Dear All,
Here is my most recent communication with the Department of Health over the Swine Flu vaccination programme, which I have been asking questions about, due to the questionable emergence of Swine Flu, and it's association with Baxter Pharmaceuticals.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx j
Circulated
Dear Swine Flu Vaccination Team,
Thank you for your reply, and the information, which I have looked at.
As a patient with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) I take a keen interest in anything which could potentially aggravate my health and make me worse.
I have to tell you that I am not reassured by the Department of Health on this matter, because there is a conflict of interest concerning the following Board Members who have links with Pharmaceutical companies, either through funding for their work, or consultancy work with the Pharmaceutical Industry.
Dr Syed Ahmed, Dr Ray Borrow, Professor Judith Breuer, Mrs Pauline MacDonald and Dr Claire-Anne Siegrist.
Pressure could be exerted on these Committee Members to promote the Swine Flu Vaccine to the detriment of the population, given that I understand the adjuvent in the GSK vaccine to be squalene based, which can cause real problems in the health of patients, and that it has had little proper testing, and it's licence was based on H5N1 vaccine which has a different antigen, not the H1N1, and a "mock-up vaccine approach has been adopted.
It appears from the 18th February 2009 minutes that there will be monitoring for Guillain-Barre Syndrome, even though other reasons for it in 1976-1977 have been put forward.
This indicates to me that the cause is not really known, and therefore I believe these flu vaccines need to be treated with caution, as they could do more harm than good.
Also giving young children this vaccine, when their immune systems are still in the development stage, along with all the other vaccines could over activate their immune systems, leading to health problems due to auto-immune responses damaging their bodies.
The vaccine is only licenced for children 3 years and older, and I accuse the Department of Health of irresponsibility in their encouragement to give it "off-label" to children aged 6 months - 3 years.
Why does the GSK vaccine (to be given to the most vulnerable first) have adjuvents, while the Baxter vaccine doesn't, and what is the difference between them?
Why two different types of vaccine?
The "Pharmacovigilance Strategy" gives the impression that the public are being used as guinea pigs, and that the DH does not know what the effect will be on individuals, and that they possibly expect; autoimmune disorders such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and tranverse myelitis (a neurological disorder caused by inflammation across both sides of one level, or segment, of the spinal cord.).
In short, I no longer trust the Department of Health to give unbiased and healthful treatment, because of Pharmaceutical Company involvement in so much of the healthcare provided in today's NHS.
I will not be having the vaccine, I would rather take my chances, as I have been fine for many years not having the normal flu vaccine.
yours truly
Thank you for your second query on 15th September 2009.
Members of JCVI are not employed by drug companies - this would be a serious conflict of interest and would not be allowed.
Members declarations of interest can be found on the JCVI website http://www.dh.gov.uk/ab/JCVI/DH_094956
Minutes of the meetings contain the current declaration of interests from JCVI members Minutes for the August meeting, where swine flu was discussed can be found at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@ab/documents/digitalasset/dh_105279.pdf
Yours sincerely,
Swine Flu Vaccination Team
Department of Health
Copied to interested Parties
Dear
Thank you for your reply to my email, and the comprehensive reply, which has been most useful.
However I have a query about JVCI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation).
I understand that this committee is possibly subject to a conflict of interest, because of the number of members from pharmaceutical companies, and I would like an assurance that financial considerations will not override patient safety.
yours truly
Dear
Thank you for your email of 15 August 2009. The Department has a contract with two companies to supply swine flu vaccine – Baxter and GSK. The GSK vaccine contains an adjuvant, the Baxter vaccine does not. The vaccine will initially be prioritised to a number of at risk groups. Details of this can be found in the Chief Medical Officer’s letter dated 13 August 2009 (found at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_104267).
Based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the following groups will be the first to be vaccinated, in the following order, once the vaccine has been licensed:
Individuals aged between six months and up to 65 years in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups;
All pregnant women, subject to licensing conditions on trimesters;
Household contacts of immuno-compromised individuals;
People aged 65 years and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups.
We will use the vaccines only after the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has licensed them. Vaccines will not be licensed if they were considered unsafe. The EMEA will consider whether there will be any restrictions placed on the use of vaccines when, they are considered for approval.
The government's swine flu vaccination programme is underpinned by independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE).
The price we pay for the vaccine is commercially confidential information. The manufacturers have quite reasonably insisted on this as it could prejudice their negotiations with other countries.
Vaccination against swine flu is not compulsory. Everyone has a right to refuse the swine flu vaccination or any other vaccination. Where a child is too young to consent themselves to being vaccinated, the right to decide rests with the person with parental responsibility.
I hope that this clarifies the situation.
Yours sincerely,
Swine Flu Vaccination Team
Department of Health
Kind regards,
Swine Flu Vaccination Policy Team
Department of Health
Immunisation Branch, 5th Floor
Posts
