The latest screed from Danielle O’Dell for the Money Map Report is aimed at first getting you all fired up about Obamacare, in case you’re one of the seven people in the United States that doesn’t already have a strong opinion about that law’s impending enactment, and then, more importantly, at telling you that she’s got a way for you to profit from Obamacare instead of getting angry about it.
Why? Well, the obvious answer is: writing stuff about Obamacare gets people fired up.
And fired-up people read through long sales letters and are motivated to take action.
Actions like, say, subscribing to newsletters.
I’m sure every single person reading this has their own personal opinion about the troubles with our health care system, and about all possible proposed solutions, and the polls certainly tell us that everyone hates Obamacare even as most of us don’t quite understand how it’s going to end up working — since the rollout of the health care exchanges has been so botched “I hate Obamacare” is certainly an easy opinion to come by even if you generally like some sort of universal or single-payer health care system or a reorganization of the health insurance market, and even if you personally might be a beneficiary of the new system.
So I won’t dwell on Obamacare or on the political aspects of it, and I don’t really much care what Danielle’s opinion is on that or her “countdown to catastrophe” doomsday clock for the enactment of part of the Affordable Care Act on January 1 … we’ll just try to figure out what stock O’Dell is touting as a play on this big change to the health insurance markets.
And yes, in order to even get to the ideas of how to profit from Obamacare we need first to sit through an interminable sales pitch about the free “Beating Obamacare” book that they’ll give you for subscribing — but you could, of course, buy Beating Obamacare
Well, let’s first see what stock or investment they’re promoting as their way to profit from Obamacare — this isn’t the first “Obamacare profits” pitch we’ve heard, and I suspect it won’t be the last, but we’d be delighted to figure out the specifics for you if we can.
The pitches about specific investment ideas come from Keith Fitz-Gerald, one of the analysts behind the Money Map Report and a few other Money Map newsletters, here’s a taste of his spiel after he takes over from Danielle in this ad “presentation”:
“OBAMACARE: DON’T GET MAD, GET RICH!
“Let me give you just one quick example of what you’ll find in this free special report…
“Everybody on Wall Street ASSUMES that Obamacare will hurt companies that depend on hourly-wage workers the most…
“Especially fast-food companies…
“Because fast-food companies are going to have a hard time giving health insurance to millions of employees who barely make minimum wage…
“It makes sense, right?
“But wait…
“The folks who run these giant fast-food chains aren’t stupid…
“If they simply take their 40-hour-per-week FULL-TIME employees…
“And turn them into 30-hour-per-week PART-TIME employees…
“They won’t have to pay a penny in health insurance!
“And all that savings will go right to the bottom line…
“In other words, Obamacare will FORCE these companies to become even more profitable than they are today…”
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So I guess McDonald’s is the “freebie” pick that he’s willing to share with anyone who sits through the ad pitch, and he goes into a bit more detail here:
“So invest in McDonald’s, because unlike many other American companies…
“McDonald’s will not only remain unscathed by Obamacare…
“Obamacare will actually FORCE McDonald’s to become more profitable than it is today!
“But at roughly $90+ a share, it’s not easy for the average investor to take a large position in McDonald’s…
“Nor is it the kind of stock that could double or triple in value over a short period of time…
“Because blue-chip stocks like McDonald’s don’t usually do that…”
I don’t know how much of an impact Obamacare might have on McDonald’s future, but I’d guess that the shares have “taken a breather” over the last six months probably at least as much because they had gotten kind of expensive and the company was generating only about 2% sales growth as because of any health insurance concerns.
And he throws out another (very) thinly veiled idea in fast food:
“HINT…
“In China nowadays, Colonel Sanders’ chicken is more popular than General Tso’s!”
I’m under the impression that General Tso’s Chicken is a “Chinese American” dish popularized entirely in Chinese restaurants in the US, though I’m sure you can now get it in Beijing … but yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken has been a big hit in China, and China was the source of much of their growth over the last decade — though, like McDonald’s, KFC parent Yum Brands (YUM) has had some trouble “breaking through” to new highs over the last 18 months as sales have often come out a bit lighter than expected, in part because of slowed growth in China. Optimism has perked up a bit more recently and YUM is now again trading at a nice stiff premium to the market, with a forward PE of about 20.
I don’t know how anyone on earth can resist fried chicken, so perhaps YUM will take over the world eventually … but I don’t find the stock particularly mouthwatering at this valuation. And of course, we didn’t have to pull the Thinkolator out of the garage for that one — anyone can find the stock ticker for Yum Brands in about 30 seconds, and it might take 30 seconds again to learn that KFC is owned by Yum brands if that wasn’t already part of your mindscape.
Then we get into the one that’s really held out as “secret” — it’s about health care, so it’s probably more specifically relevant to Obamacare. He does say that some pharma companies are going to reap windfalls because of all the new customers, but doesn’t specifically hint about any individual ones … until he talks about vaccines. Here’s a bit of the tease:
“Buried in the 2,572 pages of the Affordable Care Act are two little paragraphs that could make you very rich indeed…
“When you clear away all the government gobbledygook, one of these paragraphs says…
“The federal government may enter into contracts with private companies to buy vaccines…
“And the other paragraph says…
“The government not only will be buying more vaccines, but it also will be promoting their benefits…”
So there’s the profit potential — Fitz-Gerald cites reports that the vaccine market could be growing by 15% a year, which would be a nice big tailwind for any company selling a lot of vaccines. Which stock does he like to benefit from that?
Well, he does mention the large cap vaccine leader …
“… you could buy GlaxoSmithKline, which is the market leader in vaccines with 23% global market share…
“Unfortunately, at roughly $50 a share for GSK, the potential for growth is limited…”
That always gets my goat a little bit — it might be that GSK’s potential is “limited” … but it’s not because the stock is at $50 a share, it’s because it’s a mega-billion-dollar company with a history of ups and downs, and because the vaccine business is a relatively small part of a big company. A $2 company is not necessarily one with better growth potential than a $50 company, you have to look at the size and prospects of the individual company, and though low share prices tend to go with small companies that’s certainly not always the case (for those who don’t know, the market capitalization is the number that really tells you the size of a company — that’s the number of shares times the share price. GSK is not a $50 company, it’s a $125 billion company … or, if you want to take it a step further and be more analytical, it’s got an “enterprise value” of $150 billion — enterprise value means you add the net debt to the market capitalization, it’s the price you’d pay today if you bought all the shares and paid off the company’s debts).
But anyway, I don’t want to get too far off track — the pitch is that there’s a small vaccine company Fitz-Gerald likes:
“… what if I told you there was another stock that’s currently selling at only $1.90 a share…
“And this company actually MAKES their own vaccines in the laboratory by synthesizing them out of DNA…
“So theoretically, they can attack virtually ANY infectious disease around the world…
“From AIDS… to Bird Flu… to Typhoid… you name it!
“Buy 10,000 shares of this company and you’ll pay only $19,000…
“But if Obamacare causes it to rise to $5 a share, your position could be worth $50,000….
“If it goes to $10 a share, you’ll have $100,000…
“And if it goes up to $25 a share, you might be sitting on a quarter of a million dollars!”
So … hoodat? Thinkolator sez it’s Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO)
Which is indeed a synthetic vaccine company, though it’s not yet a vaccine-selling company so they won’t be benefitting from any increase in insured vaccinations immediately — their most advanced vaccine currently is in Phase II trials.
And yes, their platform does allow for the potential for vaccines that can protect against diseases much more fully than current standard vaccine technology — broadly reaching more of the viruses or cancer cells they’re targeting. The platform is called SynCon, and it is basically a vaccine shell that can be quickly directed toward specific antigens and which is combined with some kind of targeted electrical stimulant — in the case of therapeutic cancer vaccines, that means that it looks like they can generate a lot of T cells quickly to fight off the cancer.
I am not a biotech expert by any means, but Inovio has had a remarkable year filled with extremely promising early-stage studies — there was a wave of insider buying in the shares about six months ago when it was down around 50 cents a share, and then they released a half dozen encouraging studies in infectious disease and cancer and the stock shot up briefly to $3. It’s been quite volatile in recent months, but is currently right at about $1.90.
INO says they have enough cash to get them through about the next year and a half, which is good because they’re in the midst of a large number of studies that will be burning up cash — the have six studies they’ll be initiating next year, according to their recent presentation, and while none of them are the huge Phase III studies they’re still bound to cost millions.
So as with many biotechs, this one is all about a platform and about the future — it’s not about revenues or earnings just yet. There is a nice validation of their platform implied by a big deal with Roche for a couple of their vaccines, and the results have certainly sounded awfully good from their early stage clinical trials this year. I don’t know what hangups there might be in getting synthetic vaccines approved by the FDA, or if there will be issues when we get to large-scale safety trials (Phase III), but the efficacy of at least some of these therapeutic cancer vaccines looks impressive early on. The therapeutic cancer vaccines are the first wave for INO, including their lead candidate for HPV and cervical cancer, but I suspect we won’t see a Phase III clinical trial before the end of 2015 so there’s a long way to go before we start thinking about whether a 15% increase in the vaccines business is going to help them post good revenues.
And that’s about all I know about Inovio — the science and promise are enticing, they are in decent financial shape, but they’re not going to get a boost from vaccine spending in general unless it speeds up their clinical trials over the next couple years. I do have positions in two medical-sector stocks, but neither is a biotech or drug developer in a major way, and only one of them, a REIT, has really been touted as a play on Obamacare (the stocks are Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Medical Properties Trust, just FYI). Have an opinion you’d like to share about these guys, or about the other potential vaccine or health care winners of the next era in US health care? Let us know with a comment below.
Myron you certainly have your head in the sand, like a lot of other religious folks who hide behind a mythology and trust that ‘the creator’ will bring salvation. How about opening your eyes, and actually looking at evidence? You have a point about lifestyle diseases being the new killer, and I actually agree with you there- the modern diet is going to kill more people than disease, and is pushed by big companies that are invested in selling sugary cereals, hamburgers and carbohydrate heavy foods that will give us all diabetes and metabolic disorders. You are, however, completely wrong on your anti-medicine stance. Are you seriously saying that God’s healing herbs and words can replace medical treatment? How’d that work out for smallpox sufferers, cholera epidemics, TB, measles, any other number of contagious viral diseases? YOUR experience with what you believe to be an adverse reaction has soured you towards any reasonable assessment of modern medicine, especially vaccines. You state that you’ve had 75 years of good health since, which is great. You know what’s changed in the 60+ years since you had your bad experience? EVERYTHING. I assume you watch TV, drive a car, have electricity in your home, use the internet (oh, here you are, you must use it). Gee, look how far things have progressed. Medicine is the EXACT SAME THING. Yet you blindly ignore the Science, the rational arguments put forward by others here, the experiences of healthcare professionals with decades of hands on experience with vaccines and public health…..all because you are bitter about something you experienced. I’m sorry for you, and your family, and I hope science and herd immunity is able to protect you all, as you seem incapable of doing it yourself.
FOCUS: I know a little about Inovio, but wouldn’t jump in yet. Wait for more trial results, they are still a ways off from making any money and phase III can be a big hurdle.
What does candy and soda have to do with this discussion? Nothing. I already agreed with you that most peoples diets are terrible, and I agree that children eat way too much food that is terrible for them. Again, that has NOTHING to do with this discussion. You are not making any valid points or presenting a valid argument. I’ve read both sides of the vaccine debate, extensively. I work in biotech, I know the Science, I am aware that there may be some adverse reactions in a small proportion of people immunized, there will be some non-responders for whom vaccines don’t work well or at all. People are all very different, everyone’s immune system works slightly differently, people as you might say, were not all created equal. But guess what- after reading a lot, on both sides of the vaccine debate, I think that the positives outweigh the potential negatives, by a large margin. I have also concluded that a lot of the negatives touted online, and in the media, are likely equal parts hype and parents grasping at something to blame for their child’s illness. The whole anti-vaccine movement was started by a discredited Doctor who was found to have falsified his research and published bogus findings. Parents with disabled children latched onto this as a causative factor for their families own maladies, and here we are.
Or a genetically modified toilet paper tree.
i would like a vaccine against GMO
There may be some truth to what you allege, indeed people are different and not all will react the same. By the same token, people can read the same material and honestly come to different conclusions, and my central point that seems to be ignored in this debate is that having personally experienced a NEGATIVE reaction, and thus being motivated to look into the matter in-depth, I concluded the opposite of what you state, I do not believe that the benefits outweigh the risks, so it should remain my free choice to boost my immune system through good nutritional habits without being FORCED to accept a medical treatment I consider detrimental, risky, and long term damaging to my own or my children’s health!
I don’t believe we have written the last chapter on this issue yet. We may find out through unbiased and valid science 10-20 or 50 years down the road that the profession was barking up the wrong tree and vaccination will become just another abandoned therapy!
Myron,
You are so right! You never said that you refuse medicine as a Science. But opposite there are some medical specialists (doctors or similar ones:) goes by way of prescription a chemical drug that is absolutely alien to our body. However, there are another kind of medicine that is looking for natural remedies. Doctors who love chemical drugs possibly doesn’t accept the Chinese medicine, Ayurveda medicine, etc. May be because giving prescription of chemical drug results in bonuses from Pharmacists? :))
You are very perceptive Marina, natural remedies that can not be patented do not make enough money for the drug companies, and provide no exclusivity. There are hundreds of effective and natural remedies on the market that are not harmful to the body in contrast to hundreds of “chemical concoctions” that have been proven harmful. My issue is really with “free choice” I simply do not believe governments should sanction or favour one side in a free enterprise society where people vote with their dollars. If medical treatment were really as effective as claimed then, they would easily win the public’s favour without coercion.
I agree with Myron. Rather than let the Medical Profession put drugs in your
arm, work at a healthy diet and lifestyle and provide your own immunity!
But to return to Travis, all his efforts are to sponsor a healthy investment
plan! Thanks again for the focus on healthy investing!
Hmm, quite the little hornet’s nest we have here this morning, isn’t it?
I grew up in Ireland at a time when there were lots of snotty-nosed children at school and some were out of school regularly (sick). I remember trying it on twice with my mother (making out I was sick so I could stay home) but that didn’t work out too good. I had to stay in bed all day (in the dark) and couldn’t even get up when my brothers came home from school. I quickly realised it was more fun being healthy! 🙂
I’m in my mid-fifties now and I’ve never had a serious illness a day in my life. I eat (reasonably) healthy, I exercise (a bit), I enjoy the odd drink (9, 11, 13, 15, etc.) and if I feel ‘something coming on’, I drink two hot whiskeys, put on some extra clothes and go to bed early. I wake up fine the next morning (and no, it’s not that I’m still drunk) 🙂
All I can say is – if you believe in vaccines then get them and if you don’t, then don’t. To each his own.
Right, I’m off to get another coffee (and it’s only 10am here)!
I like your vaccine , sorry to be so long winded , the best vaccine is a smile and shake of the hand , when you time comes I don’t think that is the vaccine question the Good Lord will ask but to each is own is as good as it gets , thanks bmc123!
I have HAD EVERY TEST performed on me since 11/05/2007 I am 57 now and have a implant installed in 4 of 2009 after all test proved clean, all done Houston Medical Center, implant was first ST, Judes of it’s kind for a broken neck. in short I was no angle and did more than my share of should have died diseases . This was the first implant of it’s kind although other think they have the same, now there is a total of 79 implants all for broken necks but many had other issues and woke up with there implant because you can not sue a us military doctor your life is theirs when the military has you as the mouse, I was lucky mine was an ins. covered St. Jude TEST OR STUCK IN BED REST OF LIFE, have to or stay in the bed not allowed or could not even would try with so much weight pulling on my neck (a real pressure thing no bull here) had procedure done just had three year anniversary , alive but slowed way down but no body feeds me or wheel chairs anymore. Still get shocked around the clock 24/7day after day but I AM HERE WHILE MANY ARE NOT AND THERE WAS A TIME I WISH TO BE GONE NOT NO MORE. FDA HAS FEW MORE TESTS WHICH ALWAYS TAKE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, I AM SURE OBAMA’S 14 PERSON PANEL WOULD HAVE NOT SPENT THE MONEY ON ME AND I THINK THIS WILL GET APPROVED FOR THE CHILDREN IN THE FUTURE, BUT THE WHOLE THING FOR ME TO SAY THIS WAS DURING ALL THE FDA’S TEST TO SEE IF I WOULD BE A GOOD CANDIDATE AFTER EVERY TEST THAT WAS DONE ON ME KNOWN TO MAN AND A SPINAL TAP WAS THE EASY ONES MY REASON FOR ALL OF THIS WAS HELL FOR SURE BUT THEY WHERE MEDICAL HISTORY ME TO DEATH ABOUT VACCINES AND I ALWAYS SAID I HAD EVERY ONE BUT TO BE FOR REAL THE ONLY ONE I KNOW OF WAS THE LITTLE CIRCLE IN THE ARM WE ALL TOOK AT SCHOOL LIKE ABOUT 7 YRS OLD AND THE ONLY OTHER IS I KNOW FOR SURE IS THE LITTLE SUGAR SQUARE UNDER YOUR TUONGE NEVER HAD ANY OTHER VACCINE EVER , NO FLU SHOTS AND I WAS ALWAYS A PRIME TARGET BUT THEY NEVER HIT ME AND NEVER WILL, IF YOU GO TO A SLAUGHTER HOUSE FOR ALL THE COWS ALL ACROSS THE STATES BACK IN THE 70’S IN GARDEN CITY KS. THEY KILLED 21,000 HEAD A DAY IN TWO SHIFTS THE THIRD WAS JUST FOR CLEANUP SHIFT WITH HOSES LIKE FIREMAN POWER BUT THE ONE THING I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER AT 7 AM WHEN THEY OPENED THE DOOR ALL THE COWS COULD NOT WAIT TO GET IN AND THAT’S WHEN THAT 22 CALIBER GUN WITH THE ROD THAT WOULD POP THEM IN THE HEAD WAS THE LAST THING THEY SAW AND A CHAIN GRABBED THERE LEG LIKE A MACHINE AT THE DRY CLEANERS GETTING YOUR CLEAN CLOTHES AND THERE WAS ONE MAN FROM THE FDA THAT HIT A BUTTON AND SAID THAT COW IS OKAY , THE COWS WHERE IN A BOX IN 15 MINUTES AND THEN FREEZE DRIED AND LOADED ON TRUCKS IN A LINE AS FAR AS YOU COULD SEE. I DON’T KNOW BUT I WILL BET THEY ALL HAD A VACCINE BUT NOT FROM THE VET. 40 YEARS AGO THE VACCINE HAS COME A LONG WAY AND MOST CAME FROM THE MID WEST WHAT FRACKING WATER DID THEY DRINK, THAT IS THE BIGGEST VACCINE OF IT ALL , SO THAT IS NAT/GAS TO DIESEL AND OBAMA FDA INSPECTORS FOR ALL. THE JAPANESE WOULD NOT TAKE EXPORT CATTLE FROM THE US ALL THAT HISTORY HAS TAUGHT THE ECONOMY NOTHING YET SO DECIDE ON YOUR VACCINE BUT STAY AWAY FROM THAT OBAMA DOOR UNLESS HE GETS HIS FIRST THEN CHINA ILL OPEN THE DOOR FOR HIM WHAT WAS THE NEW SECRETARY OF HEALTHS NAME THE OTHER ONE QUIT MUST HAVE BEEN A COMPUTER GLITCH AND THAT WAS ONLY 21,000 HEAD A DAY IN 1970. CHINA IS GOING TO PLAY HOW THE WEST WAS WON. VACCINES ARE FOR POPULATION CONTROL, I LIKE WHAT bmc123’s vaccine is.
After these brisk exchanges of mails & viewpoints, all I can add is “Vive La Difference”
Myron, thumbs up. You see the light and happily lots of others. Sadly it is always the ones most brainwashed that speaks out as if their stand is “proven”. It has been long known that a lot of “proof” in the medical world is merely consensus, so no science.
Here some words for afterthought from a MD, who seems to be enlighten.
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/your-body-your-baby-their-flu?utm_source=GreenMedInfo+Weekly&utm_campaign=1bec15b79a-Greenmedinfo&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62bb7ef31e-1bec15b79a-87081597
You might find tons of this on the internet by M.D.s, whistle-blowers from the Big Pharma, and regular people with a brain who have been digging in the matter.
For me money is not all. That is why my ethics refuse me to invest in Pharma and GMO companies.
Did Brenton actually L-O-O-K at the website NIX posted? Even I am learning things given that my conclusions are admittedly based on data decades old. So now we have doctors being smeared because they are not well known —YET! I commend NIX for his ethical investing, I totally agree, and YES, consensus is not science.
Here is just a small sample of what is out there in public literature for non partisan people to consider:
“There are reports of increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following influenza vaccination (Haber et al. 2004) (Schonberger et al. 1979) (Juurlink et al. 2006).
One of the world’s leading immunogenetecists, Hugh Fudenberg, M.D. said in a speech in April 2004 that those who have had five or more consecutive influenza vaccines are ten times more likely to suffer dementia than those who have three or fewer non-consecutive influenza vaccines.
According to Glaxo Smith Klein (2013) their influenza vaccine can also cause:
Allergic asthma
Asthenia
Abnormal gait
Allergic edema of the mouth
Allergic edema of the throat
Anaphylaxis
Angioedema
Arthralgia
Brachial plexus neuropathy
Bronchospasm
Cellulitis
Chest pain
Chest tightness
Chills
Convulsions/seizures
Cough
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Dysphagia
Dysphonia
Dyspnea
Encephalopathy
Eye pain
Facial or cranial nerve paralysis
Facial swelling
Fatigue
Flushing
Headache
Hives
Hypoesthesia
Hypokinesia
Influenza-like symptoms
Injection site pain, redness, swelling
Injection site sterile abscess
Insomnia
Laryngitis
Limb paralysis
Lymphadenopathy
Malaise Fever Myalgiad
Microscopic polyangitis (vasculitis)
Muscle weakness
Myalgia
Nasopharyngitis
Optic neuritis/neuropathy
Pallor
Paresthesia
Partial facial paralysis
Pharyngolaryngeal pain
Photophobia
Pruritus
Rash
Reddened eyes
Rhinitis
Somnolence
Sore throat
Sweating
Syncope
Throat tightness
Tremor
Upper respiratory tract infection
Urticaria
Vomiting
Of course the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) section of the CDC, publishes many vaccine side-effects, including death.”
I suppose Glaxo-Smith Kline is not “establishment” enough to be believed, so are all the brainwashed masses stampeded into coming for their “flu shots” given this information before giving “informed consent” to the procedure? Or is it that the list of possible side effects isn’t long enough? NO, medical propaganda is so all pervasive that probably not one in a thousand people taking, or blindly following on behalf of their children has any clue concerning the tons of contrary evidence that is out there by reputable doctors who disagree with the establishment position.
“Sadly it is always the ones most brainwashed that speaks out as if their stand is “proven”. ”
You’re quite right in this point.
And guess which post spoke out and started this? Post 6 telling everyone else they were “radical and ill-informed”.
Yes, some brainwashing going on.
All the anti-vaccine mob have links to their favorite little blog by some unknown doctor who is telling people big bad pharma is going to kill them. No amount of discussion will sway your closed little minds to the fact vaccines work very well for the greater proportion of people. Influenza is a different beast as it is a ‘best guess’ vaccine targeting what scientists think will be the predominant strain. I don’t get flu shots, I think they are pointless for most people. But for things like polio, smallpox, measles etc- vaccines work, period. You can pontificate all you want about possible side effects and something you read on the interweb on a site you found on google. Decades of data are there for the analysis. How many people die from smallpox these days? How many crippled kids do you see due to rampant polio outbreaks? I’m done banging my head against a brick wall with all the unbelievers. You reap what you sow, and I only hope nobody else suffers from your ignorance.
Well Brenton it seems we actually agree on something: “I don’t get flu shots, I think they are pointless for most people. ” Congratulations, you CAN think outside the establishment box, so that is at least a start in the right direction. I also agree with your statement that: “I’m done banging my head against a brick wall with all the unbelievers. You reap what you sow, and I only hope nobody else suffers from your ignorance.” My take being that good hygiene and sensible eating with education aimed at PREVENTION will be far more effective at eradicating disease than any vaccine will ever be. I am off to work, I have made my case and can’t spend the time trying to educate minds steeped in medical propaganda! We will just have to agree to disagree.
Well, yes, I just have to put my two cents in. Although I am thankfully past the stage where I have to worry about some bad ones such as small pox and polio as are my grandkids I believe the money has two much influence on big companies. I feel that over thirty vaccine shots for a baby before they reach 6 months is overkill. Do people realize that these vaccine producers cannot be sued. They are protected by a federal law that disallows lawsuits concerning vaccines. THEY ARE COMPLETELY WITHOUT LIABILITY. Now these companies are not paying billions of dollars in penalties on their other drugs because they are skueaky clean honest. They can inject you with any number of “mistakes” and not be sued. That is inexcusable. I commend the good doctor who refused to “jab” with the swine flu vaccine, but their are plenty of sheeple practicing medicine also. This is still a free country. Let’s keep it that way.
My sentiments exactly, thanks for the backup.
Sometimes, there aren’t “two sides to every story”, unless you count: Side 1; science based description of reality, Side 2; intentional ignorance.
Well, Roger, since you are going to put labels on opinions, I didn’t know sheep could count. Balance in everything Roger, balance. There still are questions. Whose math? Whose ‘science’? And most important, whose Honesty.
A lot of progress has been made eliminating disease, but money has replaced progress in the priority list of some large companies. It does not hurt to have a critical perception of the direction this industry is going.
Very nicely put. Leo. Critical perception is exactly what’s needed.
It is important to note here, as has been alluded to, above, that herd immunity (vaccinated) protects the non-protected (not previously exposed, not vaccinated. For example: The death of many thousands of American Indians from smallpox and measles with the introduction by Europeans; similarly the death of thousands of Eskimos and polynesians with European introduction. The death of many thousands of Europeans (many of royal birth) with the bringing back of syphilis from the American Indian. Surely, the importance of vaccination is confirmed by these occurrences and many others (with the exception of syphilis, which is treated with antibiotics).
For those not firmly in the science camp, and hovering toward the Myron camp, please take a look at this link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine_controversy
It’s a long story but in terms of the wider effects of not being vaccinated the last couple of paragraphs may sway you i.e. “Disease outbreaks” and “Impact on Society”.
Check the references.
One quote:
“In 2008, for the first time in 14 years, measles was declared endemic in the UK, meaning that the disease was sustained within the population; this was caused by the preceding decade’s low MMR vaccination rates, which created a population of susceptible children who could spread the disease.”
IMO not vaccinating your children constitutes antisocial behaviour, towards your own family and society at large.
Is Cathy Kandravi a real person?
I planned on staying away because opinions are firmly locked in and few are addressing the others points anyway, so I don’t see any progress being made. That being said, reading todays Casey Daily Dispatch that was focussed on how useless economists are who are only able to identify a “recession” in hindsight, I was intrigued by the introduction, something I had read several times before, (I didn’t go looking for it) but I found it very compelling for consideration in the vaccines debate if one can call it that. Quote:
“In Today’s Edition An Excerpt from Code Red: Chapter 6 – Economists Are Clueless
“Humans tend to believe what they’re told by authority figures. Even in the face of contradictory evidence. TOUCHE!
The Milgram Experiment taught us this in 1963. Posing as scientists, researchers instructed volunteers to inflict painful electric shocks on what they thought were other innocent volunteers, as a penalty for answering questions incorrectly. The shockers couldn’t see the people they were shocking, but could hear their reactions: terrible cries of pain, pounding on the wall, pleas to stop, and eventually, ominous silence.
Of course, it was all a ruse, but the shockers didn’t know that. They thought they were effectively torturing the victims. Yet most shockers ignored the victims’ agonized pleas to stop, opting instead to obey the “scientist’s” commands to continue.
Why? Because the “scientist” was an expert. He was wearing a white lab coat, so he must know best.” Don’t think, check your brain at the door and let the experts decide for you!
Lets suppose there is some new “Black Death” type of scourge or pandemic that does not allow scientists to “concoct” an antidote before spreading far and wide, who do you think has the best chance of surviving, the person who has carefully and thoughtfully nourished their body with the best natural foods and drink, (pure water being #1 on the list, (no chlorine or flouride) or the person who has shot their body full of cow and monkey pus, is loaded with heavy metals, mercury, pesticides and herbicides, preservatives, artificial colours and flavors, ad nauseum. PROVOCATIVE, yes deliberately so, I am challenging people to THIMK, instead of just taking things for granted because some supposed authority figure says so. Is it fair to question their motives, whether peer pressure or monetary incentives, or just miseducation, I certainly think so!
Doc Gumshoe wasn’t going to comment on whether Obamacare could make me, or anyone else, rich beyond dreams of avarice. But the vaccine Donneybrook requires a tiny word, or so, to wit, recall history. Smallpox played a large role in the extinction of native peoples in the Caribbean, and killed millions worldwide, but the disease itself is now virtually extinct. In my own childhood, American families were exceedingly nervous about polio, which is now also virtually wiped out, as are a number of other diseases. Individual immunity, produced by vaccines, is one reason, and herd immunity, a result of the high level of immunity in the general population, reducing the vectors of transmission to tiny levels, is the other reason. No doubt there are risks. But the benefits are difficult to contest. I’ll say more about this soon.
Interesting view, put forward by others.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2808%2960292-5/fulltext
Poverty, bad nutrition (e.g. chronic subclinical scurvy) and lack of knowledge regarding hygienics are/were obvious reasons for epidemics. Solving these problems would probably curb most of these illnesses.
Wow, I need to unsubscribe from this thread. Myron, your analogies keep getting worse, you are really grasping at straws. Nobody can possibly claim that Economics = Science, yet here you are stating that because Economists get things wrong, that means science is wrong too. Also, you’re beating a dead horse with your constant referrals to a good diet being fundamental to good health. Nobody will argue that clean water and whole foods are bad, they are probably one of the best things you can do for your body and are infinitely better than manufactured/processed foods that are the bulk of the mainstream diet. However you’ve failed over and over to make a coherent statement or argument against anything, and instead clutch at conspiracy theories and the fact that the truth is being hidden to pad the pockets of the pharma companies.
You said: “Humans tend to believe what they’re told by authority figures. Even in the face of contradictory evidence. TOUCHE!”. Expanding on your own words, you have chosen to ignore a huge historical dataset for multiple diseases where vaccinations have effectively rid society of the disease. Following the data, new evidence shows that in wealthy countries where parents stop vaccinating their children, disease reoccurs. This is FACT, from DATA collected by epidemiologists, scientists etc, not people trying to make a $. If measles and whooping cough returns to rich communities like California and Britain, who presumably have reasonable nutrition, and this correlates perfectly with a drop in immunization rates below a threshold required to maintain herd immunity, how can you still deny the facts?
You can rant on all you want about how we are all brainwashed by the ‘people in authority’ but it seems to me this is a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black. You are so emotionally invested in hating vaccines due to your own personal history that you are ignoring everything else that contradicts your feelings. Feelings are not a science, and your own personal experiences do not constitute a dataset.
As you said, let’s agree to disagree. I have my decades of experience and medical research telling me that the data doesn’t lie, you have your decades of bitterness telling you vaccines are a huge conspiracy and you need to drink clean water not cow pus. No common ground here unfortunately.