By Barbara Loe Fisher
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There is no greater betrayal by government than to order a citizen to risk injury or death “for the greater good” and then treat that person and their family like dirt once the harm is done. The inhumane treatment of the vaccine injured at the hands of doctors in denial and the refusal of government to compensate the majority of those injured, while blocking lawsuits against drug companies profiting from mandated vaccines, is a national scandal. 1
A recent news report by Action News JAX in Florida investigated reports by two combat marines, who suffered heart inflammation (myopericarditis) and permanent health damage after smallpox vaccinations they were ordered to take. The investigation discovered that the U.S. government is still refusing to compensate soldiers for smallpox vaccine-related health problems, such as heart inflammation, even when those health problems are acknowledged as causally related by the vaccine manufacturer in a black box warning on the package insert and by government health officials. 2 3
The callous indifference toward once healthy young men and women disabled or killed by smallpox and anthrax vaccinations, which the Department of Defense insists are necessary to combat “bioterrorism,” has been going on since soldiers started heading to the Gulf War in the early 1990s and came home sick and disabled. 4 From pregnant women soldiers given Biothrax anthrax vaccine, 5 whose babies were born with birth defects, 6 to the cover-up of anthrax vaccine related deaths of Army soldiers, 7 to Air Force pilots whose careers ended with crippling anthrax vaccine injuries or court martials for refusing to get the shots, 8 the history of the US military vaccination program is marked by human experimentation 9 and violation of human rights. 10 11
The tragic consequences of the government’s callous indifference toward the vaccine injured is poignantly illustrated in interviews with anthrax vaccine injured soldiers in Scott Miller’s award winning 2003 documentary “Direct Order.”
Anthrax and smallpox vaccines continue to be given to U.S. soldiers, even though no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) supplies of weaponized anthrax and smallpox, have been found. 12 13 And, yet, the reports of vaccine injuries and deaths from both vaccines keep piling up. 14 15 16
As of April 14, 2017, there have been 5,392 reports of smallpox vaccine reactions, injuries and deaths filed with the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), including about 3,000 emergency room visits, 670 cases involving permanent injuries and 17 deaths. There have been 8,553 anthrax vaccine reactions, injuries and deaths reported to VAERS, including about 3,700 emergency room visits, 2,150 cases involving permanent injuries and 30 deaths. 17
The U.S. government has yet to make public the numbers of smallpox and anthrax vaccine injured soldiers and other military personnel, who have filed and received compensation. 18 The personal experiences of vaccine wounded warriors indicate most of them are left to suffer on their own.
America’s vaccine injured military personnel and their families deserve more from our government than stonewalling and denial of compensation after they volunteered to serve and put their lives on the line for our country.
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1 Fisher BL. Vaccine Injury Compensation: Government’s Broken Social Contract with Parents. NVIC Newsletter Nov. 2, 2015.
2 FDA. ACAM2000 Smallpox Vaccinia Vaccine (Live) Prescribing Information Package Insert. Sanofi-Pasteur 2007.
3 Cassimatis DC, Atwood SE, Engler RM, Linz PE. Smallpox vaccine and myopericarditis: A clinical review. Journal of American College of Cardiology 2004; 43(9): 1503-1510.
4 Parpia R, Fisher BL. The Anthrax Vaccine and Gulf War Illness. The Vaccine Reaction Apr. 30, 2017.
5 FDA. BioThrax Anthrax Vaccine Prescribing Information Package Insert. Emergent BioSolutions 2015.
6 Ryan MAK, Smith TC, Sevick CJ et al. Birth Defects among Infants Born to Women Who Received Anthrax Vaccine in Pregnancy. Am J Epidemiol 2008; 168: 434-442.
7 Benjamin M. Father of dead soldier claims Army coverup. UPI Aug. 2, 2003.
8 Schonauer S. AF officer repeatedly refuses anthrax shot, but does not get day in court. Stars & Stripes Aug. 2, 2003.
9 Nass M. The Anthrax Vaccine Project: An Analysis of the CDC’s Recommendations for Vaccine Use. Am J Public Health 2002; 92(6): 715-721.
10 Kaufman M. U.S. Barred from Forcing Troops to Get Anthrax Shots. Washington Post Oct. 28, 2004.
11 Black L. Informed Consent in the Military: The Anthrax Vaccination Case. American Medical Association Journal of Ethics 2007; 9(1): 698-702.
12 Fisher BL. NVIC Special Report: Biological Warfare and Anthrax Vaccine. NVIC Newsletter December 2001.
13 Associated Press. CIA’s final report: No WMDs found in Iraq. NBC Apr. 25, 2005.
14 Medical News Today. Sister of A Soldier Who Received More Than 6 Shots of the Anthrax Vaccine: Public comments from Aug. 1, 2008 to May 17, 2017.
15 Tack DM, Karem KL et al. Unintentional transfer of vaccinia virus associated with smallpox vaccines. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 2013; 9(7).
16 Schwartz J. Soldier’s Smallpox Inoculation Sickens Son. New York Times May 18, 2007.
17 MedAlerts. Search the VAERS Database.
18 HRSA. The Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program.
By Barbara Loe Fisher
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Do you know the difference between companies that sell cigarettes and companies that sell vaccines in America?
When cigarettes injure or kill people, tobacco companies are financially liable in civil court. But when vaccines injure or kill people, drug companies are not.
That’s right.
If you get lung cancer from smoking cigarettes, you can sue the tobacco company. 1 But if you or your child suffers brain damage or dies after getting a vaccine, the drug company cannot be sued. 2
And you can’t hold any person who licensed, recommended, gave or voted to mandate the vaccine accountable in a court of law, either. 3 4
Here is why:
In 1986, Congress gave drug companies a partial civil liability shield for vaccine injuries and deaths. 5
In 2011, the US Supreme Court effectively banned all vaccine injury lawsuits, ruling that vaccines are - quote - “unavoidably unsafe.” 6
Then, in 2016, Congress lowered licensing standards for experimental vaccines so that drug companies can fast track them to market without conducting large clinical trials. 7
Now, drug companies and their friends in medical trade are lobbying state legislatures to strip vaccine exemptions from state public health laws. 8 9
That’s right.
Even though drug companies and doctors have been given an unprecedented liability shield removing all responsibility for vaccine injuries and deaths, 10 they want more.
They want “no exceptions” vaccine laws forcing you and your children to use every dose of every government endorsed vaccine without your voluntary, informed consent. 11
What’s the difference between companies that make cigarettes and companies that make vaccines?
When cigarettes injure and kill people, Big Tobacco is legally accountable in a civil court in front of a jury of your peers. But when vaccines injure and kill people, Big Pharma is not.
At NVIC.org, learn more about vaccines, diseases and the human right to informed consent to medical risk taking.
Empower yourself today with well-referenced information that can help you make educated decisions about vaccination.
It’s your health. Your family. Your choice.
Click the plus sign at the bottom of this page to view and/or post comments on our commentary.
1 Sifferlin A. $23.6 Billion Lawsuit Winner to Big Tobacco: “Are You Awake Now?” Time Magazine July 22, 2014.
2 Leibowitz B. Supreme Court vaccine ruling: parents can’t sue drug makers for kids’ health problems. CBS News Feb 23, 2011.
3 Khoury G. Can You Sue Government Officials? FindLaw Feb. 8, 2017.
4 Meyers PH. Fixing the Flaws in the Federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Administrative Law Review 2011; 63(4).
5 Pear R. Reagan Signs Bill on Drug Exports and Payment for Vaccine Injuries. New York Times Nov. 15, 1986.
6 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites “Betrayal” of Consumers by U.S. Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Business Wire Feb. 23, 2011.
7 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Calls 21st Century Cures Act “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” and Urges Presidential Veto to Protect Public Health. Business Wire Feb. 8, 2016.
8 Fisher BL. Defending the Religious Exemption to Vaccination. NVIC Newsletter June 28, 2016.
9 National Vaccine Information Center. NVIC Now Monitoring 134 Vaccine Bills in 35 States: 31 More Vaccine Bills Introduced in Past Two Weeks. NVIC Newsletter Feb. 26, 2017.
10 Fisher BL. Vaccine Injury Compensation: Government’s Broken Social Contract with Parents. NVIC Newsletter Nov. 2, 2015.
11 Fisher BL. The Vaccine Culture War in America: Are You Ready? NVIC Newsletter Mar. 8, 2015.
Ignorance about vaccine history, science and the ethics of mandatory vaccination laws can all too often lead to fear. That fear is leading to a disturbing trend among doctors, attorneys and journalists calling for punishment, violence, imprisonment, and, most recently, even execution by hanging, for anyone who questions vaccine safety or the wisdom of injecting up to 70 vaccines, or who exercises their right to exemption from medical intervention. The Vaccine Reaction’s article, “Refusal to Vaccinate Should Be a Hanging Offense?” addresses this trend in light of the Boston Herald’s incendiary editorial calling for the hanging of anyone who expresses concerns about vaccine safety. Click to read the article »
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