Sebelius: Public Should Ignore Beck On H1N1 Vaccine And ‘Talk To Somebody With A Little Scientific Background’
Sebelius: Public Should Ignore Beck On H1N1 Vaccine And ‘Talk To Somebody With A Little Scientific Background’
In recent weeks, pundits with little knowledge of public health have been warning the public to stay away from the H1N1 flu vaccine. Fox News host Glenn Beck recently said that the vaccine may be “deadly,” adding, “You don’t know if this is gonna cause neurological damage like it did in the 1970s.” Hate radio host Rush Limbaugh claimed that H1N1 warnings are “a bunch of typical government panic and hype” and even HBO’s Bill Maher stated that you’d be an “idiot” to get the vaccine.
Last night in an interview that aired on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius responded to these skeptics, saying the public should listen to “doctors and scientists,” not pundits:
SEBELIUS: Well, I tend to like to get my health advice from doctors and scientists. And that’s what we would urge people to do. I think it’s advisable to ask questions, to figure out — as a parent or a pregnant woman, or somebody with an underlying health condition, what the facts are, but probably not get your facts from — with all due deference — TV commentators. Maybe talk to somebody with a little scientific background and a medical degree about what actually is your risk and your opportunity to be safe and secure.
Watch it:
In fact, 60 Minutes spoke to the deans of the top 10 U.S. schools of public health, and found that “[a]ll of them endorsed the vaccine.” Bruce Gellin, director of the national vaccine program, said that after three weeks, “he has received fewer than 200 reports, mostly about muscle aches, stomach aches and sore arms.” Out of 10 million doses, he hasn’t yet found “any serious side effects related to the vaccine.” While, as Sebelius pointed out, it’s important to ask questions and raise concerns about vaccines, the World Health Organization has said that flu vaccines are “among the safest” that exist, and it hopes that “everyone who has a chance to get vaccinated does get vaccinated.”
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I love blogs and news sites such as this, but progressives really, really, really need a televised news counterpoint to CroxNews.
Sibelius is correct, but her comments will get little air-time outside of the progressive blogosphere.
We really need our own 24/7 news channel.
Are there any progressives millionaires who could step up and get it started?
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:32 amHmmm. I wonder when they’ll develop a vaccine against Teh Stoopit…?
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:32 amThere will never be a vaccine against “The Stupid” because it is a “pre-existing condition.”
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:33 amI will shed NO tears if Beck & Limpdick croaked from H1N1.
Most likely, celebrate & get down tonight.
snicker
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:33 amSpeaking of swine, taking advice from Beck may help dwindle the Republic party further.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:34 amRepublics! Don’t get vaccinated! It may help you DIE QUICKER!
“We’re a virus with shoes”…….Bill Hicks
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:34 amIf there is a God, Glenn Beck will get swine flu…
But, I’m pretty sure there isn’t.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:35 amIt doesn’t surprise me that so many people listen to Limbaugh and Beck when it comes to things like getting a flu shot. These are the people for whom the wingnut talking head oracle serves all needs — medical advice, marital advice, estate planning advice, tax advice, investment advice, remodeling advice, religious advice, etc.
It just boggles the mind that anybody would think Beck is the final authority on H1N1 vaccines.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 amDid Beck get his flu shot? Or Rushbo? These are extremely wealthy men. I’m sure their Doctor’s told them to get the shot. Who knows? Maybe they did and are lying about it. They like to keep the paranoia going. And what better way then to scare a bunch of weak minded fools?
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:38 amH1N1 wasn’t so bad but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I say go for the vaccines and consult your doctor.
In my case, at least, it didn’t hit me too badly, but God it sucks to be awake all night unable to breathe :|
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 amBeckerwood and the foxsuckers that watch him are complete morons.
Stupidity should be a pre-existing condition.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:46 amGlenda and Drubaugh have the cumulative college education of 0. Yet, the sad pathetic reich-wing teabagging terrorists go to Glenda and Drubaugh for their “education”.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 amP.D. says: Did Beck get his flu shot?
I think O’Reilly asked Beck if he was getting his shot or had his shot after he;d just done a scaremongering bit about it, and Beck wouldn’t say.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:48 amSo, what she’s saying is I should listen to doctors about the vaccine and not FAUX?! Gee, who woulda figured that out? :P
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:49 am@13, Or you kidding me? After all the garbage about how dangerous it is and the SOB didn’t answer whether he got it or not??! The people who watch this idiot have got to be insane!
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:51 amThe educationally challenged should just shut up… oh yeah my bad, these rightwing nutballers are afraid of education and intelligence, people just might see what bunch of BS they are spouting.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 am“SEBELIUS: Well, I tend to like to get my health advice from doctors and scientists.”
No thank you Kathleen, I prefer to get important information on possible life changing decisions from a multimillionaire highschool drop-out, former drug and alcohol addicts who have converted to Mormonism and are on TV pointing out everything that is wrong with our country and our government, even if they have to make it up.
That stuff from doctors and scientist, ya’ just can’t trust it.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 amLimpballs, Beckerwood and Insanity have probably all received their HINI flu shots.
I would bet that CroxNews has made sure that all their media stars have been vaccinated.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 amAt least we don’t have those awful gun injectors. Those are terrifying. You can just imagine someone flinching or the applicator slipping and it slicing a part of your arm away.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:54 amWe should never listen to Lonesome Rhodes about anything for any reason.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:55 amAt least we don’t have those awful gun injectors. Those are terrifying. You can just imagine someone flinching or the applicator slipping and it slicing a part of your arm away.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:56 amNot so, they raise some nasty bruises, but other than that, they’re not too horrible.
Ha-fracking-rumph! I would recommend that all Glenda and Blimpo fans do exactly what their masters have been recommending and avoid all vaccinations at all costs. Never be vaccinated, not for anything. Avoid doctors and scientists too. They’re just over-educated know-it-alls, unlike the humble Blimpo and Glenda…
(Hark, is that a culling of the herd I hear? snark)
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:58 amAs dumb as the people are who listen to Beck and Limbaugh are, I really hope no one dies as a result of heeding the morons medically and unscientifically uneducated warnings. Especially if it’s children.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:58 amThe gop validates them and gives them credibility. Look at what happened in the NY-23rd. The extremists are given credibility and they use it.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:59 amAre these radicals so intent on hate of the Obama administration, that they would stoke fears of the vacine that would lead to an epidemic that they would then hype as an Obama failure? It sure looks like it.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 pmUosdwis says:
At least we don’t have those awful gun injectors. Those are terrifying. You can just imagine someone flinching or the applicator slipping and it slicing a part of your arm away.
—
I was given gun injection in basic training, the guy’s hand slipped and did tear a nice hole in my arm.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 pmAfter which I promptly fainted. Great start to Basic trainingm, eh?
That’s a great point, Tawdry. I’m tempted to say “yes, by all means, if you’re a Beck or Rush fan, don’t get the vaccine,” but these people do have children sometimes.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 pmOne really does have to feel sorry for the progeny of the Beck/Limbaugh worshippers.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 pmThey are innocent victims. May they live long, grow up, and stick their parents in substandard nursing homes as revenge.
RUCerious says: @26
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 pmWas it Army basic? I did Navy, and I got the gun in both arms, short of a bruise I was good. May just be dude had no clue what he was doing.
Wiz, they absolutely would do that. Come on. This is recent history. They worked like hell to neuter the stimulus package and strip it of anything that could have worked quickly and now their complaining that the stimulus package didn’t work even though we’re starting to see some benefits.
They don’t care. People need to get a clue about that. They just don’t care. They don’t believe in our system of civil government, they don’t believe the people should decide and they have a fundamental dislike of democracy. If anyone doesn’t believe me, all they have to do is read the writings of Leo Strauss, the “father of neoconservatism.”
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:05 pmThe H1N1 vaccine is a secret communist/socialist plot to sap our precious bodily fluids.
And here I thought red-baiting went out with the Eisenhower administration.
I personally won’t get a vaccine. Not for any bullshit conspiracy theory reason, I just don’t feel like going through the hassle of scheduling an appointment/dealing with whatever minor side effects the vaccine incurs for a flu that, by all accounts, isn’t much more powerful or widespread than past flus.
Damn media. It won’t be long before Beck et.al. start claiming the vaccine is a mind-control program that will make everyone who recieves it vote Democratic, become gay, and hug trees.
The Horror! The Horror!
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:06 pmVaccine questions:
-Why aren’t more pharmas manufacturing it?
-Nasal sprays keep a person contagious for up to 3 weeks.
-Did the US pay ‘up front’?
-Growing it in eggs is a 20th century methodology.
-Have our elected officials been deemed ‘essential personnel’?
-Who is prioritizing where the vaccine is distributed?
-Are people being charged for the vaccine?
-Will ‘limited supplies’ be the excuse used until 2010?
-Will the existing vaccine protect against future mutations?
(We have seen little, if any, vaccine out here in rural MN)
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:08 pm@ 23. Tawdry… &
@ 27. NinerFan says: That’s a great point, Tawdry. I’m tempted to say “yes, by all means, if you’re a Beck or Rush fan, don’t get the vaccine,” but these people do have children sometimes. November 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Oh, crap, I forgot about that issue. OK, Glenda and Blimpo fans, proceed with my advice for yourselves, but do make sure that your children and any adult dependents of yours who are in the categories of people who are vulnerable to H1N1 get vaccinated. When you’ve gone off to your reward in the sweet bye’n'bye, we’ll adopt your children and make sure they’re raised as good American Progressives and Liberals; we’ll make sure any other survivors you might leave also receive the proper care or attention.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 pmI hate Bleck and Limpy, but here’s the catch…I DID talk to my healthcare professional (and she’s younger, in touch, not “tainted”…at least i don’t think so) and she said H1N1 is nothing more than a weak flu…no need to worry as much as the news is saying. She recommended if I didn’t get the regular flu vaccine in years past no need for H1N1 now.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 pmZimzone says:
-Will the existing vaccine protect against future mutations?
______________
Hmmm… are you referring to future outbreaks of “conservatism”?
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:11 pmThe Republic of Stupidity says:
Zimzone says:
-Will the existing vaccine protect against future mutations?
______________
Hmmm… are you referring to future outbreaks of “conservatism”?
lol, good point, TRoS.
I believe they’ve already mutated. Look at who the Republics consider ‘leaders’.
Beam me up, Scotty, I see no signs of intelligent life here…
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:14 pmBut, but…Glenda Beckerhead and Rush Plimpblob are so intelligent, their insane rants can’t be anything but shear genius.
Well, only their moron listeners think so…the rest of us…not so much.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:16 pmZimzone says:
Beam me up, Scotty, I see no signs of intelligent life here…
_____________
If ‘only’ it were soooooooooo easy…
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:20 pmThe right has become truly schizophrenic. Half want us not to get the flu shot and the other half criticize President Obama because there isn’t enough to go around.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:24 pmUSNclerk says: @#29
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:24 pmYeah, Fort Ord, June of 67.
When someone gives bad advice they assume a moral responsibility for that advice, the radical right talkers bait the hook for the stupid and prejudiced to act against their own self interest. The radicals moan and cry that we have to take responsibility for our own lives, but we cannot make vaccines ourselves, we cannot build our own roads, we cannot make sure our water and food are safe, we cannot force insurance companies to provide the services we pay our premiums for, these things are what we expect Government to do for us. When the radical right gives the bad advice they do so to line the pockets of their corporate masters.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:29 pmYeah, Fort Ord, June of 67.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:36 pmThey had them back in 67? Man, I guess they wised up and made them a lot less obnoxious.
Vitamin D3 has been shown to protect people from flu. There are a lot of medical professionals advising that taking it will be our best protection against Swine flu. There is a great deal of information about this on the internet – google swine flu and Vitamin D3 and also search for “vitamin D (D3) on youtube. Recommended quantities for this vary and you should do the research – but in the winter amounts of 5000 IU daily (gel tab) – is a safe and reliable amount. I make not recommendations about the flu shot – though some of them do.
All these doctors agree the current recommended daily amount of 400 IU is remarkably low – but the government “will not look at the science” – for reasons I suspect we can all guess.
Vitamin D has also been shown to dramatically reduce cancer deaths – by as much as 90% – and to dramatically decrease the dangers of heart disease and stroke – and much more.
Everything about Vitamin D is dramatic and they even call it a “miracle drug” — but I suspect this won’t make the portion of the medical establishment that makes money off our illness, pain and suffering very happy.
Do the research.
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:32 pm*
Amendment to the above – the 90% cure rate on cancers was for SOME cancers – to date – about 60% of them.
European countries and even Canada are way ahead of us on this and are or have adopted public health policies that include much greater daily amounts of Vitamin D3. Recommended daily amounts are lower for children.
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm*
Considering you haven’t cite one piece of literature that backs up your claims, perhaps you should.
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:37 pmYou’re a f**king liar. Fact.
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:38 pmJust got back from my doctor and “the bones” said, stay away from other people…drank a cup of “potion”…paid $9.99 and I’m good to go…………
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:08 pmI say let the wingers not take the vaccine. I have no problem with that at all.
Buh bye now!
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:20 pmMy daughter was telling her Best Friend about the nasal H1N1 vaccine, how she thought it was fun, and didn’t taste bad at all. Her friend (11 year old girl) said haughtily that she would not be getting it because her parents heard that the vaccine was killing people. I was incredulous and asked where they heard such a thing. “The News” she replied.
I haven’t watched network or cable “news” in a decade, ever since they spent a year howling and yapping at Bill Clinton for boinking a bimbo.
Now I’m really glad. There is no News media. They’re dead as the dinosaurs, and not nearly as interesting.
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:35 pmA few weeks ago, I went to the dallasnews.com website. the wingers were hollering all over the site, “Where is the vaccine, people are dying, and it’s Obama’s fault we don’t have enough of the vaccine!”
Talk about hypocrisy in action. How is that you think that the same government that, in your eyes, can do nothing right is the same government you look to for help? This cognitive dissonance is a direct result of listening to Becky Boy, Fuchs Noose, Limbaugh, and the other entertainers.
Any logical thinking person would think that you would turn first to the ones whose advice guide all of your decisions, instead of to a government and president you so obviously hate.
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:41 pmPlease listen to Beck.
If enough people listen to Beck, then there may finally be enough vaccine for me to be immunized.
Not to mention, one could make a Darwinian argument for natural selection if the dumb ones die at a higher rate.
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:07 pmSlappy Bastard sez:
I hope the “potion” you drank was Hemlock.
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm42. USNclerk says: Yeah, Fort Ord, June of 67. They had them back in 67? Man, I guess they wised up and made them a lot less obnoxious. November 2nd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
The birdfarm I was on did a WestPac deployment im-fracking-mediately after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in ‘64, and we got our pre-deployment innoculations via a mix of gun and regular old needle.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:55 pmSlappyBastinado says:
Just got back from my doctor and “the bones” said, stay away from other people…drank a cup of “potion”…paid $9.99 and I’m good to go…………
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:08 pm
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:08 pm~~~~~
Why, on earth, would you go to a Surgeon for a vaccine?
(”the bones” is short for ’saw bones’ indicating the physician would be a surgeon).
Give it up SlappyBeggerino. No matter how much you beg there is no pity for you here.
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:25 am555
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:06 pm6666
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:32 pmAnyone who pays any attention to Beck’s ill informed opinion on the H1N1 vaccine takes the life of their child in their own hands. Parents, if you think Beck is a medical expert who has the slightest ability to make recommendations on vaccines, then by all means, be prepared for the possibility that you might have to bury your child if he or she gets that flu. Beck is a self-serving hedonist who assumes he knows a lot about a lot of stuff. Frankly, you will take his advice at the peril of the well-being of your own child. And believe me, Beck will be giggling on his way to bank his check for his inane comments about a subject he is totally unqualified to comment on.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:45 pm