund. Canada is also one of the leading donors to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
  • Malaria, which has provided antiretroviral therapy to more than six-million people living with HIV in developing countries. In addition, Canada provides international assistance to five of the 12 TPP-negotiating countries, amounting to more than $83 million in 2012 and 2013. Two countries involved in the TPP negotiations, Vietnam and Peru, are also on Canada's "Development Countries of Focus" list, due to an even greater need for development assistance. If harmful provisions in the TPP are accepted, driving up the cost of medicines and vaccines, the impact of this use of Canadian taxpayers' money could be seriously diminished. Access to affordable medicines could also become a major concern in Canada. Drug expenditures in this country have been the fastest growing sector of health spending in the last 25 years. Since the mid-1980s, prescription drug spending has more than doubled, costing $27.7 billion in 2012. If Canada does not strongly reject the new protections proposed in the TPP, these expenditures could cost our health-care systems, and all Canadians, billions more per year.
  • Thankfully, a version of the TPP text leaked in 2013 shows that Canada and other countries are opposing some of the most harmful provisions in the agreement. As the negotiations are nearing an end, countries will be under immense pressure to reach a deal. Canada has a humanitarian duty to resist that pressure and to stand up to the U.S. and others who would seek to benefit their pharmaceutical industries through the TPP negotiations, at the expense of poor countries and of Canadians. More than 32,000 Canadians have already signed a petition at www.msf. ca/tpp calling on Canada to stand up for public health. Together we must ensure the TPP does not undermine access to affordable drugs, whether here in Canada or around the world. When it comes to access to medicines, it is imperative that Canada does not give in and trade away our health. Stephen Cornish is executive director of Doctors Without Borders Canada.
Govind Rao

Big Pharma's Nefarious Control of Health Care. The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program ... - 0 views

www.globalresearch.ca/...5511553

from heather drugs corporation safety

shared by Govind Rao on 03 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • By Dr. Gary G. Kohls Global Research, March 02, 2016
  • For-profit corporate influences on for-profit medicine and for-profit “blue ribbon panels” explains much of what is regarded as the very profitable “standard of care” in medicine today. It also explains the prescribing habits and politics of many of us physicians.
  • Big Business, Big Pharma, Big Insurance and Big Medicine Aren’t Necessarily Good for Your Health
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  • prevent cancer of the cervix
  • Some Unwelcome Truths About Gardisil
  • Gardisil applies to only four of over a hundred known strains of HPV
  • No Guarantee of Vaccine Efficacy and Lots of Risks
  • nobody in America can sue vaccine companies
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