Maine's Governor Declares Civil Emergency

[mrjarrell]

Of course it's due to the flu and he did it to remove liability concerns for school vaccination clinics.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. John Baldacci on Tuesday declared a statewide civil emergency because of the H1N1 influenza virus, paving the way for mass immunization of Maine schoolchildren and other residents. The emergency designation protects schools and health care providers against liability claims related to their participation in school-based vaccine clinics this fall for both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu. “Maine has been proactive in its response to this new flu,” Baldacci said in announcing the proclamation. “But as the school year begins, we must continue our vigilance, which will require a responsible and aggressive vaccination and public education campaign. It’s our goal that every person in the state has access to vaccines for the seasonal and H1N1 flu.”

More at the news site.

 

[redneckmedic]

What would people do without the government always there to take care of them??? Or better yet what did we do as a people without the government taking care of us, how nice of them!

 

[CulpeperMM]

this makes me furious. why are they rushing to vaccinate people's children from a hoax disease?

 

[Scarnucci]

this makes me furious. why are they rushing to vaccinate people's children from a hoax disease?

I'm curious as to how you define "hoax".

This flu is out there. It is spreading very fast now that school is back in session and kids are out there, sneezing on each other, swapping drink boxes and flicking boogers.

It may not be the killer Spanish flu, but H1N1 is growing, and this is well before the normal start of the seasonal flu season...

Hardly a hoax.

Having said that, I'm not ready to start standing in line and letting little Johnny get shot up with whatever vaccine .gov has cooked up...

I'll cross my fingers and wait for it to hit Captain Tripps levels.

 

[CulpeperMM]

Hoax.

35,000 a year die from the ordinary Plain Jane Flu in US of A. Less than 500 American have died from this swine flu, which they started histeria over last winter. They are willing to declare STATE of EMERGENCY (ie. Constitutional on HOLD) for THIS? There is something not right about this. In M******* they are trying to pass a law to give LEO access to citizens homes to inject with vaccination. Bizarre.

This Maine thing is not conjecture... its done.

 

[mrjarrell]

I can't believe the filtres on this site won't let you spell Massachusetts. OK, looks like they will. What happened to yours?

 

[cosermann]

Unless something changes with H1N1, it will be a non-event. As mentioned, around 36,000 people die in a typical flu season (reference - CDC - Influenza (Flu) | What Everyone Should Know About Flu and the Flu Vaccine ). So far H1N1 appears less deadly than the typical flu strains we see every year. So again, unless something with the current H1N1 changes, it is being WAY over HYPED.

 

[SavageEagle]

Unless something changes with H1N1, it will be a non-event. As mentioned, around 36,000 people die in a typical flu season (reference - CDC - Influenza (Flu) | What Everyone Should Know About Flu and the Flu Vaccine ). So far H1N1 appears less deadly than the typical flu strains we see every year. So again, unless something with the current H1N1 changes, it is being WAY over HYPED.

Absolutely. This little step in Maine, I fear, is just the beginning....

Anyone have a link to the stats on the regular flu deaths vs the H1N1?

 

[Scout]

I thought SARS was supposed to wipe out legions of people? (worldwide death toll from the SARS virus surpassed 700 World's SARS Death Toll Surpasses 700 | Article from AP Online | HighBeam Research)


Then there was the bird flu, that was supposed to kill hordes... (Worldwide, 282 people died. 90,000 flu deaths: Where did that number come from? | csmonitor.com)


Now we have swine flu,and people freak out over it like nothing before. So, lets look at some stats.

Smoking related-diseases kill one in 10 adults globally, or cause four million deaths. By 2030, if current trends continue, smoking will kill one in six people.
Cigarettes cause more than one in five American deaths.
WHO/Western Pacific Region-Smoking Statistics

5% of all deaths from diseases of the circulatory system are attributed to alcohol.
15% of all deaths from diseases of the respiratory system are attributed to alcohol.
30% of all deaths from accidents caused by fire and flames are attributed to alcohol.
30% of all accidental drownings are attributed to alcohol.
30% of all suicides are attributed to alcohol.
40% of all deaths due to accidental falls are attributed to alcohol.
45% of all deaths in automobile accidents are attributed to alcohol.
60% of all homicides are attributed to alcohol.
Death by Alcohol

Car Crash Stats: There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005. The financial cost of these crashes is more than 230 Billion dollars. 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people killed. About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States -- one death every 13 minutes.
From - Car Accident Statistics, Stats, Auto, Fatal, Drunk Driving
WikiAnswers - How many deaths are caused by car accidents a year

Tobacco 435,0001 Poor Diet and Physical Inactivity 365,0001 Alcohol 85,000 1 Microbial Agents 75,0001 Toxic Agents 55,0001 Motor Vehicle Crashes 26,3471 Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs 32,0002 Suicide 30,6223 Incidents Involving Firearms 29,0001 Homicide 20,3084 Sexual Behaviors 20,0001 All Illicit Drug Use, Direct and Indirect 17,0001, 5 Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Such As Aspirin 7,6006 Marijuana 07http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30

Deaths from Flu: 63,730 annual deaths for influenza and pneumonia (NVSR Sep 2001); estimated 20,000 deaths from flu (NIAID)
Cause of death rank: 7th leading cause of death in 1999 and 2000 is "pneumonia/influenza" (CDC)

Deaths from Flu - WrongDiagnosis.com


Take this post for what it's worth. If you don't like this info or the sources go find your own and post up.

 

[mrjarrell]

Absolutely. This little step in Maine, I fear, is just the beginning....

Anyone have a link to the stats on the regular flu deaths vs the H1N1?

According to the WHO the worldwide death count stands at about 2.837. Not even a drop in the bucket.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Ok, so I didn't see anywhere that stated the children HAD to be vaccinated. It just stated that their goal was to make it available to school and health occupational personnel. That sounds to me like they're just being proactive about getting enough people to willingly get immunized to establish "herd immunity".

But thats just how I read it. Is there something I'm missing, other than declaring a state of emergency or whatever?

 

[SavageEagle]

2,837?!?!?!? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!??!! That's about as many as was lost during 9/11!!!!



Now looking at this link...
CDC - Influenza (Flu) | Weekly Report: Influenza Summary Update Week 33, 2008-2009 Season

All data are preliminary and may change as more reports are received.

On June 11, the World Health Organization raised the pandemic alert level from Phase 5 to Phase 6 indicating that an influenza pandemic is underway. The novel influenza A (H1N1) virus now will be referred to as “2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus.”

Synopsis:

During week 33 (August 16-22, 2009), influenza activity remained stable or continued to decline in most areas of the U.S. However, activity appears to be increasing in the Southeast.

A total of 8,843 hospitalizations and 556 deaths associated with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses have been reported to CDC an increase from 7,983 hospitalizations and 522 deaths from the prior week

• During week 33:
  • 804 (18.0%) specimens tested by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories and reported to CDC/Influenza Division were positive for influenza.
  • 99% of all subtyped influenza A viruses being reported to CDC were 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses.
  • The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the epidemic threshold.
  • Five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported and all were associated with a 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus infection.
  • The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was below the national baseline. Region IV reported ILI above their region-specific baseline.
  • Two states and Puerto Rico reported geographically widespread influenza activity, 13 states reported regional influenza activity, 10 states and the District of Columbia reported local influenza activity, 24 states reported sporadic influenza activity, one state reported no influenza activity, and Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not report.

Now, those figures are PROBABLY inflated somewhat coming from the CDC and the WHO, but I'm not sure because we don't have the raw data to know for sure. We're going off their word and I don't trust it so much because they started this whole panic in the first place.

BUT...

Going off this article, if the death toll keeps increasing by about 40 more deaths per week, 33 weeks in there were a total of 556 deaths and 8843 people hospitalized, and the week before there were 522 deaths and 7983 hospitalized.... you do the math. Compare that to AIDS, a thousand other diseases. It's not that bad. Compared to previous years, this is a typical flu season. This is just a new strain dominating over the other strains because people are becoming more immune to the others but not this one because it just hasn't been around long enough to gain an immunization. Give it time and this one will fade away as we become more immune to it.

The reason there are so few deaths coming from America is because we have great healthcare. We are a sanitary Nation. I can't find the stats for Africa or Europe, but I heard it's quadruple and double (respectively) what ours is. Correct me if I'm wrong. This is all normal for the flu season, and, as a matter of fact, is actually better than previous years of the flu season.

I just can't understand the reason for the panic. The number of TOTAL Pediatric deaths per region are in the single, double, and triple digits. Even the CDC says....

The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the epidemic threshold.

The region that Maine is included in, Reigion I, does have the worst looking stats, and is the only Region with triple digit Pediatric deaths, but eventually triple digits will be the average in a few regions. Not much to worry about in the grand scheme of things. Why they can call a "Civil Emergency" is beyond me.

As a side note, I would like to say that I am not being cold hearted in my statements about the kids that have died due to this virus or any other reason. I pray for their families as it breaks my heart to see any child die. The fact of the matter though is that it does happen and there's nothing we can do about it. God called on them and they came. At least they are in the Greatest of all caretakers now and nothing can hurt them in the arms of the Lord.

As long as we take all the precautions concerning the flu, take our children to the doctor when we suspect the flu for testing, we can beat this thing. I would prefer herbal remedies to drugs, but to each their own.

 

[SavageEagle]

BTW, our region has the third highest reported cases of H1N1, and the fourth highest number of Pediatric Deaths. According to the link above's chart by region.

 

[SavageEagle]

Ok, so I didn't see anywhere that stated the children HAD to be vaccinated. It just stated that their goal was to make it available to school and health occupational personnel. That sounds to me like they're just being proactive about getting enough people to willingly get immunized to establish "herd immunity".

But thats just how I read it. Is there something I'm missing, other than declaring a state of emergency or whatever?

In Quarantine, some states are passing laws that force you to be vaccinated. Like Florida.

 

[LEaSH]

Force this.

No way will they 'force' anything in my bloodstream. I hope they have a plan C.

 

[SavageEagle]

Force this.

No way will they 'force' anything in my bloodstream. I hope they have a plan C.

I'm with ya buddy!

 

[cosermann]

As of today, according to WHO in the following article, there have been only 2,837 swine flu deaths worldwide.

Swine flu deaths top 2,800 worldwide

And, according to the same article, "There is no sense that the virus has mutated or changed in any sense," which is good.

According to wikipedia, "2009 swine flu has been compared to other similar types of influenza virus in terms of mortality: "in the US it appears that for every 1000 people who get infected, about 40 people need admission to hospital and about one person dies"". - Take a deep breath, Swine Flu’s not that bad - Crikey - (Read this article for your daily dose of sanity and reason.)

Also, consider this (from the above article): "Given this Swine Flu strain is H1, we would expect many in the population to have some immunity because variations of H1 strains have been recirculating in people since 1918. This appears to be the case and is reflected in the relatively small numbers of people over the age of 30 who have been infected."

I'm just not seeing anything about the swine flu itself that gives me cause for concern (and I've been following it with some interest since the beginning). The only thing that concerns me is the hysterical media and overreaching government reaction to it. This should not be surprising since we now have, for all intents and purposes, a "tabloid" media, and have an administration in power that will not waste a good crisis, even if they have to manufacture one.

 

[SavageEagle]

Maybe the CDC is inflating the numbers or there are some deaths that really are not the H1N1? It's happened before with ebola. They claimed about 1500 deaths in South America that were later contributed to malnutrition and unsanitary conditions. The ebola was just the result of those conditions and was not the CAUSE of death.

 

[mrjarrell]

Bear this in mind, too.

At least 477 people, 40 of whom were children, have died of H1N1 influenza, also called swine flu, since it emerged in the United States in April. An analysis of 36 of the children's deaths found that 81% were age 5 or older, and 67% had high-risk medical conditions, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other neuro-developmental disorders, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The majority of the 40 kids who've died had outstanding problem to begin with. Healthy children are at minimal risk for anything other than a bout of flu.

 

[SavageEagle]

Exactly. Which is why no one in my family is allowed to take the flu shot. It kills faster than the flu.