Vaccine A: The Covert Government Experiment That's Killing Our Soldiers--and Why GI's Are Only the First Victims
Vaccine-A uncovers a
story of betrayal -- the betrayal of the men and women who serve in the
armed forces, the betrayal of medical ethics, and the betrayal of the
American people by military and civilian leaders sworn to defend and
protect. Veteran journalist Gary Matsumoto shows that the worst
friendly-fire incident in military history came from something no
soldier had any reason to think would harm him: a vaccine administered
by the military's own medics. When troops went to the Middle East to
fight the Gulf War in 1991 and the Iraq War in 2003, many -- perhaps
thousands -- received an experimental anthrax vaccine instead of the
FDA-approved vaccine. Without their knowledge or consent, the U. S.
government used them as human guinea pigs in a massive medical
experiment that went disastrously wrong.(less)
MF59® Adjuvant Fact Sheet
MF59® Adjuvant
MF59®, Novartis Vaccines’ proprietary adjuvant, is the first oil-in-water
adjuvant to be commercialized in combination with a seasonal influenza
vaccine (Fluad®). Fluad is currently licensed for use in people 65 years
of age and above. Designed to enhance the body’s immune response
to prepandemic, pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines, MF59
increases the immune response compared to non-adjuvanted vaccines.
MF59 has been tested extensively – in more than 60 clinical trials
involving more than 33,000 people. With
more than 12 years of clinical
experience and more
than 45 million doses of adjuvanted vaccines
distributed, MF59 has an established safety profile and has been shown
to be well tolerated in children, adults and the elderly.
Studies have shown that MF59 helps elicit broad, cross-reactive
immune responses against a wide range
of influenza strains, including
some strains not contained in a seasonal influenza vaccine, as well as
the majority of H5 avian influenza
virus strains. The adjuvant has also
demonstrated the ability to provide strong immune memory and
sustained antibody responses when included in both seasonal and
prepandemic vaccines. This response can help the immune system
produce a protective response when boosted several years following
initial vaccination.
Novartis Vaccines has utilized MF
59 to develop influenza vaccines
designed specifically for those who
need it most – individuals who have
compromised immune systems, such as young children and older
adults, and people with no natural immunity to a virus. The first MF59-
adjuvanted vaccine was Fluad, an inactivated, subunit seasonal
influenza vaccine shown to provide a greater immune response than
traditional inactivated influenza vaccines in individuals aged 65 years
and older. First registered in Italy in 1997, Fluad marked a major
milestone in influenza vaccinology.
Currently, MF59 is being studied in Aflunov, an investigational
prepandemic influenza vaccine adjuvanted with MF59. In clinical trials
Aflunov has demonstrated a strong immune response against several
H5N1 avian influenza virus strains in all age groups – from young
children to older adults.
In response to the World Health Organization’s declaration of the H1N1
Novartis Vaccines
proprietary adjuvant
Clinical trial results with
MF59
MF59 helps elicit broad
cross-reactive immune
responses
MF59-adjuvanted vaccines
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MF59® Adjuvant Fact Sheet
pandemic in June 2009, Novartis Vaccines also is studying MF59 in
combination with two H1N1 pandemic
vaccines: Focetria and Celtura.
Focetria is a mock-up pandemic influenza vaccine that is indicated for
use in the European Union during a pandemic situation. Celtura is a
pandemic vaccine developed using cell culture technology. In
September 2009, in its initial clinic
al trials, Celtura showed favorable
results which suggested that on
e dose of the vaccine provided
comparable protection to two doses of non-adjuvanted vaccines.
Adjuvants
Adjuvants were originally identified
in the 1920s by Gaston Ramon, a
French veterinarian working at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Ramon
noticed that when he added certain substances to his vaccines, they
generated a stronger immune response than ordinary formulations.
Ramon named these substances “adjuvants” after
adjuvare
, the Latin
word for “to help,” and they became an indispensable ingredient in
vaccines against everything from hepatitis to meningitis to rabies.
The only problem, as Ramon quickly di
scovered, was that only salts of
aluminum – collectively referred to as alum – seemed safe for human
use, but alum does not always generate an optimal immune response.
Despite intense efforts by vaccino
logists to find more effective
alternatives, a new, safe adjuvant
was not discovered until Novartis
Vaccines created MF59.
MF59 was developed in the 1990s by researchers at Ciba-Geigy (a
Novartis heritage company) and Chiron (acquired by Novartis in 2006)
who were searching for an adjuvant that was not only capable of
improving the immune response but was also well tolerated. The
resulting compound – subsequently
named MF59 – demonstrated a
good safety profile in people and was able to “jump start” the innate
immune response, a vital part of the immune system that determines
the magnitude and precise nature of
the body’s immune response to an
infection.
Adjuvants first developed in
1920
History of MF59
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MF59® Adjuvant Fact Sheet
Historically, vaccine development has focused on refining the antigen –
proteins that stimulate the production of an antibody and provide the
immune response. Increasingly, vaccines are made from purified
antigens rather than inactivated – or killed – viruses. While this can
produce better characterized an
tigens and help reduce potential
reactions, purified antigens are less likely to spark an innate immune
response; this issue necessitates the use of an adjuvant.
Novartis Vaccines researchers have made significant progress in
unraveling how adjuvants fuel the
immune response. Their research
has revealed that adjuvants help increase antibody production by
activating one or more components of the immune system, including:
•
recruiting immune cells to the injection site, which increases the
immune response to the influenza vaccine
•
promoting the uptake of influenza vaccine antigens into immune
cells, which boosts the immune response.
Because adjuvants bolster the body’s immune response to a pathogen,
a smaller amount of antigen is required
to trigger protective immunity.
Studies have shown that MF59 can reduce the amount of antigen
required to generate an immune response for both seasonal and
prepandemic vaccines.
How adjuvants work
Seasonal influenza
Seasonal influenza is a highly communicable, acute viral infection that
predominantly attacks the respiratory tract and sometimes the lungs. It
can cause mild to severe illness and may lead to death. Between 5
and 15 percent of the worldwide populat
ion is infected each year and
between 250,000 to 500,000 people die. More than 90 percent of
deaths associated with influenza in industrialized countries occur
among those 65 years of age and over.
Dangers of seasonal
influenza
Despite the severity of the illness,
many people mistakenly believe that
influenza is merely a severe cold. While colds and influenza share
many symptoms, they are caused by
different viruses and result in
different consequences for patients.
Influenza-related complications
can include pneumonia and dehydration, and worsening of chronic
conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease or diabetes.
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