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PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
13 May 2021
Contact: Robert Verkerk PhD
Founder, executive & scientific director, ANH-Intl, and scientific director, ANH-USA
[email protected]
t: +44 (0)1483 362 200
Autoimmune Sufferers Have a ‘Right to kNOw’
International campaign seeks protection from discrimination for those with autoimmune conditions
Chilworth, England – 13 May 2021. Today the Alliance for Natural Health International (ANH-Intl) and the Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA) jointly announced the initiation of an international campaign to end discrimination against those with autoimmune disease who do not consent to covid vaccination. The ‘Right to kNOw’ campaign calls for an end to discriminatory practices by institutions, private companies and governments which threaten the safety and personal autonomy of the hundreds of millions of individuals suffering from one or more of the 80-plus autoimmune diseases.
The campaign is underpinned by today’s publication of a white paper by the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), entitled ‘Covid-19 vaccination and the autoimmune: The scientific, medical and legal case for non-discrimination’.
“Through the haze of scientific uncertainty, a distinct pattern is emerging that gives those with autoimmune risk profiles reasonable justification to avoid experimental covid vaccines,” said the paper’s lead author, Robert Verkerk, PhD, executive and scientific Director of ANH-Intl and scientific director of ANH-USA.
“It’s just not right that this group is then discriminated against,” added Verkerk. “Our research suggests that actions by institutions, private companies and governments that limit rights and freedoms as a result of vaccination status contravene international treaties and the rule of law.”
The ANH argues that vaccine hesitancy by those with autoimmune histories is justified by the confirmation of blood clots linked to an autoimmune response to some of the covid vaccines, a condition known as vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia or VITT.
Potential mechanisms for the condition, that particularly affects younger women, have been the subject of considerable scientific debate and point increasingly towards adverse effects linked to ‘molecular mimicry’ whereby 26 peptides in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are shared with the human genome. When a vaccine is administered, this mimicry can fool a compromised immune system into a response that causes self-tolerance to be lost. The immune system then starts to attack the individual’s own cells or tissues and the condition, albeit rare, can be life threatening.
“There is a big disconnect between the science, politics and law in this area,” said Gretchen DuBeau, executive and legal director of ANH-USA. “We are seeing increasing pressure for people to be vaccinated as a pre-condition of attending school, returning to work, traveling and participating in social events — without any consideration of an individual’s immune status or fundamental rights. This pressure is causing unintended discrimination against an important and fast-growing segment of the population, especially in the industrialized world where autoimmune conditions are spiraling.”
The campaign was created to draw attention to increasing levels of discrimination against those who choose to avoid vaccination on medical grounds, as well as to pressurize institutions, private companies and governments to extend the same fundamental rights to unvaccinated people as to those who are vaccinated.
The Alliance for Natural Health white paper provides a clear road map for citizens, health professionals, health authorities and private companies looking to respect both properly informed consent and personal medical autonomy, whilst ensuring compliance with public health principles and the protected rights of the individual.
Dr Verkerk said, “Our hope is that this white paper and the associated campaign can provide much needed information to better protect the rights of those who have genuine and plausible concerns about the next-generation, emergency authorized covid vaccines.”
END.
NOTES TO EDITOR
Alliance for Natural Health White Paper - ‘Covid-19 vaccination and the autoimmune: The scientific, medical and legal case for non-discrimination’, May 13, 2021
- Executive Summary: https://bit.ly/33Iejke
- White Paper: journalists can email [email protected] for a copy of the full 29-page White Paper
Alliance for Natural Health campaign launch ‘Right to kNOw’ video: Play in Brighteon
About the Alliance for Natural Health International (ANH-Intl)
The Alliance for Natural Health International (ANH-Intl) is an independent, non-profit organization founded in 2002 in the UK by acclaimed sustainability scientist, Robert Verkerk PhD, in 2002. Its mission is to promote and protect natural, sustainable and regenerative approaches to health optimization worldwide, through the application of good science and good law.
We work to help health systems to transition from their current pre-occupation with the management of ‘downstream’ diseases to ‘upstream’ approaches that maintain and regenerate health. ANH-Intl advocates for properly informed consent, the right for citizen choice in healthcare and the right to practice a diverse range of modalities incorporating natural health. It supports individual empowerment, medical autonomy, the rule of law, and respect for, and the protection of, the natural environment.
We seek to increase the adoption of clinically validated, natural and sustainable approaches, taking into account cultural and individual needs and choices. The threat of legal and scientific uncertainty, as well as regulatory and corporate pressure, continues to limit freedom of choice in the field of natural health.
As an international alliance, we collaborate with a diverse cross-section of natural and environmental interests around the world, including scientists, lawyers, medical doctors, other health professionals, politicians, companies and, above all, citizens.
About the Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA)
www.anh-usa.org
The Alliance for Natural Health USA is dedicated to promoting natural, sustainable healthcare through good science and good law. It collaborates closely with its international partner, the Alliance for Natural Health International. We protect the right of natural health practitioners to practice, and the right of consumers to choose the healthcare options and treatment modalities they prefer, including complementary and alternative medicine.
We unite consumers, practitioners, and industry to speak with a common voice and have worked since 1992 to shift the medical paradigm from an exclusive focus on surgery, drugs and other conventional techniques to an “integrative” approach incorporating food, dietary supplements, and lifestyle changes.