Dear Editor,

We are fourth-year nursing students and are writing in response to an article published in the October 19, 2009 issue of the Sentinel, entitled “Get Informed! Swine Flu Pandemic and Vaccinations Information.” This article, although very passionate, is merely an opinion and is not founded in balanced and credible research.

This flu season has been particularly dizzying as information regarding H1N1, and the vaccine has changed virtually on a daily basis. Mass media has latched onto this issue and the public is being bombarded with what can only be described as a tsunami of information.

With such seemingly decisive information coming at us from all directions, we need to remember the importance of remaining critical of these sources. We would like to address some of the misinformation, and fear-instilling statements, within the aforementioned article.

The H1N1 vaccine (like all other influenza vaccines) does not contain live virus. It contains killed virus (attenuated to the degree that it is non-virulent) that your body, once exposed through vaccination, builds antibodies against and thus builds immunity. Testing time of the vaccine is another issue that is controversial, and we feel needs to be addressed. (Health Link BC website, 2009).

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, there is a stringent series of processes and steps that span approximately 24-weeks of testing, development and review, before a vaccine is released to the public, and this is true for the H1N1 vaccine.

Thimerosal (an organomercurial compound) is a preservative/stabilizer used in many vaccines including Hepatitis-B and seasonal flu, but it is present in extremely trace amounts. The amount of Thimerosal in one dose of vaccine is less than the amount of mercury found in one can of tuna, and it is evidently a different form of the metal (an organomercurial compound, or ethylmercury as opposed to elemental mercury). (FDA website, September 1, 2009)

The immune-booster, or adjuvant used in a variety of vaccines including the H1N1 vaccine, is called Squaline. According to the World Health Organization, Squaline-containing vaccines are safe. Following the administration of 22-million doses of Squaline-containing flu vaccine in Europe in the late 1990’s, there was an absence of significant vaccine-related adverse events. However, as this vaccine and new Squaline-containing vaccines are being introduced to the public, “post-marketing follow-up to detect any vaccine-related adverse events will need to be performed.” In other words, the long-term effects are not entirely known at this point. (WHO website, 2008)

Health Canada will be rolling out a non-adjuvanted H1N1 vaccine as an alternative to the adjuvanted version.

In this time of media frenzy, it is increasingly important to be a critical thinker and to be conscious of potentially misleading information. We encourage people to get informed and to wield their knowledge wisely in the world. No one is immune to the influence of the media.

We wish you clear-thinking and abundant health during this flu season.

We encourage you to explore the following websites to further your understanding of this issue:

http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/topics/adjuvants/squalene/questions_and_answers/en/

-WHO (World Health Organization), Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/h1n1/guidance-orientation-05-03-eng.php

-Public Health website “How to look after someone at home with H1N1 flu virus”

http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/kbaltindex.asp

-Health Link BC website

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/flu/#anchor

-Flu Clinic Locator website

http://www.interiorhealth.ca/index.aspx

-Interior Health BC website

http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/safetyavailability/vaccinesafety/ucm096228

-FDA (Food and Drug Administration) information on Thimerosal in vaccines.

Yours truly,

Krystal Thorpe and Katie Greene