The Swine Flu vaccine safety tests being fast-tracked under “public health emergency” rules and some questionable ingredients in it have many health experts warning about the risks of taking it.

Barbara Loe Fisher, National Vaccine Information Center President, states, “Right now, you need to become educated about vaccination, influenza, vaccine risks and the public health laws in your state. You need to find out what your rights and options are under new public health laws that may require you … and your children to be vaccinated or quarantined.”

So what are the risks of taking the swine flu vaccines? The answer to this may depend on who you ask.

Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health activist, author and strong critic of the swine flu immunization program states, “There can be no argument that unnecessary mass injection of millions of children with a vaccine containing an adjutant known to cause a host of debilitating autoimmune diseases is a reckless, dangerous plan.”

Here is some of the evidence he provides: An oil,  known as squalene is being used reduce the amount of viral antigen required in vaccines.  This ingredient allows companies to produce more vaccines for less money at a faster rate.

Countless medical professionals and experts believe using it in immunizations is a bad idea. This is going to be somewhat experimental.

There isn’t a single vaccine containing squalene that is approved for use in America, according to Meryl Nass, M.D., who notes that Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline will make use of it as a “novel feature of the H1N1 vaccines.” 

Squalene is a naturally occurring oil, found in the human brain, joints, and other places. The problem, according to some experts, occurs when it is administered in a vaccine. They claim that the human body will create antibodies to attack the oil. Squalene is believed by many to be responsible for the wide variety of symptoms that were called collectively "Gulf War Syndrome." This illness has presented itself by sometimes producing a debilitating set of phenomena, which has been seen in a large number of U.S. military personnel who served during the first war in Iraq. 

“The substantial majority (95%) of overtly ill deployed GWS patients had antibodies to squalene. All (100%) GWS patients immunized for service in Desert Shield/Desert Storm who did not deploy, but had the same signs and symptoms as those who did deploy, had antibodies to squalene,” noted a Tulane Medical School study published in Experimental Molecular Pathology. “In contrast, none (0%) of the deployed Persian Gulf veterans not showing signs and symptoms of GWS have antibodies to squalene.” The study has been challenged, but it is still widely cited.

The American Journal of Pathology has published a study  which highlighted problems with the use of the substance as well. One injection of squalene into rats led them to develop what humans know as rheumatoid arthritis, or “chronic, immune-mediated joint-specific inflammation.”

Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, the chairman of the health committee in the German parliament and the European Council has written in the German newspaper “Bild” about another potential risk of the vaccine in an article entitled "German health expert’s flu warning: Does virus vaccine increase risk of cancer?" The article states, “the nutrient solution for the vaccine consists of cancerous cells from animals,” and according to Wodarg, "we do not know if there could be an allergic reaction.”

Johannes Löwer, the president of the German government’s Paul Ehrlich Institute, also warned in the same article that the side effects of the shot could be worse than the actual swine flu. 

Another ingredient in the H1N1 vaccine will be Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative which has come under fire from many different medical experts. Many studies have come to the conclusion that the substance does not cause autism, but at the same time there are critics of these various studies.

Autism has not been the only concern about Thimerosal. The FDA has actually told pharmaceutical companies to stop using the substance in early childhood vaccines. Many however still contain it and the swine flu vaccine will be no exception. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said that because of concerns over the preservative, there will be some vaccines available without it.

Critics are still not satisfied however. "We don't have adequate safety studies on this vaccine before we are moving forward to market," noted Lyn Redwood, the president of a non-profit organization called SafeMinds (Sensible Action For Ending Mercury-Induced Neurological Disorders) dedicated to investigating and raising awareness about the risks associated with mercury in medicinal products. "I'm really not convinced that we know for sure that the risk of the disease outweighs the risk of the vaccine, especially since this is a brand new additive that we have never used before in combination with thimerosal."

Thimerosal, squalene, and cancerous animal cells are not the only red flags.  Other potentially dangerous chemicals and substances often found in influenza vaccines are formaldehyde, antibiotics, and even ethylene glycol, known as anti-freeze. There are various health experts who have varying opinions about the effects of all of these additives, but many doctors still warn against them.   

Yet another concern has come to light in the UK with a letter sent to senior neurologists by the government’s Health Protection Agency sent a letter warning that the new swine flu vaccine is linked to the deadly nerve disease known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS).  The Daily Mail reported in an article entitled "Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America." The infamous government swine flu vaccine of 1976 reportedly produced eight times greater risk of contracting the paralysis-inducing GBS illness in those who received it and killed more people than the actual virus. The leaked letter warned recipients to keep an eye open for GBS and to report it promptly.

The people who seem totally convinced about the inoculations’ safety and efficacy, or who are at least downplaying the potential risks and side effects, appear to be mostly government bureaucrats or people with vested interests. Factually every medicinal product carries some risk, and these vaccines are no different.

 The population desperately needs to be educated about the potential complications of the swine flu vaccine and then decide with their families and healthcare providers what they should do concerning weighing the risks of the vaccine and of the swine flu.

The decision about swine flu vaccination should be made individually without government prodding or propaganda.