We see the signs everywhere: on the internet, posted outside drug stores like Walgreens, in schools, in and outside of hospitals, and hanging up in doctors' offices: "Get Your Flu Shot Today!"
None of us like being sick, and most of us have heard of the flu epidemic of 1918 -- 1919, which no doubt enters our consciousness whenever the term "flu" is mentioned. Before arriving at the critical junction of a decision--to take the vaccination, or not--consider the following.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Influenza is a highly infectious viral illness. The name 'influenza' originated in 15th century Italy, from an epidemic attributed to the 'influence of the stars.' The first pandemic or worldwide epidemic that clearly fits the description of influenza was in 1580. More recently, at least four pandemics of influenza occurred in the 19th century, and three occurred in the 20th century."
The great flu epidemic of 100 years ago--or pandemic, as its swath of death was felt around the globe--has always had its origin and the extent of its effects obscured by a lack of credible evidence. No one is quite sure of where it started, or how many deaths resulted.
In America, the first reported cases occurred in Kansas. These were in Haskell County (beginning in January, 1918), and then Fort Riley (where, in March, it spread, possibly from an infected cook to the other troops). By the time it was all over, our country's total death toll was estimated to have been over 675,000. By the closing weeks of 1918, so many people were sick and dying that it almost brought American industry to a halt.
Worldwide, it infected 500,000,000 people--one third of the world's population at the time--killing somewhere between 20 and 50 million, although some estimates range as high as 100 million. Despite having occurred in the midst of World War 1, the deaths attributed to the war--roughly 17 million--pale in comparison to those killed by the H1N1 flu virus. It was probably the single greatest one year plague in human history, killing more people than the "Black Death;" more in 24 weeks than AIDS killed in 24 years, an analogy noted in various sources, and attributed to John Barry, author of "The Great Influenza." (http://www.history.com/topics/1918-flu-pandemic.)
This flu swept over the world in two great waves, one in the spring of 1918 and one in the fall/winter of 1918-1919. When the second outbreak hit, it bypassed those who had caught the flu in the spring--as a result having built up immunity--but had a deadly effect on those who were infected in the fall.
"Victims died within hours or days...their skin turning blue and their lungs filling with fluid that caused them to suffocate...In just one year, 1918, the average life expectancy in America plummeted by a dozen years." (www.history.com/topics/1918-flu-epidemic)
Unlike most flu outbreaks that occur during winter months, and which usually affect the very young and the elderly, this one hit hardest in the spring and fall, and seemed to target the healthiest, 20-40 year old age group. This was explained as a "cytokine storm" (hypercytokinemia), or overreaction of the body's immune system. My grandfather, a young man at the time, was one such victim. His death in 1918 left behind a widow and a one year old son, my father.
Perhaps Gennaro Epifanio grew up hearing this nursery rhyme, which children recited while jumping rope:
I had a little bird
Its name was Enza
I opened the window
And in-flu-enza!
With the passing of the 1918-19 outbreak came a more or less 40 year lapse, but then another flu outbreak occurred in the winter of 1957-8, killing 70,000 Americans and two million worldwide. Eleven years later (1968-9), yet another flu epidemic killed 34,000 Americans and one million people worldwide. Even as recently as 2009-10, H1N1 or swine flu made more than 60 million ill; in America 275,000 were hospitalized, and 12,500 died (these statistics according to the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/flu.html).
"In a study of influenza seasons from 1976-77 through 2006-07, the estimated number of annual influenza-associated deaths from respiratory and circulatory causes ranged from a low of 3,349 (1985-86 season) to a high of 48,614 (2003-04 season), with an average of 23,607 annual influenza-associated deaths." (CDC website)
To counter this unpredictable, but constant threat, the first flu vaccine was introduced in 1944, as a trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV). The first live attenuated influenza vaccine was licensed in 2003. The latter is grown in chicken eggs.
According to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), "the three biggest suppliers for the US market are Sanofi Pasteur, GSK, and Novartis." Three others are MedImmune, bioCSL, and Protein Sciences...Recent estimates from the companies suggest that they will produce a total of somewhere between 154 million and 160 million doses for the US market this season. That compares with 134.9 million doses distributed last season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) figures presented recently to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). (This information was published in the summer of 2014, so it is current for this flu season.)
It is probable that the aforementioned doses included those given to Sue O'Malley of Port Orange and Bonnie Brooks of Jacksonville.
Sue O'Malley, Age 55
Sue O'Malley's size--5'3" and 103 pounds--belies her athletic ability. Beginning back in high school, and continuing uninterrupted until 2013, this diminutive runner has been dynamite.
Keep in mind that in the mid-to-late 1970s the level of participation by women in running, despite Title IX, was nowhere near what it is today. But Suzanne Carden-O'Malley was one of the women who helped to inspire those who were to follow.
Sue ran high school track (and cross country) for Stroudsburg High School from 1974 to 1978, and graduated with that school's records in the mile (5:19.7) and two mile (11:19). (Since the PIAA converted to metric distances in 1981, she probably still holds those records.) She also won seven league titles (mile and two mile), and was state runner-up all four years in the mile, and three years in the two mile.
Continuing her education at East Stroudsburg University, Sue blossomed into a two-time 10K All-American with a 35:45 personal best, which--along with her 5K time of 17:11--stood as a school record for many years after she graduated. In fact, that 10K time, which was finally eclipsed in 2011, was the longest standing school record in any sport. East Stroudsburg added women's cross country in 1980, and for her last two years she helped her team reach the AIAW Division 3 Championships in Boise, Idaho. Before graduating, Sue O'Malley won eight state titles.
Her East Stroudsburg Hall of Fame Induction was in 1992 and came with these words:
Sue Carden O'Malley: Seven-time Pennsylvania Conference track champion in the distance events. She won four regional titles. She was the school's first All-America track woman. She also was a star in cross country. She was named the Outstanding Female Athlete in 1982. She graduated Cum Laude.
Even after graduation, Sue's running career never waned. Her future husband, who was a sports writer at the time, encouraged her to continue her running by entering road races. In September, 1982, she won her first marathon, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon in New Jersey, in 2:59. She ran Boston in 1983, finishing as 48th woman in 2:57:37. That Boston was arguably the most competitive of all time. Besides dozens of men breaking 2:20, Joan Benoit, finishing 121st overall, ran a 2:22:43 women's, course, American, and world record on her way to gold in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Sue again lowered her best time to 2:45:55 on November 5, 1983 at the Marine Corps Marathon--she came back to the MCM in 1984 to run 2:43:20--and that time qualified her for the first Women's Olympic Marathon Trials.
In Olympia, Washington, she finished fiftieth overall (out of the best 196 women marathoners in America) in 2:43:01. In her lifetime, Sue ran 17 marathons; all but three were under three hours.
She was also accomplished in the shorter distances, as her 19:32 overall win at the 1999 (Miami) 5K Corporate Challenge emphasized. First woman among 25,000 runners (male and female) in a time of 19:32 proved that as she aged--she was 39 by then--she hardly lost a step.
"As I approached 40, I was still running in the high 18s," she told me. "On my 40th birthday, I ran 18:45 in the Hemmingway Days 5K.
"As a birthday present, my husband JJ's present was a trip to Oregon to run at Hayward Field in Eugene. I ran 19:07 for 5K, then 38 something in the 10K, and because it was at the 'Holy Land' of Track and Field, it became the highlight of my running career."
JJ works for International Motorsports Association (IMSA), and in 2001 the O'Malleys moved from Homestead to the Daytona area, where Sue dominated the local road running scene for the next dozen years.
Sue has gone to the USATF National Masters Track and Field Championships four times, winning six medals. On her last trip, in 2012--at age 52--she ran 19:32 for the 5K and 40:52 for the10K.
"I love the track," she admitted.
Also in 2012, Sue ran the Space Coast Marathon in 3:14:25, finishing 37th overall (out of 885 finishers), second woman, and--not surprisingly--first in the female 50-54 age group.
"2012 was a great year for me. I ended up finishing as third master overall at the 15K Gate River Run in Jacksonville."
Sue's time for 9.3 miles was 1:01:48. More impressive than her time was the fact that this 52 year old woman was 316th out of 16,357 finishers, and many of the runners ahead of her were national and world class competitors. She was third master.
"In 2013, I was running well and winning races. I had already run 65 races and won ¾ of them. I'd made my third Walt Disney World® Marathon Florida's Finest team. They pick five men and five women. I was picked again to run in 2014, but unfortunately couldn't run."
That was because in the first week of October, 2013 she made a decision that changed her life forever.
"My husband's employer provided coverage for flu shots. I had received the flu shot the prior year--2012--and had no ill effects."
But that October 2, 2013 vaccination was in some way different.
"I got the flu shot on a Wednesday morning, between 10 and 11 AM.
"I started to feel bad that afternoon. My arm felt like someone punched it really, really hard. I couldn't even move the upper part of my left arm. That same afternoon, I had the chills, my throat didn't feel well, I felt achy, and very fatigued. I felt like I had the flu. This continued for at least five days. It wasn't until the following Monday that I started to feel normal. But my running definitely was not normal.
"I tried to run--a runner never takes off--but everything got weirder and weirder. Tuesday is usually my track workout. I took it easy. On Wednesday I tried to run repeats on the Dunlawton Bridge for hill work. Coming down the bridge, I had to hold onto the railing. My legs were moving faster than I could think. It was like I was drunk. I knew then that something was going on.
"The week before the vaccination, I had run my usual Sunday morning ten-mile workout and finished in 1:23, an 8:15 pace. But the Sunday after the flu shot, I was all over the place; I was dizzy, I found myself consciously stepping over the cracks in the sidewalk, and my brain wasn't in tune with my legs. I guess it was a balance issue. I had to turn around at about 2 or 2 ½ miles, and it took me an hour and 23 minutes to run just five miles that day, the exact same time it took me to run twice as far the week before.
"That next weekend was the Disney Cross Country Classic. I had signed up to run the college (open) race on Friday night (October 11th), but I just couldn't. In fact, one of the parents"--O'Malley is head coach at Father Lopez High School--"jokingly challenged me to a sprint. When I showed him what was wrong with me, it was no longer funny.
"Another parent is an ear, nose, and throat specialist, and he got me in for a checkup, thinking it might be vertigo. But I passed all the tests. There was nothing wrong with my ears. He recommended that I see an eye doctor. My eyes had actually improved since my last exam.
"I went to Palmer Chiropractic. There was a young lady there who specialized in neurological problems. She suggested it might be proprioception, which is when your brain does not have a normal connection to the rest of your body. It seemed that the left side of my brain was not connecting to the right side of my body.
"At this point, I was still trying to run, but it wasn't pretty. I couldn't go from the sidewalk to the grass to the road. Even the cracks in the sidewalk were a problem; they seemed like hills. It was like dystonia (uncontrollable contractions of your muscles). I could run, but I couldn't stop. When I ran, my eyes would not catch up.
"It wasn't getting any better, so I went to my primary care physician. He recommended Claritin.
"I had blood work done. They couldn't find anything wrong. He (the primary care physician) sent me to a balance specialist, and I had balance rehab three times a week for 12 weeks. That didn't help.
"I went to a neurologist, and he couldn't find anything wrong.
"I had an MRI with the three parts of my back, which ruled out MS. I had an MRI with contrast; it didn't show any abnormality, eliminating a stroke. Tests for MS, Parkinsons, and lupus all came back clear.
"I had an EKG and an echocardiogram. I had a heart monitor on for 24 hours. All of these came back negative.
"My right leg was tight, but there were no tremors or twitching. They tested my leg and lower back to see if there was nerve damage. They measured my legs. Nothing.
"I went through a detox program in October, November, and December of 2014.
"I tried acupuncture with Dr. Ho, who is considered one of the best in the world. I was there in November and December of 2014, and January of 2015. No help.
"I had my diet evaluated, took vitamins, but don't take any medication.
"I have a new chiropractor who specializes in spinal problems. I've been with him since October (2014)."
I, personally, have seen Sue O'Malley run dozens of races, and I can say without hesitation that prior to this episode, she was one of the best age group runners in America. The Sue O'Malley that I saw try to run on the afternoon of this interview was NOT the Sue that has won 200 races since she turned 40. Her movements reminded me more of a toddler than the national class athlete that she is.
"Right now the only thing that keeps me going are these kids"--she said, pointing to the Lopez track team working out all around us. "It's been especially difficult at cross country meets because now I can't warm up with my team.
"I don't go to too many road races anymore. I go when the team is there to help out, but I don't want to go by myself.
"JJ gave me a running diary in 1977. Since beginning it, I have run 100,000 miles"--the first, and so far only, woman runner who can verify that fact--"and 989 races. My goal was to reach 1000.
"This year would have been my 40th anniversary as a runner. It's very depressing. But I am not giving up. A true champion does not let setbacks get in the way of their success, and I have yet to reach my true finish line."
Bonnie Brooks, Age 54
Bonnie, a resident of Jacksonville, was a serious enough distance runner to have run a 3:39:54 (chip time) Boston Marathon in 2000, and had a PR of 3:29:51 at Disney in 2001 (age 40). That placed her sixth in the highly competitive 40-44 age group and 68th out of 3,973 women.
As Bonnie readily admits, "Sue was an elite runner. I wasn't at her level, but I got out and ran 35 to 40 miles a week."
In her last race, on October 5, 2013, she finished second in the 50-59 age group on the hilly, but scenic New Hampshire Half Marathon course.
"I have a house in New Hampshire, and while there, ran in the Half in Bristol, NH. I ran a 1:56:37. For not training--I had been working a lot and didn't have as much time as usual to train--I was very happy.
"I ran with Kathy Murray, my training partner from Jacksonville. We were together for the whole thing, but she decided to sprint that last stretch. I thought, 'well, there she goes,' and she finished just ahead of me (first in the 50s with a 1:56:33)."
But days later, a small decision had life-altering consequences.
"I got my flu vaccination on October 14th, 2013, where I work. I am an IC (Intensive Care) nurse, and work with patients who have had surgical and transplant procedures.
"It was highly recommended that I take a flu vaccination. I've been taking it for six or seven years, but never had a problem before. This time, however, about 48 hours later--on the 16th--when I woke up my legs hurt...ached so bad.... I had this horrible fatigue. For the next three weeks, while it lingered, I tried to work.
"Then on November 5th, I tried to run. My legs were so weak and rubbery that I only got about a half mile. I turned around and tried to get home. Even though I was only on the next street, I didn't think I could make it back. I walked and rested, walked and rested. It must have taken me at least a half hour to make it back.
"I was so weak that I couldn't hold a drink with one hand without dropping it. My fatigue was such that if I walked to the bathroom, I had to take a two hour nap. I could stand up, but I was so weak that I could not stay on my feet. It was ridiculous.
"I began to visit physicians. When I walked into the first doctor's office he asked me what was wrong. I told him that I have Guillain-Barre syndrome.* He asked, 'Are you a nurse?'" referring to the specificity of her response.
"I told him that something was seriously wrong with me. I started out a marathoner and now I can barely walk to the bathroom.
"It didn't matter which doctor I went to, what they all tried to tell me was that it could have been a virus, an autoimmune response, or something else that caused it.
"I saw a couple of other doctors who gave me tests, trying to evaluate whether it was viral, a cancer, MS, ALS, or caused by any number of other things.
"In the meantime, on November 15th, I woke up with the horrible feeling of pins and needles in my lower legs--from the knees down. This continued over the next week and moved bilaterally. It kept rising; up to my knees, my thighs, and then reached my abdomen. That's when I went to the ER and was admitted to the hospital. I went through a complete workup.
"They came up with no spinal problems, my brain was fine, I did not have West Nile Virus, Lyme disease, or MS. They even tested me for every viral infection they could come up with. It was all negative.
"I can't count the number of times that I told the physicians that I was perfectly fine until two days after I took the flu shot. Generally I am a very healthy person. I hardly ever get sick, and rarely miss work. I told them that.
"They would look at me as if they wanted to find some other cause, something other than the vaccine.
"My neurologist gave me a choice. He said I could either wait two months to see if I would get better, or try a high dose of IV steroids...but there was no guarantee that it would cure me.
"Eating was tiring; taking a shower was tiring and painful. I had been out of work for 14 weeks, total, on a short term disability...for a person who was rarely sick. I was desperate to get better, so I chose the steroids.
"I started the steroids in December, and afterwards the pain and tingling decreased in my legs...but at least I can feel them.
"And now, it's a year and a half later and I still haven't fully recovered. I'm back at work. I manage the fatigue better because I know when to sit down and rest more.
"My voice has changed; it is weak, and hoarse in a way. People tell me that it doesn't sound like me. I lose my voice easily now, worse if I am fatigued. And I still have swallowing issues, choking. I must be careful when eating, especially meats or anything hard, like pills, broccoli, etc.
"Instead of running, I try to run-walk. Some days I can go out and some days I can't. I have to think about my legs. They just don't go where I want them to, or they're not where I think they are."
Bonnie has had lots of time to contemplate her fate; to look back on the day that changed her life forever.
"They put all these additives into vaccines so that you build up immunity faster. Where do the things in a vaccine come from? What problems are they causing for society? I've been researching it for months, and going through neurological journals. They just don't tell you.
"You take this shot and don't know what's in it, or where it comes from. You take it trustingly, and then it ruins your life.
"I think cases like mine are under recorded. For a physician to send a report to the CDC probably requires pages of paperwork.
"Both Sue and I reported it to the CDC, but we haven't heard back from them. So what now? In three or four years you might get better, or get worse. I just want to run again."
Conclusions
According to the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pastseasons/1314season.htm):
"The 2013-2014 trivalent influenza vaccine was made from the following three viruses: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus; an A(H3N2) virus antigenically like the cell-propagated prototype virus A/Victoria/361/2011; a B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like virus."
It was the H1N1 virus that somehow triggered the autoimmune response that killed millions in the fall of 1918. How closely do the effects of GBS, perhaps as a result of the 2013 vaccination, resemble that of the cytokine storm (hypercytokinemia) that killed so many in the fall of 1918?
Was the flu vaccination that Sue and Bonnie received responsible for their illness, as they believe? Second, are Sue and Bonnie descendants of survivors of the spring, or fall 1918 influenza (thereby carrying the genetic code of one, or the other)? Lastly, is GBS something that can happen to anyone else who takes that type of vaccination?
Right now there is a tidal wave of public opinion either for or against vaccinations. The real issue, however is not their use, but whether or not they are safe. Even if one in a million flu vaccinations results in GBS, would you want to be that unlucky?
I will leave you with this thought. Like most children of my generation, I received few vaccinations. We all had the usual childhood diseases: mumps, measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, and I can't-remember-what-else. We somehow survived.
Since 1971, however, the number of children's vaccinations has risen from a handful to a recommended regimen of at least 23 before a child reaches the age of one (this according to a DeLand pediatric office). In that time, 1971 to 2010, the incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen from 1 in 10,000 children to 1 in 68. The incidence of learning disabilities in children (2010) is one out of six children. (http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html)
If you had a dollar for every testimony to the side effects of the various vaccinations side available on the internet, you could take everyone reading this article to lunch, and then some. See for yourself. Google "Vaccination side effects."
Again, the issue is not whether vaccinations are important. Just one now rare disease--smallpox--has taken more lives than all the wars put together, somewhere in the neighborhood of 500,000,000 deaths in the 20th century alone. (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6402a1.htm) The smallpox vaccine was the first to be discovered, and after a 12,000 year reign of terror, this disease is finally close to being non-existent. The smallpox vaccination too has had its share of side effects, but in every case of a voluntary vaccination, then as now, the choice is yours.
* Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), according to a CDC fact sheet, "is a rare disorder in which a person's own immune system damages the nerves, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. GBS can cause symptoms that last for as little as a few weeks, or go on for several months. Most people recover fully from GBS, but some people have nerve damage that does not go away...Anyone can get GBS...Adults over 50 years of age are 2-3 times more likely to get GBS than younger people." (See: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/factsheet_g...)