Swine flu strikes asthmatics more than others

I have made a decision and a reservation regarding the swine flu (h1n1) vaccination I would like to share with my readers.

First for the decision. I have written earlier that I would not let my children get the vaccination due to the fact it has Mercury in it as a preservative. Some kids have a mitochondrial disorder where they can't get rid of Mercury, and this can cause other disorders later in life. It's also been linked with the increased incidence of autism.

So, rather than risk it, I'd rather my kids not get any more Mercury. I have, however, learned since then that while mercury is used in the multi use vials as a perservative, it is not used in the individual use syringes of the vaccine.

I therefore will allow my children to get the vaccine if the doctor has these individually wrapped syringes.

Now for the observation. A recent report has been released showing that while 10% of the U.S. population is asthmatic, 25% of those admitted with H1N1 have asthma. The report notes:

"Less than 10% of the total population has asthma. But this spring, those with the disease accounted for nearly a third of all hospitalizations for H1N1 flu. It's not known exactly why this group is at higher risk. Asthma medications may blunt a person's immune response to the new flu or the person's decreased lung function may play a role. In an effort to better protect those with asthma, Dr. William Busse, is leading a clinical trial that involves giving some participants twice the dose of vaccine than others. He says the trial will answer important questions about the effectiveness of the vaccination and if those with asthma are responding normally to the vaccination.

Doctors won't know until next year how well --or poorly-- asthma sufferers in the study fight off the virus with different amounts of vaccine. In the meantime, Busse advises those with asthma to get vaccinated against H1N1."

What went through my mind as I read this was: What? They're going to spend thousands of dollars doing a study to determine why 25% of those admitted with the swine flu have asthma?

Hello! I can save you the wasted money. The reason there are more asthmatics than anyone else is because asthma is a lung disease, and the swine flu is a lung disease, and the combination results in some of them needing to be hospitalized.

It's not rocket science.