Guinea Pigs Are People Too

My daughter has two guinea pigs. She holds them and pets them--they are gentle creatures related to the deer family, not rodents as once was thought.

She wouldn't allow them to be harmed if she could help it. In fact, she wouldn't allow them to be treated as inhumanely as the children who are now part of a test for the H1N1 flu vaccine. Yet some parents are not only consenting to this testing, as one of them stated, "Anna's mom is proud that her daughter is taking part in the trial."

Some kids taking part in the testing use the often-quoted CDC statistic of 36,000 people dying from the flu every year. This is stated by the CDC as an "estimate," which is in fact unreliable and unverifiable, as the CDC itself states on its web site:

This statistic came from a 2003 JAMA study by CDC scientists. The study used statistical modeling to estimate that during 9 influenza seasons from 1990-91 through 1998-99, an annual average of 36,000 flu-related deaths occurred among people whose underlying cause of death on their death certificate was listed as a respiratory or circulatory disease.

It's like saying Saddam Hussein was involved in the events of 9/11, and Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in 2003. Neither was true, but if the lie is repeated enough, it becomes part of the undercurrent of beliefs in American society. Like the idea that vaccines are safe and effective. Or that 36,000 deaths from upper-respiratory infections, flu or any of a number of other viruses, could be mitigated with a vaccine that may or may not work, or be safe.

There is projected amount available of 40 million to 100 million doses of flu vaccine retailing at around $25 per shot...and with the big pharma/government alliance suggesting the possibility of recommending 2 doses per person, I can't even do the math, there's so much money involved.

I got two guinea pigs shaking their heads and rolling their eyes here.