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THE VACCINE REACTION
“When it happens to you or your child, the risks are 100%”
Published by the National Vaccine Information Center
Barbara Loe Fisher, Editor
Special Report
Winter 2002
SMALLPOX AND FORCED VACCINATION:
WHAT EVERY AMERICAN NEEDS TO KNOW
In this time of great sadness, fear and confusion,
Americans have a choice to make: either we defend the individual freedoms
our forefathers fought and died to give us,
or we sacrifice those freedoms and let the terrorists win.
What we choose to do will define who we are as a nation
for many years to come. - Barbara Loe Fisher
The terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. on September 11,
2001 and the subsequent threats of biological warfare against US citizens have
prompted calls by public health officials to prepare for mass vaccination campaigns
for anthrax and smallpox.1,2 National vaccination programs targeting civilians,
including children, are being proposed in model state legislation that would give
public health officials the power to use the state militia to enforce vaccination
during
state-declared health emergencies.3,4 While it is critical for the US to have a sound,
workable plan to respond to an act of bioterrorism, as well as enough safe and
effective vaccines stockpiled for every American who wants to use them, there are
legitimate concerns about a plan which forces citizens to use vaccines without their
voluntary, informed consent.
All mass vaccination campaigns result in casualties because every vaccine, like
every drug, carries an inherent risk of injury or death.5,6,7,8,9 Some individuals are
genetically or biologically more vulnerable to vaccine reactions than others,10 but
there are few reliable biomarkers to predict who they are5,6,7,8,9 which is why
legally protecting the informed consent rights of all citizens becomes a moral
imperative. The human right to be fully informed about all known and unknown risks,
as well as benefits, of any medical intervention and make a voluntary decision about
whether to take the risk, has been the centerpiece of bioethics ever since the
Nuremberg Code was adopted after World War II 11 and the doctrine of informed
consent was introduced into U.S. case law in 1957.12
In evaluating the potential risk of a bioterrorism attack with real, as well as
unpredictable, risks of exposing large numbers of children and adults to a
prophylactic mass vaccination program for smallpox, some health officials have
already concluded that the risks of mass vaccination outweigh the theoretical
benefits.13,14,15 However, even in the event of a proven biological weapons assault
and smallpox outbreak, sacrifice of the informed consent ethic would result in state-
forced vaccine-induced injury and death of a biologically vulnerable minority in
service to the majority, posing serious constitutional and moral questions.
Although there have been suggestions that federal vaccine testing regulations
should be curtailed in an effort to get a national supply of smallpox vaccine produced
quickly,16,17 no mass vaccination campaign should be initiated without sound
scientific evidence proving the vaccines to be used are safe and effective in
protecting against an organism that may be used in a bioterrorism attack. This is
particularly important if the organism, such as the smallpox virus, may have been
genetically engineered to be vaccine and treatment resistant.18 Untested vaccines
have the potential to give the illusion of safety and efficacy to the public when, in
fact,
they may cause far greater harm and be far less effective than predicted.
The old live vaccinia virus vaccine for smallpox was never tested for safety or
efficacy in controlled trials prior to mandates19,20 and it may have caused more
reactions, injuries and deaths than any vaccine ever used by humans on a mass
basis. Those recently vaccinated become infected with vaccinia virus and can
transmit the virus to others, leading to injury and death for
some.13,20,21,22,23,24,25 Unless the old vaccine for smallpox or a newly
formulated vaccine is fully tested for safety and efficacy before being released for
public use, legally and ethically the vaccine would have to be considered
experimental and the mandated use of it a state-enforced national scientific
experiment.
Public Health Different Today: Scientific evaluation of the mass use of any new
vaccine must be viewed in context with the other vaccines Americans are getting
today and in consideration of the general health of different segments of our
population. The most significant difference between the health of the U.S. population
today compared to 1971, when routine vaccination for smallpox was halted in
America, is that the numbers of Americans suffering with autoimmune and
neurological disorders has increased significantly.21,26,27
In the past three decades, the numbers of children and young adults with asthma,
learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have doubled;
diabetes has tripled; and autism has increased 200 to 600 percent in nearly every
state.29,30, 31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38 Live vaccinia virus vaccine for smallpox, for
example, would be given to children already receiving 37 doses of 11 other live virus
and killed bacterial vaccines, including diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DTaP), polio,
measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), haemophilus influenzae B, hepatitis B, chicken
pox, and pneumococcal vaccines.39 In 1971, most American children were only
receiving DPT, polio, measles and rubella vaccines.40
In addition, today there are many more adults suffering with HIV, lupus,41 herpes42
and other diseases affecting the immune system. Without appropriate safety studies
evaluating the risks of an old or a new vaccine in the real world of today, there is no
reliable way to predict the potential negative impact on the health of children and
adults, especially on the tens of millions of Americans already suffering with chronic
autoimmune and neurological disorders.
BIOLOGICAL WARFARE
Biological warfare is not a new phenomenon. History is full of examples of warring
factions trying to weaken each other’s troops or civilian populations by making them
sick. From the ancient Greeks and Romans, who polluted the water supplies of their
enemies with dead animals, to warriors in medieval times who catapulted corpses of
people infected with bubonic plague into the castles of their enemies, to European
conquerors who came to the New World and used smallpox contaminated blankets
to kill native Indians with no natural immunity to smallpox, there is a long history of
man using disease as a weapon. 43
Modern biological weapons using lethal microorganisms were developed in the
1930’s by Japanese scientists, including aerosolized anthrax that was designed to be
used in a specially designed fragmentation bomb. US and British scientists
developed biological weapons during World War II using anthrax, botulinum toxin,
encephalitis virus, staph enterotoxin and other deadly organisms. Even though the
US has had biological weapons capability, the US has never used biological
weapons on any nation and, since the Biological Weapons Convention in 1972, has
supported a worldwide ban on development and use of biological weapons.
There is evidence, however, that other nations have not stopped making biological
weapons and that the Soviet Union, in particular, may have weaponized smallpox
virus after 1972 in large quantities and that some of the virus may have been
supplied to other countries such as Iraq, North Korea and China. There are still
outstanding questions about whether Soviet scientists succeeded in making the
smallpox virus a more lethal weapon by genetically engineering it so that any vaccine
or drug would be ineffective. 1,18
SMALLPOX DISEASE
Smallpox is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by the variola virus, a
double stranded DNA virus which belongs to the genus orthopoxvirus that includes
cowpox, monkeypox, and vaccinia. Poxviruses primarily affect the skin and cause
disease in both humans (smallpox) and animals (swinepox, camelpox, sheeppox,
goatpox, fowlpox).19
History: The first recorded cases of smallpox were in Asia in the first
century
A.D. but there is evidence the disease was present in China, India and Africa before
that time. Smallpox was rarely seen in Europe until the Crusades, when Crusaders
invaded the Holy Land during the Middle Ages and brought the disease back home
with them. The Americas did not see smallpox until the Spanish invaders brought the
disease to native Indian populations, who had no experience with the virus at all,
which resulted in high mortality and significant destruction of tribes. In 18th century
England, smallpox caused one in 10 deaths and was the leading cause of death in
children.43,46
After worldwide mass vaccination campaigns in the 20th century, in 1979 the World
Health Organization declared wild smallpox virus eradicated from the earth. The only
remaining smallpox virus at that time was reported to exist in secure labs in the
Soviet Union and the United States. However, since then, there have been reports
that Soviet scientists developed the capacity to produce large quantities of the virus
modified to survive delivery by missile warhead and that some of these stocks were
supplied to countries hostile to the US.47 In addition, there is the possibility that
the
smallpox virus has been genetically or otherwise biologically altered to make it an
even more lethal bioterrorism weapon, which may limit the effectiveness of the
vaccinia virus vaccine used to prevent smallpox in the past.18,48
Viability As A Bioterrorist Weapon: Variola is a relatively stable virus in
the
natural environment and may retain its infectivity for as long as 24 to 48 hours if it
is
aerosolized and not exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet light. 49 There are several
delivery routes that have been discussed if smallpox were to be used as a bioterrorist
weapon to cause large numbers of infections in a population: release of the virus into
a building, subway or airplane ventilation system or an area-wide drop of the virus by
a plane or missile. Each of these theoretical scenarios requires that the terrorists:
(1)
have succeeded in obtaining the smallpox virus from one of the official laboratory
storage facilities in the US or Russia or from a country which has secretly obtained
the virus; (2) have the technical expertise and laboratory facilities to culture and
maintain the viability of the virus; (3) have the ability to transport the virus in
liquid or
powder form without destroying its effectiveness; (4) have the technology to deliver it
to large numbers of susceptible people. 45,50
Some have hypothesized that several “volunteer” infected carriers could silently
transmit the disease,18 perhaps in large cities during the first week of the contagious
period before the characteristic smallpox lesions appeared on their faces and limbs.
Theoretically, this could happen although it would not be as effective as delivery of
the organism to large numbers of people in a wide area. Still, even one person
carrying smallpox could cause others to become infected who, in turn, could infect
others. Reportedly, in 1970 a single smallpox infected man returning to Germany
from Pakistan caused the direct or indirect infection of 19 others in a German
hospital.51 In 1970, virtually everyone in Europe and the U.S. had been vaccinated
against smallpox.
Variola Virus: The variola virus which causes smallpox is an orthopoxvirus
and has not been documented to infect animals or insects. Cowpox, monkey pox and
vaccinia are the three other orthopoxviruses and all three of these viruses can cause
disease in both animals and humans.49
Two Kinds of Smallpox: There are two kinds of smallpox: variola minor and variola
major. Variola minor causes a milder case of the disease resulting in a case-fatality
ratio of less than one percent. Variola major is much more serious with a case fatality
of between 20 and 30 percent. The variola virus causing both variations of smallpox
are biologically and immunologically indistinguishable from each other in the
laboratory and a mild case of variola major can look like a case of variola minor.
Endemic variola major was eradicated from the US in 1926 and variola minor
disappeared from the US in the 1940’s.19,22 Infection and Contagion: According to
the Working Group on Civilian Biodefense, “Historically, the rapidity of smallpox
contagion was generally slower than for such diseases as measles and chickenpox.
Patients spread smallpox primarily to household members and friends; large
outbreaks in schools, for example, were uncommon.”49
Face-to-face contact with an infected person is usually required to transmit
smallpox, which is spread from one person to another through nasal secretions and
saliva by coughing and sneezing.52 A person usually becomes infected by inhaling
the virus, which enters the respiratory tract and multiplies there and in the spleen,
bone marrow and lymph nodes. The liver, spleen and lymph nodes can become
enlarged.19,49
Coming into direct contact with the secretions from open smallpox skin lesions can
also spread the disease. Secretions from smallpox lesions can contaminate clothing,
bedding, or other materials, which have been used by an infected person, so
disinfection of articles used by an infected person is necessary. Hot water containing
hypochlorite bleach and quaternary ammonia has been used to decontaminate
clothing, bedding and cleaning surfaces possibly exposed to the virus and
formaldehyde has been used to fumigate contaminated areas.52 No Contagion for
One or Two Weeks: A person with smallpox is infectious from a day before the rash
appears (about 10 to 14 days after infection) until all lesions have healed and the
scabs have fallen off. In the incubation period of the disease during the two weeks
prior to the appearance of a fever and flu-like symptoms, there is no evidence that
the smallpox virus sheds and can be transmitted to others and the person looks and
feels healthy. Only after the fever and flu-like symptoms begin and then disappear
before the outbreak of a rash, will the person be highly contagious and able to infect
others through the release of virus in the mouth, throat and respiratory tract. The
large amounts of virus shed from the skin lesions can be infectious but are not as
infectious as the virus released by the respiratory tract.49.52
Although persons suffering from variola major, the more severe smallpox, are
visibly sick and often bedridden even before the outbreak of the rash, those who
have variola minor, the milder smallpox, may not know they are sick until the rash
and lesions erupt. Therefore, unsuspecting carriers of a less severe form of smallpox
could spread the disease more easily during the early part of the contagious period.
There are estimates that one infected person may transmit the disease to between
5 and 10 other persons in populations with no natural or vaccine-induced
immunity.52 Those persons can, in turn, infect 5 to 10 others and that is how an
epidemic can begin.
Incubation and Symptoms: The incubation period of smallpox from the time of
infection to the time that symptoms begin to appear is about 12 to 14 days at which
time the person develops a fever of 102 to 106 F., extreme fatigue, severe headache
and back pain, and, occasionally, abdominal pain and vomiting. After 3 or 4 days the
fever goes down and the patient may appear to recover but then a rash appears on
the face and forearms and spreads to the trunk, legs, and, sometimes, appears on
the palms and soles of the feet.20,22,49,52
On the third or fourth day after the rash appears, hard lumps (papules) form under
the skin. These papules swell and turn into vesicles (sacs under the skin filled with
fluid) that eventually turn into pustules (open skin lesions containing clear, then
cloudy fluid filled with pus). A fever often accompanies the rash and formation of
papules and vesicles. The pustules, which can resemble chicken pox lesions but are
much deeper in the skin, also develop and ulcerate in the mucous membranes of the
nose, mouth and throat and release large amounts of virus into the mouth and throat.
20,22,49,52
The deep ulcerative skin lesions eventually form crusts and scabs that usually fall
off within three weeks after the beginning of the illness. The patient can be left with
small scars or deep pits in the skin if the sebaceous glands of the skin are
destroyed.20,22,49,52
Rare Types of Smallpox: A milder illness may occur both in those who have been
vaccinated and those who have not been vaccinated, including cases that include a
rash but no eruption of any lesions (variola sine eruptione). But in another rare form
of smallpox, known as malignant smallpox, the disease remains in the rash stage
and pustular lesions do not erupt. Malignant smallpox is almost always fatal, as is
another rare form of smallpox, known as hemorrhagic smallpox. A person with
hemorrhagic smallpox develops fever, bone marrow depression, a drop in platelets
(thrombocytopenia) and uncontrollable bleeding into the skin and mucous
membranes leading to death.22,49
Complications and Mortality: The smallpox lesions can become infected, leading to
bacterial superinfections usually caused by staphylococcus aureus. Other
complications include conjunctivitis (inflammation of the membrane covering the
eyeball); bacterial pneumonia; viral arthritis; sepsis (blood infection);
encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the brain) and osteomyelitis (inflammation of the
bone). Permanent damage can include blindness, brain damage, and severe facial
and body scarring. In the past, smallpox killed between one percent and 30 percent
of those infected, depending upon whether the person had variola minor or variola
major, and mortality was highest in infants and the elderly.19,22,46,49
Misdiagnosis Can Occur: Before smallpox was eradicated in 1977, doctors
sometimes confused chicken pox with smallpox. During the first two to three days of
the rash, it is almost impossible to distinguish between the two diseases. The main
symptomatic difference between the two is that smallpox lesions are all in the same
stage of development while chickenpox lesions can be in various stages of
development on different parts of the body. Also, the smallpox rash primarily affects
the face and limbs of the body and the chickenpox rash is primarily on the trunk of
the body and almost never affects the palms of the hand or soles of the feet like
smallpox. Lab tests can distinguish between a herpes group infection (chicken pox)
and a poxvirus infection (smallpox).19,22,52
Other diseases that can mimic smallpox are eczema vaccinatum, eczema
herpeticum, rickettsialpox, drug reactions, contact dermatitis, and erythema
multiforme (inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes). Meningococcemia,
typhus and hemorrhagic fevers can also be mistaken for the more severe fulminant,
hemorrhagic smallpox.22
Human monkeypox, which occurs in Africa, is difficult to distinguish from smallpox.
Also, sometimes disseminated vaccinia virus infection (from the vaccine) can be
confused with smallpox.19
Definitive Lab Diagnosis: Lab detection of smallpox can occur within a few hours but
definitive identification requires growth of the virus in cell culture or on the
chorioallantoic egg membrane and characterization of strains by use of biologic
assays, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques.22,49
Treatment for Smallpox Limited: Vaccinia virus vaccine given up to four days after
exposure to the virus reportedly can provide protection or lessen the severity of
smallpox.49 Antibiotics will not cure smallpox because it is a viral, not a bacterial,
infection. There are a number of anti-viral medications being investigated, such as
cidofovir, but there is no drug currently on the market licensed as a specific
treatment
for smallpox.52
Like with chicken pox, preventing bacterial infection of the skin lesions is
important.
Sterile sheets, clothing and other sterile procedures can help reduce complicating
bacterial skin infections. Antibiotics to treat secondary infections are given by
injection or orally as topical antibiotics are not used. Antihistamines may reduce
itching and scratching of the lesions and help prevent their spread to other parts of
the body, such as the eyes.22,52
LIVE VACCINIA VIRUS (SMALLPOX) VACCINE
Early History of Smallpox Prevention: The idea of deliberately exposing a
healthy person to biological matter from smallpox lesions of an infected person in
order to confer immunity dates back to China several centuries B.C., when Chinese
doctors dried and ground up the crusts of smallpox scabs and used tubes to blow the
material into the noses of healthy persons. In Africa, Asia Minor and parts of Europe,
people swallowed smallpox scabs or had doctors scratch smallpox lymph into their
skin (variolation).46
In 17th and 18th century England and America, it was common practice to scrape
smallpox pus from lesions of a person infected with smallpox and then scrape it onto
the skin of healthy children and adults in the hope of causing a mild, rather than a
severe, form of smallpox. This process became known as variolation. Although
smallpox variolation worked for some, it left one in 300 dead and others with severe
enough smallpox that they were permanently scarred or blinded from the
intervention. Many others were unknowingly infected with syphilis, tuberculosis and
hepatitis because the biological matter from smallpox lesions was taken from
persons also suffering from those serious diseases. Variolation also contributed to
the spread of smallpox throughout populations.46
Jenner Uses Cowpox Virus: In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner
observed that milkmaids who contracted the generally mild cowpox never came
down with the more severe smallpox. (Cowpox is a disease of the teats and udders
of cows and when cowpox infects humans it causes low-grade fever, lymph node
swelling, and superficial lesions that are much milder than smallpox and heal without
scarring. Sometimes cowpox can cause encephalitis and, in persons with a history of
eczema, there is a risk of serious infection).22
Jenner experimented on an eight year old boy. He infected him with cowpox by
scraping pus from lesions of a child infected with cowpox onto the skin of the boy.
Later, Jenner twice challenged the boy’s immunity to smallpox by scraping pus from
the lesions of a person with smallpox onto the boy’s skin. The boy never came down
with smallpox and Jenner widely promoted his discovery and advocated cowpox
inoculation as a prevention for smallpox.46
Vaccinia Virus Emerges: Eventually, Jenner’s method for preventing smallpox was
modified and standardized for mass production by the pharmaceutical industry.
Apparently, as Jenner refined the cowpox inoculation process, a new virus called
vaccinia evolved. To this day, it is unknown exactly how the vaccinia virus came into
being but theories are that it is a weakened form of the smallpox or cowpox virus or,
more likely, a hybrid of the two viruses.19,47,53,54 Jenner’s smallpox prevention
method became known as “vaccination” and was endorsed by government health
officials in Europe and America in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Vaccinia Virus Vaccine Never Tested: The currently licensed vaccine for smallpox
contains live vaccinia virus, a double stranded virus with a broad host range.
According to Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine (1994), “Vaccinia virus never
underwent controlled trials to establish safety and efficacy before licensing.
Nevertheless, the vaccine was highly effective, despite considerable adverse
effects.”19
There are now multiple strains of vaccinia virus with varying degrees of virulence
for
humans and animals. Scientists working on new vaccines for diseases, such as HIV,
have created recombinant vaccinia viruses from several strains of vaccinia
virus.19,20,53
Wyeth Vaccine From 1970’s Used Calves: When vaccinia virus was used to make
smallpox vaccine in the past, it was prepared from the vesicle fluid taken from live
calves deliberately infected with vaccinia virus. After the calves were slaughtered,
the
pustules were scraped to recover fluid and the scrapings were freeze dried. This is
how the approximately 15.4 million doses of smallpox vaccine currently stockpiled in
the US was manufactured by Wyeth Laboratories in the 1970’s.21,47
Wyeth used calf vesicle fluid containing a seed virus derived from a New York City
Board of Health strain of vaccinia virus.20 This stockpiled vaccine, known as Dryvax,
contains trace amounts of polymyxcin B sulfate, streptomycin sulfate,
chlortetracycline hydrochloride and neomycin sulfate, as well as glycerin (50%) and
phenol (.25%).55 Phenol is an extremely poisonous compound obtained by
distillation of coal tar and used as an antimicrobial. Ingestion or absorption of
phenol
through the skin can cause colic, weakness, collapse and local irritation and
corrosion.56
Stockpiles Have Deteriorated: Reportedly, Dryvax stockpiles have been stored in
glass tubes in the form of freeze dried crystals that would be mixed with a liquid
diluent just before vaccination using a bifurcated needle that allows droplets of the
vaccine to be scratched onto the skin. In 1999 the CDC discovered that some of the
U.S. Dryvax smallpox vaccine stockpiles had badly deteriorated: rubber stoppers on
the glass storage tubes had decayed and vacuum pressure had been lost while the
liquid diluent had changed color and there were only one million bifurcated needles to
administer more than 15 million doses.57
Old Vaccine Now Being Tested in Volunteers: However, in response to the
fear generated after September 11 that smallpox virus stored in the Soviet Union
may have fallen into the hands of terrorists in other countries, some of these old
stocks of vaccinia virus vaccine are being diluted to one in ten or one in five and
given to volunteers at the University of Maryland, St. Louis University, University of
Rochester School of Medicine and Baylor College of Medicine to test its
effectiveness.14,15,58 The goal is to increase the numbers of doses of old vaccinia
virus vaccine currently available in order to buy time for new vaccine production.
New Vaccines To Use Different Cell Tissues: According to the Working Group on
Civilian Biodefense, “The traditional method for producing vaccines on the scarified
flank of a calf is no longer acceptable because the product inevitably contains some
microbial contaminants, however stringent the purification measures.”49 New
vaccinia virus vaccines reportedly will not use vaccinia virus cultured from calf
vesicle
fluid but will be grown in laboratories using other cell tissues such as human
fibroblasts (from fetal connective tissue cells).21 In the June 22, 2001 MMWR, the
CDC confirms that previous methods of vaccine production using calves are no
longer being used and that vaccinia virus for new production of smallpox vaccine
must be grown using a Food and Drug Administration approved cell culture
substrate. The CDC indicates that new cell-culture vaccinia virus vaccine will be
evaluated for safety and efficacy by direct comparison with Dryvax using appropriate
animal models, serologic and cell-mediated immunity methods and cutaneous
indicators of successful vaccination.20 Antibody Level for Protection Unknown: Live
vaccinia virus vaccine produces neutralizing antibodies that are genus specific and
cross-protective for orthopoxviruses (monkeypox, cowpox, variola). According to the
CDC, the efficacy of vaccinia vaccine to prevent smallpox has never been measured
precisely during controlled trials and the level of antibody required for protection
against smallpox infection is unknown. The level of antibody required for protection
against vaccinia virus infection is also unknown. However, more than 95 percent of
first-time vaccinees are reported to experience neutralizing or hemagglutination
inhibition antibody.20 Duration of Immunity Estimates Vary: According to the CDC,
the live vaccinia virus vaccine is protective for five to 10 years.20 The CDC
recommends that lab and medical personnel at high risk of being exposed to
vaccinia viruses be revaccinated every 10 years.24 However, analysis of a 1902-
1903 smallpox outbreak in Liverpool, England as well as a study conducted at the
University of Massachusetts Medical Center and published in a 1996 article in the
Journal of Virology suggests that varying degrees of immunity from vaccinia virus
vaccination may persist for up to 50 years.59,60 If true, then the oldest half of the
US
population, which was vaccinated before 1970, may have some remaining immunity
to the smallpox virus. Vaccinia Virus Vaccination Procedure: The method of vaccinia
virus vaccination is to withdraw reconstituted vaccine from the vial with a sterile
bifurcated (forked) needle, then release a droplet of vaccine onto the skin over the
deltoid muscle in the upper arm; then repeatedly press (15 times) the forked needle
into the superficial layer of skin covered with vaccine hard enough to draw traces of
blood. A loose, porous bandage or gauze held with tape is then applied to help
prevent the person from touching the vaccination site and transferring the live virus
to other parts of the body or to other persons.20,52
Two to five days after inoculation, a red papule (lump) at the site should appear. On
day five or six, the papule should swell and fill with fluid (turn into a vesicle).
Between
days seven and 11, the vesicle should turn into a pustule (become an open, pus-
filled lesion). About two weeks after vaccination, the pustule dries and develops a
crust that falls off by the end of the third week and leaves the characteristic
smallpox
scar on the skin.22
If a person is already partially immune to smallpox (either through previous
experience with the disease or vaccination), there may be an accelerated process
that includes a papule that appears within 3 days, vesiculates in 5 to 7 days, and
heals with little scarring. If only a papule develops without vesiculation and without
leaving some kind of scar, it is considered a failed vaccination and many times the
person is revaccinated in an attempt to get a “Jennerian vesicle” that is considered
proof of successful vaccination.22
VACCINIA VACCINE REACTION RATE VERY HIGH
The live vaccinia virus vaccine to prevent smallpox may be the most highly reactive
vaccine that has ever been used in humans. As with most vaccines, when
complications occurred with the vaccinia virus vaccine, they were quite similar to the
complications of the disease they were designed to prevent.
According to the World Health Organization “existing vaccines have proven efficacy
but also have a high incidence of adverse side-effects. The risk of adverse events is
sufficiently high that vaccination is not warranted if there is no or little real risk
of
exposure. Vaccine administration is warranted in individuals exposed to the virus or
facing a real risk of exposure. A safer vaccinia-based vaccine, produced in cell
culture is expected to become available shortly. There is also interest in developing
monoclonal antivariola antibody for passive immunization of exposed and infected
individuals, which could also be safely administered to persons infected with HIV.”52
Potential 70,000 Severe Reactions Requiring VIG: According to the Working Group
on Civilian Biodefense “It has been estimated that if 1 million persons were
vaccinated [with live vaccinia virus vaccine], as many as 250 persons would
experience adverse reactions of a type that would require administration of VIG
[vaccinia immune globulin].”49
Using these vaccine risk estimates would yield a serious vaccine reaction rate of 1
in 4,000 persons. This would mean that out of 280 million Americans who receive the
vaccinia virus vaccine there could be approximately 70,000 persons who would
experience reactions severe enough to require VIG.
VIG is ineffective in treating postvaccinal encephalitis.20 Estimates are that
postvaccinal encephalitis following live vaccinia vaccine occurs in between 1 in
81,000 to 1 in 345,000 persons receiving their first smallpox vaccination,20,22 which
would add thousands of cases of postvaccinal encephalitis in the initial mass
vaccination of all Americans, for whom VIG treatment is not beneficial.
Potential Neurological Reactions in the Young: One 1992 study by the State
Research Institute of Standardization and Control of Medical Biologics in Russia
reported a neurological complication rate of 1 in 3,200 persons aged five years and
older who received a first live vaccinia virus vaccination.61 Approximately 120 million
Americans are between the ages of 5 and 35 according to the US 2000 census. If all
those Americans were first-time vaccinees, approximately 37,500 of them could
suffer a neurological reaction.
Re-Introducing Vaccinia Virus A Risk: The vaccinia virus vaccine has not been used
on a mass basis in the U.S. since the early 1970’s so the virus is not circulating in
our population and no one under age 30 has had any experience with it. Because live
vaccinia virus vaccine can cause vaccinia viral infection in the vaccine recipient or
in
a close contact of the recently vaccinated person, those who get vaccinated will be
exposing themselves and others to the vaccinia virus and potential complications.
The CDC reports that one 10-state survey revealed that transmission of vaccinia
virus infection occurred in 27 per million total vaccinations (1 in 37,000
vaccinations)
and 44 percent of those contact cases occurred among children. Approximately 60
percent of contact transmissions in the survey resulted in the inadvertent inoculation
of otherwise healthy persons. About 30 percent of the eczema vaccinatum cases
were a result of contact transmission.20,62
Common Vaccinia Virus Vaccine Reactions: Fever, fatigue and irritability are
common, especially in children, during the vesicular and pustular stages and swollen
lymph glands may persist for months after vaccinia virus vaccination.22
Inadvertent inoculation at other body sites: According to the CDC: “Inadvertent
inoculation at other sites is the most frequent complication of vaccinia vaccination
and accounts for approximately half of all complications of primary vaccination and
revaccination.” Autoinoculation occurs when the recently vaccinated person touches
or scratches the lesion at the vaccination site and transfers the live vaccinia virus
to
other parts of the body, such as the face, eyelid, nose, mouth, genitalia and rectum,
and more lesions form. Most lesions heal without therapy but vaccinia
immunoglobulin (VIG) can be used when the eye is involved, unless there is
inflammation of the cornea (because VIG can increase corneal scarring). The CDC
estimates inadvertent inoculation occurs in 1 in 1,890 first time vaccinations.20
Fever: According to the CDC, approximately 70 percent of children experience
temperatures under 100 F. for 4-14 days after the first vaccination and 15-20 percent
will experience temperatures under 102 F. After revaccination, 35 percent of children
experience temperatures under 100 F. and 5 percent experience temperatures under
102 F. Fever is less common in adults. 20
Rashes and Hives: A raised rash (erythema) or hives (urticaria) can occur
approximately 10 days after a first vaccination, which usually does not involve a fever
and resolves within two to four days. Sometimes erythema and urticaria can be
confused with generalized vaccinia. 20
More Severe Reactions: Moderate and severe immune and neurological
complications of live vaccinia vaccination occur more than ten times more often
among first- time vaccinees than among those who are revaccinated and are more
frequent among infants. 20 Well known serious complications of live vaccinia virus
vaccination include progressive vaccinia, postvaccinal encephalomyelitis; eczema
vaccinatum; and generalized vaccinia, and reaction rates for these serious vaccine
complications vary.
Progressive Vaccinia (vaccinia gangrenosa, vaccinia necrosum): When the
live vaccinia virus continues to grow in the body and healing of the primary vaccinal
lesion caused by smallpox vaccination does not occur, there can be a slowly
progressive destruction of large areas of skin (necrosis), subcutaneous tissue,
viscera (internal organs) and bone. Progressive vaccinia almost always occurs in
persons with a severe immune deficiency caused by cancer, radiation or
chemotherapy, and AIDS or other serious immune system disorders such as lupus.
Those who develop progressive vaccinia almost always die within six
months.19,20,22,49
In the past, it was estimated that this reaction occurred in 1 in 1 million to 1.6
in 1
million vaccinations with a case fatality ratio of almost 90 percent.20,22,53 However,
this severe reaction to live vaccinia virus vaccine will most likely occur more often
today if mass smallpox vaccination campaigns are introduced in populations with a
high incidence of undiagnosed HIV/AIDS or other immune system deficiencies.
Postvaccinal Encephalitis/Encephalomyelitis: Inflammation of the brain can
develop two to 25 days after vaccination.22 It occurs most frequently in children
under age one or two years and in older children and adults receiving their first
smallpox vaccination.20,53,61 Symptoms can appear suddenly and include fever,
vomiting, drowsiness, restlessness, confusion, convulsions, hemiplegia (partial
paralysis), aphasia (loss of speech), loss of consciousness and coma. Recovery is
often incomplete, with residual brain damage and paralysis, which occurs most
frequently in children under two years old.53 Death rates following post vaccinal
encephalitis range from 25 percent to 50 percent of patients, usually within a week of
onset.20,53 Conservative estimates of frequency range from 1 in 345,00022 to 1 in
81,000 persons receiving their first-vaccination.20
Eczema Vaccinatum: This reaction is seen in persons with a history of
eczema or other types of chronic skin conditions like contact dermatitis. The person
develops high fever, swollen lymph nodes and widespread inflammation and
appearance of lesions on areas of skin previously affected by eczema that can
spread to areas of healthy skin. Especially severe cases can occur when persons,
who have active eczema or a history of eczema, come in contact with those recently
vaccinated with live vaccinia virus.20,22 The CDC states “Eczema vaccinatum might
be more severe among contacts than among vaccinated persons.”20 Eczema
vaccinatum can be mild and self limited but also can be severe and fatal. Estimates
of frequency ranges from 1 in 100,00019 to 1 in about 26,000 first time
vaccinations.20
Generalized Vaccinia: This reaction involves a vesicular rash similar to but
milder than smallpox that can be localized around the vaccination site or cover the
body and can occur among healthy persons without underlying illness. It is most
serious in those who have underlying immunosuppressive illness. The CDC
estimates that 241.5 cases of generalized vaccinia per 1 million first time
vaccinations occurs (about 1 in 4,100 vaccinations).20
Death: Death from vaccinia vaccination is most often the result of
postvaccinal
encephalitis or progressive vaccinia. Death has been estimated to occur in 1 in 1
million vaccinated persons.22
Other Serious Vaccinia Vaccine Reaction Reports: There are a number of other
serious vaccinia vaccine reactions reported in the medical literature, including
progressive or generalized vaccinia in persons with genital herpes,63,64,65 HIV,66
and active acne;67 development of skin cancer;68 basal cell carcinoma in a
smallpox vaccination scar;69 discoid lupus erythematosus in a smallpox vaccination
scar;70 diabetes;71 thrombocytopenia purpura;72 cardiac complications leading to
heart damage;73,74 clubfoot in babies whose mother’s were vaccinated in the first
trimester;75 and chromosomal breakage and changes in children after
revaccination.76,77
VIG Treatment and Prevention of Vaccine Complications: Treatment for and
prevention of vaccinia complications is limited. Vaccine Immune Globulin (VIG),
which is composed of preformed antibody to vaccinia virus taken from the blood of
persons who have already been vaccinated with vaccinia virus, has been used in
cases of autoinoculation of the eye, progressive vaccinia, eczema vaccinatum and
generalized vaccinia. VIG is of no use in cases of postvaccinal encephalitis.20
VIG has also been used to try to prevent serious vaccine reactions by giving
persons with contraindications (such as immune suppression) VIG before
vaccination.20,49. Although VIG has been useful in treating some cases of vaccinia
vaccine reactions, there is no assurance that VIG will either prevent or modify the
course of every serious reaction.
The stockpiled supply of old VIG reportedly has deteriorated over the years and is
limited.26,57 There is not enough VIG to treat the number of serious vaccine
reactions that are estimated would occur if all of the 15.4 million doses of stockpiled
Dryvax vaccine were used.14,20,26,49 The blood from volunteers in current Dryvax
trials using diluted old vaccine may be able to be utilized to make more VIG.14,15,58
Contraindications: According to Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine,
contraindications to vaccinia virus vaccine include: B or T cell immune system
disorders, eczema, pregnancy, disorders of the central nervous system, neoplasms
of the reticuloendothelial system, and use of immunosuppressive drugs.19 The CDC
now lists the following contraindications in the absence of an emergency (actual
exposure to smallpox):20 · Persons who experience anaphylactic reactions to
polymyxin B sulfate, streptomycin sulfate, chlortetracycline hydrochloride and
neomycin sulfate should not be vaccinated with Dryvax; · Persons with eczema
or other skin conditions: “Vaccinia vaccine should not be administered to persons
with eczema of any degree, those with a past history of eczema, those whose
household contacts have active eczema, or whose household contacts have a
history of eczema. Persons with other acute, chronic or exfoliative skin conditions
(e.g., atopic dermatitis, burns, impetigo or varicella zoster) might also be at higher
risk for eczema vaccinatum and should not be vaccinated until the condition
resolves.” · Persons Infected with HIV; · Persons with immunosuppression
(leukemia, lymphoma, generalized malignancy, solid organ transplantation, cellular
or humoral immunity disorders, therapy with akylating agents, antimetabolites,
radiation or high-dose corticosteroid therapy); · Infants and Children under age
18; · Pregnant Women: “Vaccinia virus has been reported to cause fetal
infection on rare occasions, almost always after primary vaccination of the mother.
Cases have been reported as recently as 1978. When fetal vaccinia does occur, it
usually results in stillbirth or death of the infant soon after delivery.”
Other contraindication considerations : Although the CDC does not list herpes
infection as a contraindication in non-emergencies, the case reports of progressive
vaccinia in persons with herpes suggest that use of the vaccinia virus vaccine today
may result in many more cases of progressive vaccinia than in the past. Herpes
infection, like HIV, is more widespread today than it was prior to the early 1970’s,
when routine vaccinia virus vaccination was discontinued.
CDC Eliminates Absolute Contraindications In Emergency: The CDC states
that:
“No absolute contraindications exist regarding vaccination of a person with a high-
risk exposure to smallpox. Persons at greatest risk for experiencing serious
vaccination complications are also at greatest risk for death from smallpox. If a
relative contraindication to vaccination exists, the risk for experiencing serious
vaccination complications must be weighed against the risk for experiencing a
potentially fatal smallpox infection. When the level of exposure risk is undetermined,
the decision to vaccinate should be made after prudent assessment by the clinician
and the patient of the potential risks versus the benefits of smallpox [vaccinia virus]
vaccination.”
Other Considerations: Whether a person dies from a disease or a vaccine, a death
is a death and one cause of death is no more important than another when individual
human life is valued. Because there are no genetic or other biomarkers to definitively
predict ahead of time who will be harmed by vaccination, there must be strict
adherence to the informed consent ethic, especially during times of emergencies
when all contraindications are officially suspended. To do any less, places public
health officials and anyone, who forces vaccination on a person without that person’s
informed consent, in the role of judge and executioner of the genetically and
biologically vulnerable.
Preventing Contact Transmission of Vaccinia Virus: Care must be taken to prevent
spread of the vaccine virus from the vaccination lesion site to other areas of the body
or to another person. Use of gauze or porous bandages (to allow air to dry the site
lesion) is advised with bandages changed every 1 to 2 days. No salves or ointments
should be placed on the vaccination lesion. The most important action for preventing
vaccinia virus transmission is frequent hand washing with soap and water or
disinfecting agents after contact with the vaccination site. Disposal of bandages that
have covered the site in sealed plastic bags and decontaminating clothing or
materials that have contact with the site by laundering in hot water with bleach is
also
important.20,52
Recombinant Vaccinia Virus Vaccine Transmission: Scientists are using vaccinia
virus as a vehicle for creating new vaccines. Genes from herpes simplex virus,
hepatitis B virus, HIV and malaria reportedly have been inserted into the vaccinia
genome.19 In the 1970’s and 1980’s, as researchers began experimenting with
genetically engineering different strains of vaccinia viruses to contain and express
foreign DNA to induce protection against infectious agents such as HIV, there were
reports of laboratory-acquired infections with vaccinia or recombinant viruses.20,24
In 1991 the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) advised
that health care workers, who were exposed to volunteers in new vaccine trials using
genetically engineered vaccinia virus, be vaccinated with vaccinia virus vaccine. The
CDC recommendations stated that::
“With the initiation of human trials of recombinant vaccines, physicians, nurses and
other health-care personnel who provide clinical care to recipients of these vaccines
could be exposed to both vaccinia and recombinant viruses. The exposure could
occur from contact with dressings contaminated with the virus or through exposure to
the vaccine. The risk of transmission of recombinant viruses to exposed health care
workers is unknown…however, because of the potential for transmission of vaccinia
or recombinant vaccinia viruses to such persons, the ACIP suggests that health care
personnel who have direct contact with contaminated dressings or other infectious
material from volunteers in clinical studies be considered for vaccination.”24
Health Secretary Orders 300 Million Doses of Vaccine: One month after the
September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, DHHS
Secretary Tommy Thompson called on industry and government to produce and
stockpile 300 million doses of vaccinia virus vaccine by the end of 2002. He said that
all Americans should know they “have their name on a vaccine shot in our inventory.”
Cost estimates range from $500 million to nearly $2 billion.1,15,78 In order to be able
to accomplish this goal, some in industry are calling for cutting the number of
participants in vaccine trials and bypassing standard safety and efficacy
requirements to quickly create a stockpile of vaccine.16,17,25
Industry Asks for Immunity From Lawsuits: Drug companies competing for the
multi-million dollar contract to produce enough vaccinia virus vaccine to vaccinate
every American are asking Congress to pass legislation shifting all liability for
vaccine injuries and deaths to the government (American taxpayer). Already, there
are bills being drafted in Congress to create a federal fund to compensate victims of
bioterrorism vaccines, such as vaccinia virus vaccine.79
New Office of Preparedness Created: DHHS Secretary Thompson has appointed
D.A. Henderson, founding director of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies at
Johns Hopkins University and architect of the worldwide smallpox eradication effort,
as well as Philip Russell, a retired Army major general specializing in vaccine
development, to head a new Office of Preparedness that will expand new vaccine
programs and develop strategies to respond to public health emergencies. Dr.
Henderson has been quoted as saying his top priority is to improve the
“communications system” that will allow the medical community and government to
mount a coordinated response.80
Emergency Plan Will Militarize Public Health System: The Working Group on Civilian
Biodefense has stated “The discovery of a single suspected case of smallpox must
be treated as an international health emergency.”49 Although it is very important to
have a well crafted bioterrorism emergency response plan in place, along with
enough vaccine for everyone who wants to use it, it is difficult to envision the
necessity for giving public health officials the kind of sweeping police powers now
being advocated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
With funding and direction provided from the CDC, a lawyer at the Georgetown
University Center for Law and the Public’s Health, Lawrence Gostin, has created
model state legislation that will allow public health officials to mobilize and use
“all or
any part of the organized militia” to isolate, quarantine and force vaccination and
medical treatment on American citizens in states where a Governor has called a
“state of emergency” for 30 days or more. (Go to www.publichealthlaw.net to read
the law).
Public health officials would be given the power to “coordinate all matters
pertaining
to the public health emergency,” including the right to seize private property such as
“communications devices, carriers, real estate, fuels, food, clothing and health care
facilities” and take control of “the use, sale, dispensing, distribution and
transportation of food, fuel, clothing and other commodities, alcoholic beverages,
firearms, explosives and combustibles” as well as take control of roads and public
areas.
If passed by the states, the law would give unprecedented police powers to public
health officials and those they designate to charge citizens with misdemeanors and
imprison them if they refuse to comply with vaccination, medical treatment or
isolation orders without being able to go to court first. Those who participate in
enforcing the law would not be held liable for any injury, death or loss of property
which resulted.
In the preface to this model state legislation, Gostin justified the law he wrote
for the
CDC by referring to the 1905 Supreme Court decision Jacobsen v Massachusetts,
which upheld the right of US states to pass mandatory vaccination laws. Gostin, who
is a longtime forced vaccination proponent, will be working with the National
Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, Association of
State and Territorial Health Officials, National Association of City and County Health
Officers, and National Association of Attorneys General to get this legislation passed
in every state. It has already been introduced in Massachusetts.
Jacobsen v Massachusetts Revisited: How did we get to this point in America, where
public health officials would presume to appropriate the kind of police power they are
now saying they should be given? It all goes back to a man name Jacobsen who, in
1905, sued the state of Massachusetts for requiring him and his son to get a second
vaccinia virus (smallpox) vaccination or pay a $5 fine. Jacobsen refused to get
revaccinated or pay the fine, saying that he and his son had had a bad reaction to a
previous vaccination for smallpox and were afraid they would be injured or die from a
second one. Jacobsen maintained that forcing him to be revaccinated was “an
assault upon his person” and violated his constitutional rights.
In its majority opinion in Jacobsen v Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11(1905), the
Supreme Court rejected the evidence Jacobsen presented to show that the vaccine
can cause injury and death and that doctors cannot distinguish between those who
will be harmed and those who will not be harmed. The Court concluded, “The
matured opinions of medical men everywhere, and the experience of mankind, as all
must know, negative the suggestion that it is not possible in any case to determine
whether vaccination is safe.”
Doctors Cannot Predict Who Will Be Harmed: The fact the Supreme Court at the
turn of the 20th century did not have accurate medical information upon which to
base their precedent-setting decision is unfortunate. It has been proven in the
succeeding 96 years, most recently in the US Court of Claims in Washington, D.C.
where nearly two billion dollars has been awarded to families whose children have
been killed or been injured by mandated childhood vaccines, that often doctors
cannot predict ahead of time which individuals will react to vaccines and die or be
left
with mental retardation, medication-resistant seizure disorders, paralysis, learning
disabilities, ADHD, autism, chronic arthritis, or other immune and brain dysfunction.6
Cruel and Inhuman To The Last Degree: This is a critical point in measuring the
consequences of assigning police powers to public health officials for the purpose of
enforcing vaccination, particularly in cases where parents suspect their children are
at increased risk for reacting to vaccines - even though government health officials,
anxious to achieve a 100 percent vaccination rate, disagree. In their opinion, the
1905 Supreme Court justices acknowledged that vaccination must not be forced on a
person whose physical condition would make vaccination “cruel and inhuman to the
last degree. We are not to be understood as holding that the statute was intended to
be applied in such a case or, if it was so intended, that the judiciary would not be
competent to interfere and protect the health and life of the individual concerned.”
Therefore, when interpreting Jacobsen v Massachusetts in 2002, it is important to
remember that, although the Court agreed that states may enact “such reasonable
regulations established directly by legislative enactment as will protect the public
health and the public safety,” the Supreme Court made it clear that mandatory
vaccination laws must not be applied unreasonably so as to result in harm to
individuals. In other words, the state does not have the right to command that an
individual sacrifice his or her life in the name of the public health.
Utilitarianism Was in Fashion: What, then, did the 1905 Supreme Court mean when
it went on to declare that “it was the duty of the constituted authorities primarily to
keep in view the welfare, comfort and safety of the many, and not permit the interests
of the many to be subordinated to the wishes or convenience of the few?” The
“wishes or convenience” of the few certainly does not translate into the ”lives” of the
few, but still, the historical context in which this declaration was made is very
important.
In 1905, the political doctrine known as “utilitarianism” was a popular philosophical
tenet, which judged the rightness or wrongness of an action by its consequences and
held that an action that is moral or ethical results in the greatest happiness for the
greatest numbers of people. With its emphasis on numbers of people, utilitarianism
became a convenient way to justify state legislative policy. Karl Marx used utilitarian
principles to formulate his economic theories and modern cost benefit analyses are
also descendents of utilitarianism.12
Individual Autonomy Must Come First: In 1927, jurist Oliver Wendall Holmes
embraced the utilitarian rationale when he used Jacobsen v Massachusetts to justify
the forced sterilization of a mentally retarded woman to, in effect, protect the public
welfare. Writing for the majority in a 8-1 Supreme Court decision, Buck v Bell, 274
U.S. 200 (1927), Holmes said “The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is
broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes.”
Not long after, Hitler would embrace the same kind of rationalization used by
Holmes in that stunning 1927 legal opinion and go on to pursue his own brand of
social engineering to eliminate from society those persons the Third Reich had
judged to be genetically inferior, physically or mentally compromised, or socially
unacceptable (homosexuals, political dissidents) because they were thought to be a
threat to the public health and welfare.81 The tragic moral failure of utilitarianism
was
finally revealed at the Doctor’s Trial at Nuremberg after World War II, where it was
discredited by the Nuremberg Tribunal as a pseudo-ethic.11 In its place stands the
Nuremberg Code, which places the right of individuals to self determination and
autonomy above the right of the state, science and medicine to derive benefits from
them.
The human right to informed consent to medical interventions that can injure or kill
is the centerpiece of modern bioethics. It insures that the individual has control over
decisions and actions involving life and death, which are the most sacred of all
decisions and actions humans are ever called upon to make.
EDITORIAL: Vaccinating America at Gunpoint
by Barbara Loe Fisher
Like every American, I never imagined that I would experience the kind of shock
and horror that came on September 11 with the terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington, D.C. While our world has changed forever, there are some things that
never change. Truth does not change. What it means to be free does not change.
In response to the fear and anxiety that still hangs like a bad dream over our
nation,
in the mad scramble to “do something” to make Americans feel safe again,
government officials employed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have
stepped forward to suggest that they and their state health department counterparts
are the only ones who can keep us safe whenever they decide there is a “public
health” emergency – if only we will give them the power to use the state militia to
arrest, quarantine and forcibly vaccinate and medicate us. Not satisfied with that,
they also want the power to seize our private property, including our homes, as well
as our telephones, fax machines, computers, cars, fuel, food, clothing, firearms,
prescription drugs and the alcoholic beverages in our refrigerator. Just in case you
were thinking you could make it to the border before the public health militia comes
to get you, they want the power to take over all roads in and out of your city and
state, too.
And to make sure they can’t get sued by anyone for anything they do, they are
asking for total legal immunity for destroying your property or killing you or your
children when they enforce the law. They are joined in this quest by the drug
companies making “bioterrorism” vaccines, like the notoriously reactive smallpox
vaccine never tested for safety in clinical trials. Not only are the drug companies
demanding that Congress give them total legal immunity for all vaccine-induced
injuries and deaths, they are also demanding that the bioterrorism vaccines they
produce be exempt from normal federal safety and efficacy standards.
What is wrong with this picture?
Certainly, America should have enough smallpox vaccine or other “bioterrorism”
vaccines for everyone who voluntarily wants to use them: but not ones that haven’t
been properly tested. Certainly, America should have a sound, workable emergency
plan in place in the event of a bioterrorism attack: but not one that places the life
and
liberty of the majority of citizens in the hands of an elite few, who will have the
power
to take both from citizens without their consent.
This CDC-funded and initiated legislation treats us like runaway slaves in need of
subjugation. The law’s proposed elimination of the informed consent principle, which
has governed the ethical use of medical interventions that can injure or kill ever
since
the Doctor’s Trial at Nuremberg after World War II, is clear indication that public
health officials want the sole authority to decide who will live and who will die and
under what conditions.
No state of emergency in a free society justifies the sacrifice of the most sacred
human right: the right to voluntarily decide what you are willing to risk your life
for or
your child’s life for. What it means to be free doesn’t get more basic than that.
I have said many times during the past decade, that if the state can tag, track down
and force citizens to be injected with biologicals of unknown toxicity today, then
there
will be no limit on what individual freedoms the state can take away in the name of
the greater good tomorrow. Now, tomorrow is here.
In this time of great sadness, fear and confusion, Americans have a choice to
make: either we defend the individual freedoms our forefathers fought and died to
give us, or we sacrifice those freedoms and let the terrorists win. What we do will
define who we are as a nation for many years to come.
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and Risk Assessments of Chemical and Biological Attack, GAO/NSIAD-99-163. 51.
Henderson DA. July-September 1998. Bioterrorism as a public health threat.
Emerging Infectious Diseases. 52. World Health Organization. 2001. Smallpox.
Weekly Epidemiological Record 76. 53. Kaplan C. 1989. Vaccinia virus: a suitable
vehicle for recombinant vaccines? Archives of Virology. 54. Stanford University.
Vaccinia virus. (www.stanford.edu) 55. Physicians Desk Reference (PDR). 1983.
Oradell: Medical Economics Co. 56. Dorland’s Medical Dictionary. 1980.
Philadelphia: The Saunders Press. 57. Garrett L. 2000. Betrayal of Trust. New York:
Hyperion. 58. Argetsinger A. October 27,2001. Smallpox vaccine studies swamped
with volunteers. The Washington Post. 59. Demkowicz WE, Littalia RA et al. 1996.
Human cytotoxic T-cell memory: long lived responses to vaccinia virus. Journal of
Virology: 60. Cohen J. October 28, 2001. And now, the good news about smallpox.
(http://slate.msn.com) 61. Gurvich EB. 1992. The age-dependent risk of post-
vaccination on complications in vaccinees with smallpox vaccine. Vaccine. 62. Lane
JM, Ruben FL et al. 1970. Complications of smallpox vaccination, 1968: results of
ten statewide surveys. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 63. Funk EA, Strausbaugh
LJ. March 1981. Vaccinia necrosum after smallpox vaccination for herpes labialis.
Southern Medical Journal. 64. FDA Drug Bulletin. August 12,1982. Inappropriate
use of smallpox vaccine. 65. Lane JM. May 21,1982. Hazards of smallpox
vaccination. Journal of the American Medical Association. 66. Redfield RR, Wright
DC et al. March 12,1987. Disseminated vaccinia in a military recruit with human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 67.
Centers for Disease Control. December 24, 1982. Epidemiologic Notes and Reports:
Disseminated vaccinia infection in a college student – Tennessee. Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report. 68. Michel N, Aguilera A. March 1976. Vaccinia virus: the
possibilities of its oncogenicity in humans. Cancer Letters. 69. Riberio R, Labareda
JM. 1988. Basocellular carcinoma in a smallpox vaccination scar. Medicina Cutanea
Ibero Latino Americana. 70. Lupton GP. October 1987. Discoid lupus
erythematosus occurring in a smallpox vaccination scar. Journal of the American
Academy of Dermatology. 71. Schneider H. March 1975. Manifestation of diabetes
after smallpox vaccination. Kinderarztliche Praxis. 72. Burke PJ, Shah NR.
September 1981. Thrombocytopenic purpura after smallpox vaccination.
Pennsylvania Medicine. 73. Moschos A., Papaioannou AC. October 1976. Cardiac
complications after vaccination for smallpox. Helvetica Paediatrica Acta. 74. Feery
BJ. August 6,1977. Adverse reactions after smallpox vaccination. Medical Journal of
Australia. 75. Naderi S. August 1975. Smallpox vaccination during pregnancy.
Obstetrics and Gynecology. 76. Knuutila S, Maki-Paakkanen J et al. 1978. An
increased frequency of chromosomal changes and SCE’s in cultured blood
lymphocytes of 12 subjects vaccinated against smallpox. Human Genetics. 77.
Kucerova M, Polivkova Z. 1980. Chromosomal aberrations and SCE in lymphocytes
of children revaccinated against smallpox. Mutation Research. 78. Bradsher K.
November 7, 2001. Smallpox vaccine costlier than expected. The New York Times.
79. Bradsher K. November 8, 2001. Three smaller companies say their vaccines
are cheaper. The New York Times. 80. Connolly C. November 8, 2001. . US
officials reorganize strategy on bioterrorism. The Washington Post. 81. Weindling
P. 1989. Health, Race and German Politics Between National Unification and Nazism
1870-1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
For More Information: At this NVIC website, http://www.909shot.com, you can access
links to other vaccine and health information resources, as well as sign up to
subscribe to NVIC’s free Vaccine E-News Service or become a member of the
National Vaccine Information Center.
About the Editor
Barbara Loe Fisher is co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information
Center. She is co-author of DPT: A Shot in the Dark (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
1985; Warner, 1986; Avery, 1991), a book which made an important contribution to
public support for development of the purified pertussis vaccine licensed by the FDA
for American babies in 1996. She is author of The Consumer’s Guide to Childhood
Vaccines (NVIC, 1997) and editor of THE VACCINE REACTION and The Vaccine
Hotline newsletters.
During the 1980’s, she helped lead a national grassroots effort to bring the issue of
vaccine safety to public attention, including leading demonstrations at the Centers for
Disease Control in Atlanta and at the White House in 1986. Later that year, Congress
passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.
She served on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee for four years, where she
was chair of the subcommittee on adverse events. She was appointed to the Vaccine
Safety Forum at the Institute of Medicine in 1995, where she helped to coordinate
five public workshops on vaccine safety. She has served as the consumer voting
member of the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee
since 1999. She is a frequent public speaker at educational health conferences,
where she defends the right to informed consent to medical interventions which can
cause injury or death, including vaccination.
The mother of three children, in 1980 her two and a half year old son reacted within
four hours of his fourth DPT and polio vaccinations with a convulsion, collapse shock
and six hour state of unconsciousness. He was left with minimal brain dysfunction,
including multiple learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder.
About the National Vaccine Information Center
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), founded in 1982 by parents of
vaccine injured children, is a non-profit, educational organization (501C3) dedicated
to preventing vaccine injuries and deaths through public education. NVIC promotes
scientific research into the biological causes of vaccine injury and death in order to
identify biomarkers which place individuals at high risk for suffering vaccine
reactions. NVIC advocates the institution of informed consent protections in mass
vaccination laws and serves as a watchdog on vaccine research, development,
regulation and promotion activities of public health agencies.
After launching the vaccine safety and informed consent movement in the U.S. in
the early 1980’s, NVIC’s co-founders worked with Congress to create the National
Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. This historic law set up a vaccine injury
compensation program and included vaccine safety provisions, such as mandatory
reporting of hospitalizations, injuries and deaths following vaccination.
In 1989, NVIC sponsored an International Scientific Workshop on Pertussis and
Pertussis Vaccines and, in 1996, one of NVIC’s major goals was realized when a
purified pertussis vaccine was licensed for American babies after a decade and a
half of advocacy work. In 1997, NVIC held the First International Public Conference
on Vaccination and sponsored the Second International Public Conference on
Vaccination on Sept. 8-10, 2000 in Washington, D.C. The Third International Public
Conference on Vaccination will be held on November 7-10, 2002 in Arlington,
Virginia.
________________________________________________________________
THE VACCINE REACTION is a publication of the National Vaccine Information
Center (NVIC), a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing vaccine
injuries and deaths through public education. All rights reserved.
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-founder & President
Kathi Williams, Co-founder and Vice President
Geeta Choppala, Editorial Assistant
The National Vaccine Information Center
421-E Church Street, Vienna, VA 22180
1-800-909SHOT (orders and donations only)
703-938-0342 (phone) 703-938-5768 (fax)
www.909shot.com
Bottom Line: What You Need to Know About Smallpox Vaccine · It spreads
vaccinia virus from one person to another, which can kill or injure people · It
causes reactions in almost everyone who gets it (fever, spread of vaccine virus to
other parts of body) and causes extremely severe reactions in 1 in 4,000 persons
which can lead to death or injury; · It was never tested in clinical trials
before it
was used on a mass basis and mandated; · Drug companies making old and
new smallpox vaccines want normal federal vaccine safety and efficacy standards to
be suspended so the vaccines can be licensed quickly; · Drug companies do not
want to be held liable for any injuries and deaths caused by old and new smallpox
vaccines.
Bottom Line: What You Need To Know About Proposed Laws in Your State
When federal and state public health officials convince your Governor to declare a
“public health” emergency, they want to be able to use the “state militia” to: ·
take control of all roads leading into and out of your cities and state; ·
seize your
house, car, telephones, computers, food, fuel, clothing, firearms and alcoholic
beverages for their own use (and not be held liable if these actions result in the
destruction of your personal property); · arrest, imprison and forcibly examine,
vaccinate and medicate you and your children without your consent (and not be held
liable if these actions result in your death or injury).
What You Can Do:
The most important action you can take is to give this information to as many people
as you can and let your individual voice be heard. Let people know where you stand:
· Call and write your federal and state legislators; · Write to Attorney
General
John Ashcroft, Health Secretary Tommy Thompson and President and Mrs. Bush; ·
Contact your local newspaper, radio and television stations and give them a copy of
this report; · Talk to as many people as you can in your community, especially
your community leaders. · Sign up for NVIC’s free Vaccine E-News so you can
keep up-to-date on the latest news in the development of vaccines and forced
vaccination laws.
Get Informed - E-News
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
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"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
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not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not
believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men.
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it."
The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutta
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A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled
one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller,
German Writer (1759-1805)
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--- Ernest Hemingway
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