There were roughly 30 deaths in the U.S. from Guillain-Barre syndrome in 1976. GBS can be caused by a variety of things (typically infection), which stimulate the body to produce antibodies not just against the infection, but which also attack the nerves, producing (usually) temporary weakness and paralysis. It's thought that many of the GBS cases that year were linked to the swine flu vaccine. Nobody knows exactly why, since the flu vaccines used in the decades since 1976 have not caused the problem. I made an incorrect statement earlier in this thread about the incidence of GBS during the 1976 swine flu - it was much less common than the figure I gave: "In all, the vaccination resulted in nearly one extra case of Guillain-Barré for every 100,000 people immunized, which would translate into roughly 450 cases for the 45 million people who got the shot." Obviously, even those numbers were unacceptable (particularly when the flu strain in '76 did not turn out to be an especially dangerous one). Given the continued advancements in vaccine science and the good health record since 1976, I'd expect far fewer side effects from a 2009 vaccine, and given the choice between the vaccine and taking my chances with a full-blown deadly flu outbreak, I'd go for the vaccine, no question. apollog is dead on target, by the way, when he contrasts the risks of getting an immunization with a small quantity of killed virus, with the far, far greater hazard of having large amounts of virulent virus coursing through your system. Many of us have forgotten or never known what it's like to actually face a deadly epidemic of infectious disease in our community. When such a thing happens (and I hope it doesn't in this case), the current climate of alarmism about vaccines will change rapidly.

Well, Alisande, during a flu outbreak, every one should wash their hands multiple times a day. But I do not think this administration engineered a swine flu outbreak to push a health care bill, as has been suggested. Nor do I believe this was some sort of terrorist attack. That was suggested up-thread. The Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been totally transparent in their tracking of this disease. Case zero has been discovered - we know where it came from. It was a child living near a pork factory in Mexico. He got ill and recovered, but not before passing the virus on to others. No conspiracy.

People don't know that there are many different types of flu-shot made by different companies, and some are safe, some aren't. I got the FLUVIRIN brand, but YOU MAY GET SOME OTHER BRAND MADE BY A DIFFERENT COMPANY. DIDN'T KNOW THAT UNTIL I REPORT MY ADVERSE REACTION TO VAERS, AND HAD TO CHOOSE A LONG LIST OF FLU-SHOTS, WITH DIFFERENT NAMES & DIFFERENT COMPANIES. I got most of the side-effects listed on Sam's club pharmacy receipt: burning numbness, very bad dizziness, very bad headache, muscle pain, upset stomach, throwing up, loose stools. Reading through all the threads in Houzz, I found one 58 year old previously active & healthy Dad died of flu-shot, lots of people complain of catching a cold right after the flu shot ... so bad that they never get a flu shot again. Just avoiding sugar is cheaper than getting a flu-shot, since sugar is known to suppress the immune system. "In the book "Get The Sugar Out" by Ann Louise Gittleman M.S. C.N.S says, "No matter what form it takes, sugar paralyzes the immune system in a variety of ways: Sugar has been proven to destroy the germ-killing ability of white blood cells for up to five hours after ingestion. People don't realize that Google News, which constantly remind people to get flu-shot, is funded by vaccine maker, same with CDC, and same with doctors (wine & dined by pharma companies). Excerpt on flu-shot from below link: http://www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2013/11/01/little-known-facts-flu-shot/ "Plus ALL vaccines depress your immune system functioning for up to several weeks, which means you are FAR more susceptible to flu varieties for which you have not been vaccinated. So you might be looking at bronchitis, upper respiratory infection or a stomach bug…which you might NOT have contracted if you DIDN’Tget a flu shot." Plus vaccinations inject proteins directly into your bloodstream and this is not good ... shooting full-blown proteins into your blood vessels with a vaccine (and bypassing the GI tract) puts your immune system on high alert and can eventually elicit inappropriate immune responses. That’s why many people find themselves developing asthma or allergies when they never had a problem with them in the past!" *** From Straw: My doc-sister also warned me of suppressed immune system. My doc-sister who got flu-shot yearly is the only one in the family with asthma. I developed an allergic reaction to peanuts after my flu-shot a decade ago, along with 1 week of dizziness. Same with my kid when she was given flu-shot when she was between 1 and 2 year-old, she developed 2 colds within a month of each other, plus vertigo. We have to rock her to sleep, the minute we put her down (change in position cause vertigo), she would screamed in pain. She could no longer do roll-over after the flu-shot, and dropped out of gymnastic the 1st day. She also developed a peanut-butter allergy. Both I and my husband got the same flu-shot, but he's OK, while I came down with suppressed immune system, and caught 2 flu in a row, making it month-long suffering. Also he's 6 feet, while I'm only 4'10", perhaps the dose was too strong for my size. So my 2 flu-in-a row is A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF FLU-SHOT, my M.D. sister already warned me about flu-shot suppress immune system, but she believed in the LIE posted by CDC website and recommended me to get the shot. I haven't seen the doc in 9 years (we have good insurance), since I'm healthy & active. I'm seeing the doc this Wednesday. Never been that sick in my life, thanks to that shot on Dec. 19. http://www.intoxicatedonlife.com/2014/10/15/truth-about-flu-vaccine/ In Are US Flu Death Figures More Public Relations than Science?, an aptly named article in the British Journal of Medicine, the author reports: “[According to CDC statistics], ‘influenza and pneumonia’ took 62,034 lives in 2001—61,777 of which were attributable to pneumonia and 257 to flu, and in only 18 cases was the flu virus positively identified.”1 Do you see what the CDC did? They combined both Influenza and Pneumonia deaths so as to inflate the numbers and make it look like more of a problem than it was. They estimated what the flu related deaths are and did not report on the actual number, which was 18. Fact #2: The statistics that the CDC throws around regarding death from influenza are grossly exaggerated. Furthermore, much of the research out there has been funded by the vaccine makers. Not only this, but the Journal of Virology found the immune systems of children who have been vaccinated against seasonal flu strains are weakened, making them more susceptible to becoming infected with flu strains not included in the vaccine. T cells are essential for immunity. This study found that the T cell response was absent in the vaccinated children. Fact #5: The flu shot may help you avoid some strains of the flu virus, but it will also likely decrease your ability to fight off other strains of the flu virus. They reported an 8.5% flu risk for those who had been vaccinated and an 8.9% risk for those who have been unvaccinated along with other infections. Vaccine inserts, they range from mild to severe. Some of the fairly common side effects include: pain (64%), fever (29%), fatigue (20%), headaches (26%), nausea/vomiting (12%), runny nose/nasal congestion, (58%), decreased appetite, (21%). Fact #8: Millions more people are getting the flu vaccine, but there is no evidence that there has been a decrease in flu related mortality. In fact, it appears the more people get the vaccine, the higher the death rates become in the elderly. http://www.intoxicatedonlife.com/2014/10/15/truth-about-flu-vaccine/

Terilyn, that is BIZARRE. The chicken pox vaccine is, as they all are, dead disease that increases your bodies antibodies to fight live disease. Where it is possible to have such a slight case of chicken pox one might not become immune, to have that many "sever" cases--would be most unusual, if not impossible according to generally held beliefs on disease. My son brought chicken pox home from Kdg. the year the vaccine was just being made readily available. He had maybe 10 pox. His sisters three and 6 mos got it MUCH worse. The 6 month old was COVERED. I do think he is likely not to be immune and I worry about him getting it as an adult. When I asked my doctor about the shingles vaccine she let me know it could be prohibitively expensive and that I should check with my Insurance provider. I was happy to be covered. Thank the lord for private coverage!!! I received the pneumonia shot in my 40's. I had been contracting bronchitis and or pneumonia at least twice a year and the Doc was concerned about lung damage. I was told it was unknown how long that shot was good for--they usually give it to people 65+ and most die still covered. I will likely get a booster in a few years.