Andy Burns wrote:
charles wrote:
RJH wrote:
My (Sheffield) local surgery got stock in late September, but not
offering it to anyone non-vulnerable under 65 -
2 different vaccines
https://lloydspharmacy.com/pages/flu-vaccination
"This year the NHS has recommended the use of 2 different vaccinations;
Fluad (adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine) for those aged 65 and
over and a Quadrivalent vaccine for those aged 18 to 65. Both will help
protect from flu, however research shows Fluad is a more appropriate
vaccine in those aged 65 and over."
Both unavailable ...
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/adjuvant.htm
Fluad trivalent is adjuvanted with MF59 (which is squalene oil,
and why they couldn't just say that). Squalene oil comes from sharks.
It's quite common as an adjuvant and has been used before.
A datasheet for it, says Fluad trivalent has no preservative.
People over 65 can be offered this one as an alternative.
It means you're well covered for the three most prevalent
strains.
Fluad quadrivalent is for people younger than 65 years. It
is not adjuvanted. Four different kinds of flu are in this
shot, but old people might not react to this all that well
(might not build resistance). That was the claim at least.
That's how they were selling the story. A datasheet for it,
says Fluad quadrivalent has no preservative either.
Normally, 10-shot vials of flu jab are protected by a small
amount of Thiomersal. This protects the vial contents as
fresh clean needles are shoved through the septum on the vial.
Even though the vial is wiped with an alcohol swab before
drawing liquid, there's still the possibility of the vial
being put back in the fridge and left for a week. And you
don't want any foreign matter, growing inside the vial.
No matter how careful the operator is, this is microbiology
we're talking about. Maybe they didn't wash their hands...
Adjuvanting was used for swine flu jab, to make the
material go further. Mine was adjuvanted with Vitamin E.
As an example of the usage of something other than Squalene.
*Every* company making one of these, should provide a datasheet.
*Read it*
(The datasheet could list a *different* adjuvant, for example.
The side effects of the adjuvant are *different*. You'll see... :-/ )
The datasheets in this example, deserve an award of some sort
for poor formatting and information content. Usually a good
sheet is two pages, suitable for double sided printing and
placement in the box. And usually this includes a bullet form
list of ingredients, including Thiomersal if any was used.
https://www.fda.gov/media/94583/download
Each 0.5 mL dose [of Fluad Trivalent] contains
15 mcg of hemagglutinin (HA) [times 3 strains]
MF59C.1 adjuvant (9.75 mg squalene,
1.175 mg of polysorbate 80,
1.175 mg of sorbitan trioleate,
0.66 mg of sodium citrate dihydrate
0.04 mg of citric acid monohydrate
at pH 6.9-7.7)
https://www.fda.gov/media/135432/download
Each 0.5 mL dose [of Fluad Quadrivalent] contains
15 mcg of hemagglutinin (HA) [times 4 strains]
MF59C.1 adjuvant (9.75 mg squalene,
1.175 mg of polysorbate 80,
1.175 mg of sorbitan trioleate,
0.66 mg of sodium citrate dihydrate
0.04 mg of citric acid monohydrate
at pH 6.9-7.7)
So already we're seeing a *mismatch* in marketing. We're
left with the feeling that the Trivalent is somehow special
for the older folks, when the fricken formulation is the
same, the 15mcg per antigen is the same, and they're *both*
adjuvanted. Now I don't feel so bad about getting the Quad.
This is why you read these things. To learn stuff.
Not to run away scared.
By the way, if a flu shot is adjuvanted with Vitamin E,
don't go driving the next day, OK ? You won't need
any help figuring that out. It's not a dangerous
effect, but it is annoying. (Huge release of endorphins,
feeling all day of lightheadedness.) I've not had any
Squalene, so it'll be interesting to see what it's like.
This is also worth a read, to discover where MF59C came from.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squalene
Paul