The State of Texas will receive its first supply of the H1N1 vaccine today and will distribute them to a high priority populations, such as children, pregnant women, and those with serious medical conditions.
It is estimated that the Lubbock Health Department, as well as Texas Tech, will not receive a supply until mid-to-late October sometime. Texas Tech has requested 35,000 vaccinations.
I’m certainly not qualified to say whether or not you should get the vaccine once it arrives, but personally, I would rather take the chance of getting the swine flu than take a vaccination that has not been tested yet.
Ever since we passed the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREPA) in 2006 that gave vaccine makers immunity from illnesses and deaths related to their vaccines, I can’t say that I trust anything they make. How can vaccine makers be held accountable for their products if it kills people? If they have immunity, they can’t be held accountable, so this rush to push the H1N1 vaccine without any testing is scary to me. There are no consequences if it causes serious problems.
The teenager – named in reports as Natalie Morton – died on Monday in hospital shortly after receiving the HPV1 Cervarix jab at the Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry.
She apparently suffered a “rare but extreme reaction” after being given the injection, with a number of other girls also suffering dizziness and nausea and being sent home.
Health bosses in Coventry have launched an immediate investigation into her death, also quarantining the batch of Cervarix allocated to the school as a “precautionary measure”.
Charmaine Dunn-Myria, 15, who was in the same year as Natalie, said pupils were in tears after being told about the death.
She told the Daily Telegraph: “There was panic around the school when we found out what happened. Girls were in tears in the corridors and everyone was in shock. I had my jab as well and I was really worried about it and that something was going to happen to me.
“They never told us that there was any danger in these jabs. I didn’t know you could get sick or die from them.
Cervarix was chosen for the NHS programme because it offered ‘best overall value for the NHS’.
The vaccine, made by GlaxoSmithKline, beat off its rival Gardasil, made by Merck, for the lucrative contract last year.
The jab is currently being offered to girls aged 12 and 13 years to protect against strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted and causes most cases of cervical cancer.
Both vaccines are equally effective against HPV strains, but Gardasil also protects against 90 per cent of genital warts.
However, the Department of Health secured a deal which meant a catch-up programme could be offered to older girls.
Around £100 million was earmarked for the programme involving young girls, while the two-year catch-up programme was expected to cost a further £20 million.
The NHS pays £80 a dose, plus admin and staff costs, and three jabs are given altogether.
In yet another shocking video of the cult following of Barack Obama, we witness a crowd exclaiming “Hear our cry, Obama” and “Deliver us, Obama!” during a speech from a clergywoman. Invoking the prophet Jeremiah and prophet Martin Luther King, Jr., a clergywoman advocates for health care for all. The transcript is below.
TRANSCRIPT:
CROWD: EVERYBODY IN, NOBODY OUT! (walking into building)
CLERGYWOMAN: We are here for the healing of the nation.
CROWD: YES!
CLERGYWOMAN: With the prophet Jeremiah, we cry out. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?
CROWD: HEAR OUR CRY, OBAMA! (some say “OH GOD”)
CLERGYWOMAN: With the prophet Martin Luther King, Jr., we cry out: Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is most shocking and inhumane!
CROWD: HEAR OUR CRY, OBAMA! (again some say “OH GOD”)
CLERGYWOMAN: From health care systems and industries that place profit over people.
CROWD: DELIVER US, OBAMA! (again some say “OH GOD”)
CLERGYWOMAN: From lobbying efforts that block access to quality health care to all.
CROWD: DELIVER US, OBAMA! (again some say “OH GOD”)
CLERGYWOMAN: From greed and fear that replace the reality of God’s abundance and the power of community with a mix of scarcity and isolation.
CROWD: DELIVER US, OBAMA! (more people start to say “OH GOD”)
CLERGYWOMAN: From scapegoat-ism of immigrants, from blaming the poor, from all simple attitudes which deem health care as a right of the privileged rather than a basic human right
CROWD: DELIVER US, OH GOD (fewer people can be heard saying “OBAMA”)
CLERGYWOMAN: Protect all those who face illness without good health care insurance.
CROWD: *sings* “OH WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN…”
“The debate over whether the federal government should require all Americans to carry health insurance is heating up.
The latest spark is a letter that Thomas Barthold, the chief of staff to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, sent Thursday to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.
Given that the health-care bill written by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus contains a $1,900 fee (or excise tax) for not buying health insurance, Ensign wanted to know what would happen if an American didn’t pay the penalty.
In a handwritten letter, Barthold told Ensign that under an existing provision of the Internal Revenue Code, willful failure to pay a fine can result in being charged with a misdemeanor which could carry a penalty of up to $25,000, or up to a year in jail, or both. The handwritten letter was a follow-up to an answer that Barthold gave Ensign during Thursday’s mark-up of the Baucus bill.”
Buy health insurance under the requirements set forth by government bureaucrats under ObamaCare or go to jail.
Over increased fears of the H1N1 flu, the Massachusetts legislature has passed a bill, Bill 2028, that enables police to forcefully quarantine residents who do not receive the H1N1 vaccine and impose martial law without a warrant.
Fox News’ Judge Napolitano describes the constitutionality of such a bill, as well as his fears of a public revolt.
“They will incarcerate adults without a trial, without charges, without even a search warrant who refuse to be vaccinated…The statute also authorizes police to remove children from adults; vaccinate them against the will of the child and the will of the parent.”
President Obama tried in vain to explain to George Stephanopoulos that an individual mandate is not a tax. I find it funny when politicians try to conceal tax increases with terms like mandates and fees. So much for his campaign promise not to raise taxes on those who make $250,000 or less.
Below is the exchange:
STEPHANOPOULOS: You were against the individual mandate…
OBAMA: Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: …during the campaign. Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don’t. How is that not a tax?
OBAMA: Well, hold on a second, George. Here — here’s what’s happening. You and I are both paying $900, on average — our families — in higher premiums because of uncompensated care. Now what I’ve said is that if you can’t afford health insurance, you certainly shouldn’t be punished for that. That’s just piling on. If, on the other hand, we’re giving tax credits, we’ve set up an exchange, you are now part of a big pool, we’ve driven down the costs, we’ve done everything we can and you actually can afford health insurance, but you’ve just decided, you know what, I want to take my chances. And then you get hit by a bus and you and I have to pay for the emergency room care, that’s…
STEPHANOPOULOS: That may be, but it’s still a tax increase.
OBAMA: No. That’s not true, George. The — for us to say that you’ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase. What it’s saying is, is that we’re not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore than the fact that right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase. People say to themselves, that is a fair way to make sure that if you hit my car, that I’m not covering all the costs.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But it may be fair, it may be good public policy…
OBAMA: No, but — but, George, you — you can’t just make up that language and decide that that’s called a tax increase. Any…
STEPHANOPOULOS: Here’s the…
OBAMA: What — what — if I — if I say that right now your premiums are going to be going up by 5 or 8 or 10 percent next year and you say well, that’s not a tax increase; but, on the other hand, if I say that I don’t want to have to pay for you not carrying coverage even after I give you tax credits that make it affordable, then…
STEPHANOPOULOS: I — I don’t think I’m making it up. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Tax — “a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes.”
OBAMA: George, the fact that you looked up Merriam’s Dictionary, the definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you’re stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to the dictionary to check on the definition. I mean what…
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, no, but…
OBAMA: …what you’re saying is…
STEPHANOPOULOS: I wanted to check for myself. But your critics say it is a tax increase.
OBAMA: My critics say everything is a tax increase. My critics say that I’m taking over every sector of the economy. You know that. Look, we can have a legitimate debate about whether or not we’re going to have an individual mandate or not, but…
STEPHANOPOULOS: But you reject that it’s a tax increase?
An economic report released earlier this year states that having health insurance increases your chances of gaining weight and becoming obese. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, having private insurance increases Body Mass Index (BMI) by 1.3 points. The same report states that having public insurance increases BMI 2.1 points.
These reports will provide ammunition to those who oppose a public insurance being proposed by President Obama and Congress. Even if a public option is turned down, mandatory insurance (requiring the purchase of insurance or paying a fine) will also face scrutiny.
This is just another reason why the government needs to stay out of the market. Obesity rates have increased exponentially since Medicare has been implemented. Health care costs have risen to levels unseen prior to government-mandated HMO’s. While those in Washington often push these policies with good intentions, the results are often less than good.
The number of people opposing ObamaCare is quickly rising to 60%, according to the latest poll numbers from Rasmussen:
Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide now oppose the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition yet measured and includes 44% who are Strongly Opposed.
Just 43% now favor the proposal, including 24% who Strongly Favor it.
But the overall picture remains one of stability. While the numbers have bounced a bit following nationally televised appearances by the president to promote the plan, opposition has generally stayed above 50% since early July. Support has been in the low to mid 40s.
Also, under a majority of people believe a version of ObamaCare will pass this year.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide now oppose the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition yet measured and includes 44% who are Strongly Opposed.
Just 43% now favor the proposal, including 24% who Strongly Favor it.
But the overall picture remains one of stability. While the numbers have bounced a bit following nationally televised appearances by the president to promote the plan, opposition has generally stayed above 50% since early July. Support has been in the low to mid 40s.
Also, under a majority of people believe a version of ObamaCare will pass this year.
Arianna Huffington and Ron Paul are guests on today’s “Morning Joe” show. They both discuss the health care bill and the bailouts. Amazingly, they both are in agreement that both solutions are not based on capitalism, but corporatism. Health insurance corporations are guaranteed more customers through mandatory coverage and Big Pharma are guaranteed $80 billion in new drug sales.
President Obama’s prime-time health insurance speech underscored an important point: No American should have to choose between health insurance and paying rent, between health insurance and getting groceries—or getting drunk, getting designer jeans, or bodybuilding supplements.
We hear so much about hardworking Americans who need health insurance, but what about the rest of us? Millions of uninsured Americans could afford health insurance, but it would mean giving up some really cool stuff. Support President Obama’s plan to cover all Americans, because no American should have to choose between health insurance and protein powder.
Approximately 1.10 minutes. Written and produced by Ted Balaker. Director of Photography is Alex Manning.
More Reason.tv on health care, including a radical plan that will halve the number of uninsured virtually overnight.
