Today we have launched a petition to garner support for what is one of the biggest challenges facing the public in relation to vaccination. It relates to the non-disclosure of scientific information to the public that, through a duty of care, should be issued prior to vaccination consent being given.

The so-called vaccination debate has become so polarised in the media that it is assumed people are either entirely pro-vaccine or entirely anti-vaccine. A very large number of people, possibly even a majority, have some concerns about whether they have all the information they need to make an informed decision, especially in relation to the vaccination of their children. Governments and health authorities, along with a predisposed media and many doctors and other health professionals, continue to claim that vaccines are ‘safe’. On the available evidence, this is just not true.

Accordingly, the petition asks just two things from health authorities responsible for vaccination policy and advice: 1) avoid claiming that vaccines are safe when in fact they are not, and 2) ensure that available safety information that is relevant to the population group being asked to consent to vaccination is made available prior to consent being requested.

We intend to put this petition before major health authorities around the world, from the World Health Organization to the European Medicines Agency, as well as to risk managers like the European Commission and elected representatives, including in the European and English Parliaments.

The petition link is at: https://www.change.org/p/centers-for-disease-control-stop-health-authorities-claiming-that-vaccines-are-safe

An abbreviated link is at: http://bit.ly/2meSUL7

Please circulate the petition links above as widely as you can, using all means available to you, from email, to social media, websites and direct communication.

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CHANGE.ORG PETITION

Stop health authorities claiming that vaccines are ‘safe’

Petition link: http://bit.ly/2meSUL7

This petition is neither pro- nor anti-vaccination. It aims instead to show health professionals, health authorities and governments the public desire for greater honesty over the communication of scientific knowledge about vaccine safety prior to vaccination consent being given.

Vaccination is a form of medical treatment. International and European Union human rights law [1] requires that everyone, with very limited exceptions, must give consent before receiving a medical treatment. Informed consent means that all relevant information should be available before someone is asked to decide about their own, or their child’s, vaccination. This should include the known benefits and risks, as well as any alternatives, to the proposed treatment.[2],[3]

In most cases, this simply doesn’t happen. Members of the public, parents and children are instead generally told by health authorities, doctors or nurses that vaccines are both safe and effective. These views are not supported by the available scientific facts and amount to the public being misled meaning that consent is often misinformed rather than informed.

Health authorities responsible for communicating vaccine safety have been found to conceal information that is of paramount relevance to public health. This has been shown in the UK,[4] Sweden,[5] the USA [6] and in other countries.[7]

While the risk of permanent injury from vaccines following any single vaccination is small, the overall risk of the full vaccination schedule to any child is not well understood and thousands of people have suffered long-term injuries and even death that have been attributed to vaccinations by courts in the USA and elsewhere.

Vaccine manufacturers have made governments liable for vaccine injuries through compensation programs that have now been established in 29 countries [8]. In the USA, $3.5 billion has been paid out in compensation as a result of vaccine injury since 1988.[9] This includes 16,616 cases of vaccine injury and 1,219 vaccine-related deaths, of which 993 injuries and 59 deaths are from the MMR vaccine alone. The UK government is presently trying to appeal a court decision in order to relieve itself of liability from vaccine injuries linked to the Pandemrix swine flu vaccine.[10]

There are over 1300 cases in the USA where compensation has been paid to people who have suffered vaccine-related brain damage (encephalopathy).[11] Serious gastrointestinal reactions have been found to be related to certain vaccines, including rotavirus.[12]

Vaccine side effects are classified by government regulators according to frequency as follows: ‘Very common’ (≥1/10), ‘common’ (≥1/100 to <1/10), ‘uncommon’ (≥1/1,000 to <1/100). The known rates of side effects, that may be underreported in clinical trials conducted by vaccine manufacturers, are generally not communicated to parents or children. Examples of reported side effects in EU licensing authorisations for Cervarix, Gardasil and MMR are referenced below.[13, 14, 15]

Given the very high number of children vaccinated each year, large numbers of children can be seriously and unpredictably affected even when side effects are considered ‘uncommon’, with children sometimes suffering long-term, debilitating or even life-threatening illnesses.

Governments, health authorities and health professionals have a duty of care to communicate all available, relevant information to parents, guardians or children prior to vaccination consent being given.

Sign this petition if you feel that governments, health authorities and health professionals should have a duty of care to the public and so must stop claiming that vaccines are ‘safe’. They must also not withhold relevant information about vaccine safety that obstructs informed consent.

References