Now that the new shingles shot put out by GlaxoSmithKline is ready to go, you’re going to be hearing a lot about it everywhere you go.
Your pharmacist and doctor — even friends and neighbors — will be singing the praises of this new vaccine. Seniors everywhere are being told that they should stop what they’re doing and rush out to get one.
On top of that, it seems that every other story from publications ranging from The New York Times to Pharmacy Times are reporting on how wonderful this new vaccine is.
But hold on.
Before you let all this convince you to become a guinea pig in what very well may turn out to be the biggest mass experiment to date, take a few minutes to hear the real story behind Shingrix.
Because what we don’t know about this shot, one that the media is calling a “game changer,” could make this a much riskier game than we’re being led to believe.
Big Pharma’s friends in both the media and public health agencies have done everything in their power to make sure that Shingrix becomes a blockbuster right out of the gate. Of course, we’re also reminded in every article about the itching and pain of a shingles outbreak.
The CDC even did its part by lowering the recommended age for getting the jab down to a youthful 50.
And along with proclaiming how absolutely wonderful Shingrix is, the news (coincidently?) has also leaked out about the huge number of lawsuits being filed against Merck for a long list of adverse reactions to its shingles shot, Zostavax. Things like eye damage, dizziness, high blood pressure, horrific nerve pain, and… shingles.
Of course, that’s all the more reason to run out for a shot of the spanking-new Shingrix, right?
But before you do, there are some details about this vaccine that the mainstream media either don’t know or aren’t going tell you.
That’s especially the case when it comes to an extra ingredient in Shingrix, something called an adjuvant, added to make it work better. And while adjuvants are known to be very risky, the one Shingrix contains (dubbed “QS-21 Stimulon”) may, in fact, turn out to be the most dangerous one of all.
Even Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, the FDA advisory panel’s representative for both the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians, voiced concern about the QS-21 in Shingrix by pointing out that it has “never been out in the real world before.”
In fact, scientists at the National Institutes of Health wrote in a report that, while QS-21 is very “potent” as an immune booster (based on laboratory experiments) its “toxicity” would keep it from “human use.”
And that was just two years ago!
As I first warned you about Shingrix back in October, we really have no idea what — if anything — has been done to somehow make QS-21 safe enough to pump into millions of Americans.
But aside from all these big unknowns, the known side effects of Shingrix include muscle aches and fatigue — as well as headaches, fever, shivering, and GI issues.
Even a CDC medical officer, one who is all for the vaccine, commented last year that patients and doctors need to know that Shingrix can cause more adverse reactions than any other shot typically given to adults.
Don’t think, however, that the FDA is completely ignoring the potential side effects of this new shot. Now that the vaccine has been unleashed on the public, the agency wants GSK to conduct studies to evaluate its safety.
But guess when it expects to hear back from the company with the results? One is to be completed by 2024, and the other? 2025. No, I’m not kidding.
In other words, we’ll find out if Shingrix is safe enough to be on the market seven full years after millions of seniors have served as de facto lab rats.
The FDA has also informed GSK that it will provide the drugmaker with copies of “serious adverse event reports” sent directly into the agency under a program called “MedWatch-to-Manufacturer.”
Unbelievably, though, participation in that program is optional! So, GSK can just cover its eyes and ears if it doesn’t want to know what patients and doctors are reporting back to the FDA.
Now, obviously, no one wants to come down with shingles. But putting your health (and maybe even your life) on the line for this shot in the dark isn’t something you want to do, either.
Instead, follow HSI panel member Dr. Allan Spreen’s advice: Protect your nervous system by taking a daily dose of 500 mcg of B12. And if you should come down with a case of shingles, a shot of that very same B12 is your best bet in alleviating the symptoms.
“No excuses, people: Get the new shingles vaccine” Paula Span, November 10, 2017, The New York Times, nytimes.com
