Pig Sick
Worries about swine flu and its associated media hype have raised concerns about the available medications and proposed vaccines. We’re told that the manufacture of a suitable vaccine is being rushed through so that everybody in the UK can get it later this year. This raises two points, namely, testing and compulsion.
Normally, a new medication is tested in animal and human trials. The results are analysed for safety, effectiveness and side-effects. No one has yet said exactly how these can be ‘rushed’ through. Does cutting vaccine development mean that there will be fewer safety evaluations? Will we be given an untested vaccine simply because the Government and the drug industry say we need it, making us all guinea pigs? And, as newspaper reports have suggested, will pharmaceutical companies be immune from prosecution if the new vaccine causes unforeseen side-effects?
Then there’s the question of compulsion. Will vaccination be mandatory, in effect discounting the possibility that alternative medicine can help treat illness? I, for one, have little confidence in the proposed vaccine and would like to see the trial results before the process begins.
I appreciate that a few unfortunate people have succumbed to the virus. I understand also that an epidemic of swine flu may have a significant effect on the country’s industry and health services. But so far swine flu has been mild compared to the seasonal flu which comes round every year, although the scare stories and dire forecasts have jacked up fear in all of us.
There are less drastic ways than vaccination to optimise your immune system. These include reducing stress, getting plenty sleep, exercising regularly, increasing your intake of Omega-3 fatty acids, cutting down on processed foods and sugar and taking a multivitamin. Then your body will be in good shape to minimise or resist swine flu completely, and you won’t need an untested vaccine at all.