Saturday, September 19th, 2009 - For Immediate Release:
The AMA and Insurers ask for delays in swine flu vaccination
- Why is the government rushing this campaign?
Australian Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, has announced that the nation's campaign to vaccinate 21 million Australians against the AH1N1 2009 strain of influenza is due to begin on Saturday, September 30th - less than 2 weeks from today. Since the Southern Hemisphere has already passed through the 2009 flu season, one has to wonder why the government is rushing this campaign?
The
Australian Government's hasty vaccination policy demonstrates that it is not immune to panic. It is potentially making the same mistake that the US did in 1976 when 40 million Americans were vaccinated against swine flu after a total of 5 cases were confirmed nationwide. This campaign killed 25 people and caused 4,000 serious adverse reactions - many of them Guillain-Barre paralysis (GBS), a serious neurological disorder. The UK has already warned its neurologists to look out for GBS in recipients of the current AH1N1 vaccine.
Nicola Roxon's knee-jerk reaction in rushing this vaccine through despite
warnings by insurance companies, the Australian Medical Association and
consumer safety groups like the AVN, could lead to far more
deaths and hospitalisations from the vaccine than we would ever see
from the swine flu which, from all the available information, may be milder than normal seasonal flu.
The Australian Vaccination Network asks the government to reconsider this campaign for the following reasons:
1- The vaccine, which does not even have a name yet (I will refer to it as AH1N1 vaccine), is produced by CSL Pty Ltd (click here to read the manufacturer's information). It contains 24.5 mcg of Thiomersal per dose. Thiomersal is a toxic mercury-based preservative which has been banned from over the counter medications and products for decades and childhood vaccines in Australia, the US and the UK for many years. Mercury has been linked with an increased risk of autism (now affecting 1:67 children; 1:38 boys), behavioural disorders and brain damage in both children and adults - it has no place in any product which is supposed to increase or protect health.
2- AH1N1 vaccine, which is laden with toxic mercury, is targeting those who are
the most vulnerable to permanent brain damage from exposure to this
banned poison - the unborn, children and those who are already
immune-compromised. This policy borders on madness and one has to
wonder where the funds are going to come from to pay compensation
claims for those who are killed or injured by these shots?
3- For purely economic reasons, AH1N1 vaccine is being distributed in multi-dose vials, greatly increasing the risk of transmission of infection from person to person. As a result, insurance companies and the government have refused to indemnify doctors who administer this vaccine.
4. The AMA's President, Andrew Pesce, has asked the Federal Government to "seriously consider" delaying the rollout of this vaccine, "due to inadequate testing and a higher risk of infection from multi-dose vials." This request seems to have been ignored.
5- The vaccine is not tested for effectiveness. According to the manufacturer, there have been no controlled clinical studies demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with either the normal seasonal flu vaccine, AFLURIA, or the AH1N1 vaccine.
6- There are great safety concerns regarding this vaccine. Even though it is going to be administered to millions, it has only been tested for a few short weeks in less than 2,000 individuals. Even in such a small trial group, severe allergic reactions including life-threatening anaphylactic shock, have been reported.
7- The bias in the manufacturer's pre-licensure studies is evident due to the fact that there was no placebo used. In
testing this vaccine, those who were given what they were told was a
placebo (by medical definition, a totally inert substance), were in fact being dosed with a
solution containing toxic mercury. The TGA does not perform safety or effectiveness tests on any vaccines themselves, relying on manufacturers to test prior to licensing. They should not have allowed this unscientific methodology. The TGA is not government funded and relies solely on pharmaceutical licensing fees.
8- When AH1N1 vaccine had the Thiomersal (mercury) preservative removed (Study 2 below) and was tested on a small group of elderly people in the UK, the number of reactions, though still considerable, was cut by 50% and more for some conditions.
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