Health Plus Letter Vol. 1, No. 21

The Health Plus Letter
December 16, 2003, Vol. 1, No. 21
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher

Table Of Contents:
What’s New
Quote of the Day
Fast Fact
Medical Freedom Alert
A Crack in Big Pharma’s Armor?
Is It Possible That FluMist®, The Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine, May Be Causing the Flu? by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny
Flu Hype: Observations by Jon Rappoport
The Power of A Human Spirit - A Tribute to My Sister (Part 7)
Reader Feedback: Regarding My Sister Andrea
Recommendations
Humor: President George W. Bush on the Record

What’s New

First off, my apologies to all of you who tried to access 1HealthyWorld.com late last week. Due to circumstances beyond my control (major technical difficulties), our server experienced significant downtime. As I write this, we are back up, albeit with a few bugs I’m still working out, and steps are being taken to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Chalk it up to growing pains.

This week, I’m taking a look at a number of significant news items that surfaced in the last few days, indicating just how out of control our drug-based, modern-day medical care system has become. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t a good week for Big Pharma from a PR perspective, but I doubt their bottom line took a hit in any significant way. The news items in question are recapped in this issue’s Health and Commentary section, and I explore the ramifications of this news in my article A Crack in Big Pharma’s Armor?

Also in this issue, another warning from Dr. Sherri Tenpenny about FluMist the oral spray vaccine. According to her research, it may actually cause the flu! Be sure to read her article to find out more.

And while I’m on the subject, am I being cynical in asking if there is a connection between the fact that we are suddenly being barraged with media stories about the dangers of this year’s flu season precisely at the same time that a new, proprietary flu vaccine (FluMist) has come to market? For more on this topic, I’m including various observations recently posted by investigative journalist Jon Rapport on his website, http://www.nomorefakenews.com, which I read daily. Even before I read Jon’s posts, I sensed a lot of hype in the media stories about the flu. Based on the statistics Jon cites, I’m even more convinced that hype is indeed at the heart of the stories. What are your own thoughts on this subject? Please email me and let me know.

This issue also continues my tribute to my sister Andrea with the 7th installment of The Power of A Human Spirit. Last week’s installment really touched a lot of readers. I think this week’s installment will, too.

Please continue to send me with your comments and suggestions. You can email me at larry@1healthyworld.com. And please spread the word about The Health Plus Letter by passing it along to your friends and inviting them to subscribe.

Note: This week’s issue will be the last of the year. I’ll be returning again on January 6 of the coming new year. Till then, I wish all of you a very joyous and love-filled holiday season, with many blessings in the New Year. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwaanza, and "God bless us, everyone!"

Quote Of The Day

"If we doctors threw all our medicines into the sea, it would be that much better for our patients and that much worse for the fishes." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, M.D.

Fast Fact

More than 90% of drugs only work in 30-50% of people, according to a statement made last week to the press by Allen Roses, vice president of the pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline. (For more on this story, see Health News and Commentary and A Crack in Big Pharma’s Armor? below)

Medical Freedom Alert

Please do your part to ensure that the misleadingly named "Dietary Safety Supplement" Act (S. 722) is defeated. To become informed about S. 722 and to take action to help defeat its passage, please visit: http://capwiz.com/nnfa/S722.html

To stay informed of other developments related to medical freedom, please visit http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org the website of Dr. Mattias Rath, a leading crusader for medical freedom.

Unabashed Plug

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Health News and Commentary

Garlic Found to be Effective Against Drug-Resistant "Superbug"

According to recent research published in the British Journal for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, garlic intake can reduce the effects of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, one of the most powerful strains of "superbugs" that are resistant to "some of the most advanced drugs ever made." Although MRSA is commonly found on the skin of healthy people, it poses serious health risks for persons who are immune-compromised, and is particularly dangerous to patients who are hospitalized.

In the new research, doctors measured levels of natural compounds triggered by MRSA infection and found they were lower when garlic had been used. "The results strongly support the conclusion that garlic extract possesses multiple protective functions," the researchers stated.

Other research has found that allicin, a primary active compound contained in garlic, is effective in controlling an intestinal bacteria which is also antibiotic resistant and causes considerable illness and deaths in hospitals. Additional research also indicates that garlic may be effective against fungal infections and parasites, and that it may increase the body's resistance to viruses, including the common cold.

[Comment: I’ve long used garlic during the cold and flu season, ever since a friend and world-traveler told me of its medicinal qualities in 1986. He typically traveled months or more at a time, primarily among Third World countries in Asia and Micronesia, but never got sick during all that time. When I asked him what his secret was, he told me he ate at least two gloves of lightly roasted garlic every day, something he had learned while traveling through Korea. Sometime later, I came down with a very sudden and bad case of the flu, so I tried it. Just before bedtime, I roasted five gloves and ate them. The next morning, I awoke with no trace of flu symptoms. So I’m not at all surprised by the story above. On the other hand, neither am I saying that garlic will work in the same fashion for everyone. There is no such thing as a single "cure-all" ingredient.]

Major Antidepressant Drugs Banned for Sale to Children Due to Suicide Risk

The British Government will soon be banning the sale all major antidepressant medications known as SSRIs to citizens 18 and under, due to concerns that the drugs cause young patients to commit suicide. (The only exception to the ban is the SSRI Prozac, although prescriptions of the drug will now have to contain the warning that it only helps one in ten children who use it.) Currently, an estimated 50,000 British children use such antidepressants. According to The Guardian, which reported on this story, "The decision comes after pressure from parents and campaigners. Health authorities have never recommended use of the drugs by under-18s but GPs [general practitioners] have prescribed [them] more and more for children. The ban is likely to cause problems for doctors because there are an insufficient number of counsellors and psychotherapists to deal with mental health problems through alternative treatment - therapy."

For more on this story, see: http://snipurl.com/3ekx

[Comment: Given the poor effectiveness of Prozac, I’d like to see it included in the ban, as well. Moreover, I’d like to see the ban put into effect in the United States, as well. It should also be pointed out that the primary reason physicians have increasingly begun prescribing SSRIs for children is directly due to sales campaigns on the part of the drugs manufacturers. For anyone interested in learning more about the dangerous side-effects and poor science behind the use of these drugs, I recommend the book Toxic Psychiatry by Peter S. Breggin, M.D. Or you can visit his website: http://www.breggin.com

Major Conflict of Interest Uncovered Between Major Drug Companies and Researchers at the National Institutes of Health

Last weekend, the Los Angeles Times ran a featured article reporters had been researching for five years, clearly showing that some of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s "top scientists are also collecting paychecks and stock options from biomedical firms." Moreover, "Increasingly, such deals are kept secret."

According to the Times’ article, "Such dual roles — federal research leader and drug company consultant —are increasingly common at the NIH, an agency once known for independent scientific inquiry on behalf of a single client: the public.

"Two decades ago, the NIH was so distinct from industry that Margaret Heckler, secretary of Health and Human Services in the Reagan administration, could describe it as "an island of objective and pristine research, untainted by the influences of commercialization."

Today, with its senior scientists collecting paychecks and sto/ck options from biomedical companies, the NIH is no longer an island."

In fact, the Times reports, "Relying in part on a 1998 legal opinion, NIH officials now allow more than 94% of the agency's top-paid employees to keep their consulting income confidential. As a result, the NIH is one of the most secretive agencies in the federal government when it comes to financial disclosures."

For more on this story, see: http://snipurl.com/3el7

[I urge all of you to read the complete article that can be found at the link above (you’ll need to register with the LA Times in order to do so, but there is no cost involved). What I’ve reported above is just the tip of the iceberg, and the full story makes it clear that we can no longer trust our government agencies to protect us from manipulated research conducted with profits as the primary motive.]

Major Drug Executive Admits "Our Drugs Do Not Work on Most Patients."

Speaking before a scientific gathering in London last week, Allen Roses, "worldwide vice-president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline" publically admitted that pharmaceutical drugs do not work for the majority of patients for whom they are prescribed. "The vast majority of drugs - more than 90 per cent - only work in 30 or 50 per cent of the people," Dr. Roses said. Among the statistics he revealed was that only 25% of cancer patients derive benefit from cancer drugs.

For more on this story, see: http://snipurl.com/3bj1

[Comment: Lest anyone mistake Roses as a "spy coming in from the cold," I hasten to add that his comments were in no way intended to disparage the use of drugs as a primary medical tool. Instead, he used his press conference to tout the need for expanded research into an entirely new generation of drugs that will specifically address patients’ unique genetic makeup. In other words, "Hey, we’ve spent countless billions in pursuit of one failed paradigm; today I’m encouraging you to allow us to spend at least as much for another blind pursuit for which we also lack any tangible evidence of efficacy." Even so, the cat is officially out of the bag. Most of the time, for most of the people, drugs don’t work.]

And, finally ...

Investigation Reveals That "Drug Firms 'Hoodwink' Medical Journals-Pharmaceutical Giants Hire Ghostwriters to Produce Articles - Then Put Doctors' Names on Them."

"Hundreds of articles in medical journals claiming to be written by academics or doctors have been penned by ghostwriters in the pay of drug companies," according to a report published last week in English newspaper, The Observer. "Estimates suggest that almost half of all articles published in journals are by ghostwriters. While doctors who have put their names to the papers can be paid handsomely for 'lending' their reputations, the ghostwriters remain hidden. They, and the involvement of the pharmaceutical firms, are rarely revealed. These papers endorsing certain drugs are paraded in front of GPs [general practitioners] as independent research to persuade them to prescribe the drugs."

Commenting on the findings, Dr Richard Smith, editor of the British Journal of Medicine, admitted that ghostwriting was a "very big problem. We are being hoodwinked by the drug companies. The articles come in with doctors' names on them and we often find some of them have little or no idea about what they have written," he said.

'When we find out, we reject the paper, but it is very difficult. In a sense, we have brought it on ourselves by insisting that any involvement by a drug company should be made explicit. They have just found ways to get round this and go undercover."

By all means, read the full story, available at http://snipurl.com/3ell

[Comment: And there you have it - more insight into how the game is played. Am I surprised? Not at all. Are you? When it comes to Big Pharma’s approach to health care, the bottom line is not curing patients, it’s their own bottom line.

For more on this subject, see A Crack in Big Pharma’s Armor below.]

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A Crack In Big Pharma’s Armor?

No matter how you slice it, last week was not a healthy one for the multinational pharmaceutical industry, aka Big Pharma, a term I borrow from novelist John Le Carre, whose book The Constant Gardener paints a no-holds-barred picture of the steps Big Pharma will take to ensure that its drugs dominant the medical market place. While I doubt the industry’s financial gains for the week in question suffered too much, certainly the spin machine it employs must have had a few uneasy moments. Hardly surprising, given what was revealed about Big Pharma in leading newspapers both here and abroad.

Such as the stories I covered above in the Health and Commentary section. To whit:

Drug companies ghostwrite their own research papers for publication in medical journals, then pay physicians to put their names on them in order to then use the papers, once they are published, to influence as many physicians as possible to start prescribing their latest "wonder drug" products.

Moreover, not content with such deck-stacking in their favor, these same drug companies also pay and award stock options to the very researchers who are entrusted to objectively investigate the merits of said wonder drugs, enriching said researchers to the tune of hundreds of thousands, and sometimes even millions, of dollars.

Perhaps the spin doctors and Madison Avenue types Big Pharma employs have a different name for practices as those above, but in my neck of the words, it known as Deceit. As well as Lying, Collusion, Malpractice, Unethical, and ... well, I could go on, but you get the picture.

Of course, this is not the image of Big Pharma you are meant to conjure up when you view their television ads day after day, night after night, ad infinitum. If we are to believe such commercials, Big Pharma is the only hope we have of protecting ourselves from the hordes of diseases (whether real or imagined - Adult ADD, anyone? - it makes no difference) poised to strike us down but for the latest purple pill, patch, or invasive medical procedure. All made possible for our benefit by the kindness of Big Pharma’s hearts. (Needless to say, we are also not intended to pay attention to the litany of possible side effects these same wonderful medications can have, which is why they are so hurriedly rushed through via voice-over at the end of each commercial.)

By all accounts, Big Pharma shells out tens of billions of dollars each year in the U.S. alone to ensure that such ads reach us at all hours of the day and night. And also funds the largest political lobby in Washington, DC in order to further ensure that they receive the most favorable possible treatment from our elected officials. (A wise investment, based on the results, as evidenced, for example, by the recent Medicare legislation that was just enacted.)

Such spending on the part of Big Pharma ensures the far greater annual profits it racks up, despite the fact that the products they sell - drugs - by the recent admission of one of its very own senior executives, Dr. Allen Roses, "don’t work for most patients." What other industry (with the possible exception of the defense contractors) can boast of such stellar returns each year, based on products that perform so poorly? The answer, of course, is none. But then again, how many other industries (again, with the possible exception of the defense contractors), have such a blatant monopoly in the marketplace as the one Big Pharma has benefitted from since at least the mid-1900's? For not only has Big Pharma managed to secure an unethical collusion with such agencies as the National Institutes for Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and their international counterparts, it also has for many decades been the primary funder of both the medical schools that produce our nation’s doctors and the medical journals that the doctors read, thereby, if not outright, at least significantly, controlling the curriculum said doctors are taught and the research papers they read that will influence their decisions once they begin their medical practice.

A rigged game? To say the very least! And, given the enormous amounts of money at stake, one that you can be sure neither Big Pharma nor the government agencies that are supposed to oversee it will willingly change for our greater good. Clearly the medical "dictatorship" that Dr. Benjamin Rush, co-signer of the Declaration of Independence, warned against (he wanted the document to include a medical freedom clause) has come to pass. Moreover, it has had nearly a century in which to secure its current dominance in the marketplace.

But no dictatorship, no matter how powerful, lasts forever. And, for all its seeming stranglehold, the truth is that Big Pharma has been losing ground in the marketplace for decades, as evidenced by the burgeoning popularity of alternative medicine among the public, and the steadily increasing market share exhibited by the natural foods and supplement industries. Big Pharma is keenly aware of these trends, of course. Which is why its lobbyists around the globe are currently conspiring with governments and regulatory agencies to once and for all limit access to such supplements and bring their manufacture under Big Pharma’s umbrella. All in the name of public safety, Big Pharma’s mouthpieces proclaim, as if our safety is something we should rush to entrust to an industry whose medications - when properly prescribed, no less! - annually kill over 100,000 people in the U.S. alone, and seriously injure over a million more. (It’s worth noting that the FDA has stated for the record that such deaths may actually be under-reported by a factor of 10 to 100, meaning that for every incident that is reported, 10 to 100 more may not be.) And it’s a good bet that Big Pharma’s attempts to severely rein in its competition will continue with other as yet unrevealed measures, as well.

But no matter what it attempts, I have long maintained that Big Pharma’s efforts are doomed to fail. Why? Because we the people, even the millions of us afflicted with chronic illness who still depend upon, even insist on receiving, Big Pharma’s drugs, know that, again quoting Dr. Roses, such medications "don’t work for most people." And so, increasingly, the public is seeking effective alternatives. Once they find the treatments that work for them, they will begin to insist that they be allowed access to them. Eventually, a critical mass will be reached, and then that insistence will become a coherent, unified voice "of the people, by the people, for the people." At which point, even the most spineless of politicians, knowing full well who truly butters their toast (their constituents at home), will join the bandwagon and medical freedom will become the law of the land.

This is a trend that is already underway. One that I am convinced is unstoppable. Simply because, like anything else we the people buy, when it comes to health products, we want something that works and that gives us our money’s worth. Big Pharma is failing on both counts and, given the paradigm from which it operates, it cannot help but continue to fail.

It knows this. It’s worried. And its PR machine will be in overdrive for the foreseeable future. Let it be. For, as Victor Hugo wrote, "All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come." And when it comes to health care, that idea is alternative medicine.

Is It Possible That FluMist®, The Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine, May Be Causing the Flu? by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

[Note: Dr. Tenpenny is a recognized expert on the subject of possible health risks posed by vaccination. To find out more about Dr. Tenpenny, please visit http://www.nmaseminars.com.]

The major media outlets are escalating the push for the flu shot to near hysteria, especially since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the flu vaccines "may" provide some protection against the A/Fujian strain. With the supply of flu vaccine running out, there is now new media-produced promotion for FluMist, the nasal spray flu vaccine. However, what is not being explored is the possibility that cases of flu may be caused by FluMist. An overview of the CDC's most recently available data regarding flu virus testing brings this question to the forefront.

Viral types and "antigenic drift"

Each year, the CDC incorporates antigens from the three major strains in circulation: an Influenza A-type strain from the H1N1 subtype; a second Influenza A-type strain from the H3N2 subtype; and a third virus from the Influenza-B strain.

Influenza B viruses circulate widely only among humans and are not divided into subtypes. Influenza B is known to be the cause of sporadic outbreaks of illness, especially in residential communities such as nursing homes.

The Influenza A strains are the most common cause of annual, widespread influenza outbreaks. Influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes based on the type of protein located on the surface of the virus. There are many subtypes of Influenza A viruses and some of these viruses can be found in animals, including ducks, chickens, pigs, whales, horses, and seals. Although unusual, an Influenza A type of virus from an animal can be transmitted to people.[1]

The Influenza A subtypes most commonly found in people are (H1N1) and (H3N2) A virus from each of these subtype strains is selected each year for inclusion in the flu vaccines. The specific viral strains selected for this year's flu vaccines are A/New

Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1), A/Panama/2007/99 (H3N2) and Hong Kong/1434/2002 (Type B). Both Fluzone and FluMist are made to protect against these three viruses. [2,3].

Influenza viruses can change in two different ways. One way is called "antigenic drift." These are small changes in the proteins on the surface of the virus that happen over time. Antigenic drift produces new viral strains. The new strains may not be recognized by a person's antibodies developed from a previous flu episode, or by antibodies induced by a previously given flu shot. This is the reason why new viruses are selected each year to correspond with viruses thought to be commonly circulating.

The other way that flu viruses can change is by a mechanism referred to as "antigenic shift." Antigenic shift is an abrupt, major change in the influenza A viruses, resulting in a completely new influenza A subtype. While influenza A viruses morph via antigenic drift all the time, antigenic shift happens only occasionally.

The CDC has announced that the viral strain, A/Fujian/411/2002 (H3N2) is the most prevalent virus being identified in the community setting. The A/Fujian strain was the predominate virus in Australia and New Zealand during the recent Southern Hemisphere influenza season and is a classified as a "drift variant" related to the A/Panama virus found in this year's vaccines. Because they are antigenically "related", antibodies produced against the A/Panama virus will cross-react with the A/Fujian virus, but much less strongly.

Will the current vaccine protect against the A/Fujian strain? The CDC says that "vaccine effectiveness depends, in part, on the match between vaccine strains and circulating viruses and cannot be determined by laboratory testing."[4] Despite a degree of effectiveness suggested by a laboratory testing, clinical effectiveness from the flu shot—or from FluMist—cannot be presumed, and neither should it be assured.

The CDC's Numbers

Since September 28, the WHO and NREVSS[5] laboratories have tested a total of 19,469 specimens, finding 25.6% of these samples to be positive for influenza virus. Among the 4,992 samples identified to contain influenza viruses, 99.6% of the viruses were Influenza A (and 0.4% were influenza B viruses). The CDC serotyped 20.4% of the

Influenza A viruses (1016 samples) finding 99.9% of them to be Influenza A (H3N2) viruses.

When subtyping was performed on 157 of the 1016 viral samples, 45 (29%) were found to be antigenically similar to vaccine strain A/Panama, and 112 (71%) were found to be similar to the drift variant, A/Fujian. Of note, one sample contained an Influenza A virus that was similar to the vaccine strain A/New Caledonia/20/99.[6]

Downplaying the numbers

The CDC performed identification on only a small number of samples that were isolated. In fact, of 4,992 positive samples, only 1016 were found to be Influenza (H3N2) viruses. What were the other serotypes?

In addition, only 3% (157) of the H3N2 viruses were identified as subtypes. This is an extraordinarily small test sample. Even though the A/Fujian strain has been found in 71% (112) of this sample, what is being downplayed is that nearly 30% of the viruses have been identified as "antigenically similar" to viruses found in FluZone and FluMist: 45 samples (29%) had A/Panama strain viruses and one sample had the A/New Caledonia virus.

What is of great concern it that the CDC has subtyped so few samples. What if 50% or 60% or 80% had been subtyped? Would more A/Panama and A/New Caledonia viruses have been found? Would further testing implicate FluMist as a source of influenza?

Does the A/Panama virus come directly from FluMist? Is it possible to use this technology to differentiate vaccine-type A/Panama flu virus from an A/Panama wild-type virus?

Technology is available to differentiate wild virus from vaccine virus. For example, when a case of acute flaccid paralysis is identified in a Third World Country, PCR testing is used to differentiate wild polio virus vs. vaccine-induced polio virus vs. other types of viruses known to cause paralysis. Why are we not using this technology to determine community-acquired influenza from vaccine-induced influenza?

In addition to "finding" these strains within the community, it is known that FluMist contains the viral strains identified by the CDC. The question that demands an answer is this: Is FluMist shedding live viruses and infecting others? Could this nasal spray vaccine be a cause of the flu that is spreading throughout regions of the U.S.?

Endnotes:
[1] CDC. Influenza Viruses. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/viruses.htm
[2] Fluzone 2002-2003 package insert.
[3] Flumist package insert
[4] CDC. Influenza Summary Update, Week ending November 29, 2003-Week 48. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/weekly.htm
[5] NREVSS is The National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System, a division of the CDC. This is a laboratory-based system that monitors the detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human parainfluenza viruses (HPIV), respiratory and enteric adenoviruses, rotavirus and influenza.
[6] CDC. Influenza Summary Update, Week ending November 29, 2003-Week 48. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/weekly.htm

[Note: the following article is excerpted from recent postings that appeared on the website http://www.nomorefakenews.com, written and published by investigative journalist Jon Rappoport.]

The Fujian Flu Virus

Much has been said about the failure of the CDC to make sure there was a vaccine that protected against Fujian flu-although, as you know if you read this site [nomorefakenews.com], there are about seventeen lies hiding behind the first part of this sentence.

But it is interesting that they didn't create a vaccine they thought would work against Fujian, and one of the reasons appears to be: they couldn't isolate (find) it in the egg medium they use to manufacture vaccines.

Couldn't find it?

That always raises red flags. One of those flags is, how much Fujian virus are they actually finding in patients diagnosed with that brand of flu? How much? Is it actually just a tiny amount? Because if that is the case, they have absolutely no reason to connect the virus with human illness...

Of course, we are getting no reports about this issue in the press. But it was a key in discrediting the whole research approach to SARS and AIDS, to name two familiar areas I've been over a thousand times on these pages.

Not enough virus (or whatever is being called a virus) in patients to explain the onset of illness. Not enough virus to cause "a pinprick."

If Fujian is one of those situations, it's another straight hoax from the ground up. It's already a hoax, for reasons I'm describing in stories over the last few days. But this would add another dimension.

Flu Stats for the Record-Time Capsule

Despite all the official admonitions about not being able to count numbers of flu cases accurately, I do find something in an Associated Press (AP) piece, "Tenn. Reports First Death of Flu Season," dated December 9.

"Each year an average of 36,000 people die from the flu and another 114,000 are hospitalized."

Keep those figures in mind when this season is all over, and see what the honchos are saying.

I mean, 36,000 deaths every year is already a major figure, and you don't need any Fujian strain blah blah.

They are trying to make 2003 a highly unusual and highly virulent Media Event, and they are succeeding. But as for actual numbers of people dying? My feeling is, the reality is going to be far less intense than the lies they're telling.

Put it in the time capsule.

Flu Journalism Peaks Early

This is a big one. It’s about how the major headlines and the panic and the hysteria conceal a quite different flu reality when you do nothing more than just read down into the body of the current mainstream articles.

Case in point. Newsday.com is running "Flu is Widespread’/State officials say cases up, but no evidence of epidemic." December 13.

Still, that word "widespread." That’s a juicy one, yes?

It’s all over. It’s out of control. We don’t where it’s heading next.

In the body of the story, however, we find out what "widespread" really means. Lo and behold it’s a technical term defined by the CDC. It means at least one case has been reported in at least half of the designated medical regions of the state, where "sentinel doctors" check blood samples from patients.

That’s all.

And so far, there are no influenza clusters in New York state.

None.

Hmm. Well, how many cases of the dreaded Fujian strain have the doctors identified? Turns out they haven’t broken it down that far. They only know it’s type A, and A includes several strains, one of which is Fujian.

Aha. Yeah. Well. So these "widespread" cases of flu could be just the usual ordinary stuff.

There is more.

How many deaths from the flu have been reported in New York state this year?

None.

What??

I was just reading an AP piece dated December 9 out of Nashville about the flu in Tennessee. "An estimated 700 to 900 people in Tennessee are killed by the flu each season…"

That’s the regular estimate every year.

The last time I looked, New York is a lot big/ger than Tennessee. NY is going to have to get after it if it hopes to make a real contribution to the fear and hysteria. I mean, this is December already, and no deaths so far in NY? Come on.

Makes a person think we’re getting played, doesn’t it?

Flu Lunacy

Two items. First, I have a report from Las Vegas. A local news station there carried a story about a two-year-old baby who had the flu shot and died 12 hours later. In the next breath, the station ran a quick hitter about the need for everyone, old and young, to go find a flu shot and get it.

Item two: An AP story dated December 9. Nashville. "Tennessee has recorded its first death related to this flu season, and health officials say more problems could be on the way."

That's the lead. Then we get this: "An elderly Davidson County man with other health problems died last week from complications related to the flu..."

I see. Related to. Other health problems.

What other problems? Seventeen prior bouts of pneumonia? Was ingesting 40 medical drugs of an extremely toxic nature for ten years? He needed just one more event, a cough and a fever, to push him into death?

But they lead with this item because it hooks the reader in, and most people don't bother to think anyway. Much too taxing.

Flu Jive on Parade

Today AP has released a piece called "Flu Has Spread to All 50 States." The thrust of the article is hysteria, long lines at clinics, people unable to get a shot of the vaccine because of shortages.

For those who have a few working brain cells left, I want to quote several sentences buried in the story.

"The CDC said it is unable to know how many children typically die of the flu each year, making it unclear whether this is in fact a particularly lethal year." Boom.

No basis for comparison.

Then we get this beauty: "Flu and its complications are the sixth-leading cause of death nationally among children age 4 and younger, according to the CDC."

I thought the CDC was saying it didn't know how many children die of the flu every year.

"Yeah, well we don't know how many, but we know it's the sixth leading cause of death and don't ask how we know because we just do so shut up."

And finally: "Despite the severity of the early outbreak, health experts are not ready to predict just how bad the flu season will be. The season still may peak as early as December [that would be now], rather than February, which is the norm."

So when this is all over, the stats may be the same as any other year.

If they really have any idea what the stats are. And it looks like they don't.

Otherwise they're perfect.

And if the mad coverage in the press had been toned down, we might not have gotten all these long lines at vaccine clinics, we might not have gotten school closures, we might not have gotten as many people staying home from work.

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The Power of A Human Spirit - A Tribute to My Sister (Part 7)

[The first 6 parts of this article appeared in issues 14, 15, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of The Health Plus Letter, which are available at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine.]

Andrea wasted little time responding to the crisis caused by 9/11. Within days of the horrific event, she went to work making jewelry and beadwork and joined her friend Cora in selling it on the streets of Manhattan. Each and every day, regardless of the weather, she was outside selling her handiwork, and every dollar she earned she donated to the fund set up to care for New York’s finest - the fire and policemen and their families who were most effected by the destruction. Then, each evening, she would come home and work through the night making more creations. She was thrilled to be "doing her part" to help her adopted city regain a sense of normalcy, and whenever she passed them on the streets, she would always go up to greet police and firemen, thanking them for their courage and selfishness. Her energy during this time was indefatigable, and within a matter of weeks, she donated thousands of dollars to the fund, seemingly oblivious to her own struggles with cancer. In that regard, she joined countless other New Yorkers who rallied around their wounded city, proving to the world how wonderful and resilient a metropolis New York truly is.

A month after the attack, I drove down to Manhattan to visit Andrea. As a former long-time resident of Manhattan, I shared Andrea’s love for it, and as I crossed the George Washington Bridge, I felt the absence of the World Trade Center from the skyline like a palpable, psychic wound that I realized was now part of every American. Once I reached midtown, I parked my car, and slowly walked down to ground zero, retracing on foot the various pathways I once drove as a taxi driver during the first weeks I’d lived there in 1980. At that time, the twin towers of the WTC were one of my guiding landmarks by which I kept my bearings. Now they were gone, and the shock of that fact four weeks after their collapse struck me even harder than when I watched them fall on TV. With each step I took, what had occurred seemed less and less imaginable, despite the altered skyline. At the same time, I was also struck, and very inspired, by the aliveness of the streets, once again bustling with traf/fic and people out and about, everyone of them seeming to proclaim: You can’t defeat us! We’re from New York!

All of that suddenly changed once I reached Canal Street, however. Once I crossed it, I passed over a line of demarcation. To the north, things were, if not back to normal, at least rapidly returning so, but here, with policemen and the military standing guard on every corner and all traffic barred from going further south, I found myself in a landscape that I can only describe as a war zone. The air was thick with ash, casting a grey and eerie pall over the remaining blocks I walked through. Lower Broadway was now open to pedestrian traffic, but closely monitored by the policemen and soldiers on duty. As I passed them, nodding my silent thanks, I was recalled Andrea’s words. "Larry, you should see these poor guys! Most of them are just kids, they’re so young!"

I came to within two short blocks of ground zero, witnessing firsthand the huge, gaping hole where the towers had once stood. Even though the cleanup crews had carried away much of the debris, the carnage was still very visible wherever I looked. It was like being in the midst of a nightmare. Beyond that, I can’t describe what I saw or felt. Having witnessed what I had come to see, I didn’t remain long. I said a silent prayer, then turned back and walked rapidly to Andrea’s apt.

As soon as I saw her, I knew how much she had been transformed by all that had happened. The new levels of strength and compassion she had found within herself were plainly evident on her face. She took one look at me and knew immediately where I’d been. "You saw it, didn’t you?" she said, as we embraced. "Isn’t it awful?" Then, shaking her head sadly, she informed me that this very day U.S. troops had begun attacking Afghanistan. "All of this killing isn’t going to solve anything," she said. But then she shifted gears. "Come and see what I’ve been making!"

And so she showed me around her subletted apartment, then brought out her latest creations. Andrea was always a gifted artisan, but I was still impressed by how beautiful everything was. "These are my biggest sellers," she said, directing me to a pile of elegant brooches made of red, white and blue ribbons. "And they’re so easy to make!" Then she regaled me with the adventures she’d been having selling her wares on the streets

Not once did either of us mention cancer the entire time I spent with Andrea that day. The truth is, so taken was I by her energy and enthusiasm, that her illness didn’t even enter my mind. Instead, I simply basked in her presence, which was a powerful antidote of healing from the devastation I had wit