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HEPATITIS B VACCINE:

THE UNTOLD STORY

Parents Question Forced Vaccination As Reports of Hepatitis B Vaccine

Reactions Multiply

In increasing numbers, parents across the country are contacting the

National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) to report opposition to

regulations being enacted by state health department officials that legally

require children to be injected with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine

before being allowed to attend daycare, kindergarten, elementary school,

high school or college. Simultaneously, as more schools and employers bow to

pressure from government health officials and require individuals to show

proof they have been injected with hepatitis B vaccine before being allowed

to get an education or a job, reports of serious health problems following

hepatitis B vaccination among children and adults are multiplying.

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) maintains that federal and

state public health officials are promoting forced vaccination with

hepatitis B vaccine without truthfully informing the public about the risks

of hepatitis B disease in America or the known and unknown risks of

hepatitis B vaccine. Without being provided with accurate and complete

information about disease and vaccine risks, citizens cannot exercise

informed consent, which becomes a human right when an individual considers

undergoing a medical procedure that could cause injury or death.

Following is a general overview of what is and is not known about hepatitis

B disease, the hepatitis B vaccine and the politics of hepatitis B

vaccination.

Hepatitis B Not Highly Contagious - Unlike other infectious diseases for

which vaccines have been developed and mandated in the U.S., hepatitis B is

not common in childhood and is not highly contagious. Hepatitis B is

primarily an adult disease transmitted through infected body fluids, most

frequently infected blood, and is prevalent in high risk populations such as

needle using drug addicts; sexually promiscuous heterosexual and homosexual

adults; residents and staff of custodial institutions such as prisons;

health care workers exposed to blood; persons who require repeated blood

transfusions and babies born to infected mothers.

According to CDC Prevention Guidelines: A Guide to Action (1997), a book

written by federal public health officials at the U.S. government Centers

for Disease Control (CDC), " the sources of [hepatitis B] infection for most

cases include intravenous drug use (28%), heterosexual contact with infected

persons or multiple partners (22%) and homosexual activity (9%). " According

to Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine (1994), mother to child

transmission of hepatitis B " is uncommon in North America and western

Europe. "

Although CDC officials have made statements that hepatitis B is easy to

catch through sharing toothbrushes or razors, Eric Mast, M.D., Chief of the

Surveillance Section, Hepatitis Branch of the CDC, stated in a 1997 public

hearing that: " although [the hepatitis B virus] is present in moderate

concentrations in saliva, it's not transmitted commonly by casual contact. "

Hepatitis B Not A Killer Disease For Most - Symptoms of hepatitis B disease

include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, low grade fever, pain and swelling in

joints, headache and cough that may occur one to two weeks before the onset

of jaundice (yellowing of the skin) and enlargement and tenderness of the

liver, which can last for three to four weeks. Fatigue can last up to a

year. According to Harrison's, in cases of acute hepatitis B " most patients

do not require hospital care " and " 95 percent of patients have a favorable

course and recover completely " with the case-fatality ratio being " very low

(approximately 0.1 percent). "

Those who recover completely from hepatitis B infection acquire life-long

immunity. Of those who do not recover completely, fewer than 5 percent

become chronic carriers of the virus with just one quarter of these in

danger of developing life threatening liver disease later in life, according

to Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease (1994), a medical college textbook.

The Guide to Clinical Preventive Services (1996), written under the

supervision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS),

states that the risk of developing a chronic hepatitis B infection is higher

in infected infants than in infected older children and adults: " Infections

during infancy, while estimated to represent only 1-3% of cases, account for

20-30% of chronic infections. " Because infants born to infected mothers are

at highest risk for developing chronic hepatitis B infections, routine

screening of pregnant women for hepatitis B infection is one of the most

important public health measures that can be taken to prevent chronic

hepatitis B carriers. The Merck Manual (1992), a major medical reference

used by physicians, notes that " post exposure vaccination is recommended for

newborn infants of hepatitis B positive mothers. "

Hepatitis B Low In U.S. - The U.S. and Western Europe have always had among

the lowest rates of hepatitis B disease in the world (0.1% to 0.5% of the

general population) compared to countries in the Far East and Africa, where

the disease affects 5-20% or more of the population. According to Guide to

Clinical Preventive Services, in the U.S. " the greatest reported incidence

[of hepatitis B] occurs in adults aged 20-39 " and " the number of cases

peaked in 1985 and has shown a continuous gradual decline since that time. "

Even though hepatitis B disease is uncommon in the general population in the

U.S., it continues to be high among those engaged in high-risk behaviors,

especially IV drug use. Guide to Clinical Preventive Services states that

" In recent years, a growing number of injection drug users have become

infected; currently, between 60% and 80% of persons who use illicit drugs

parenterally (through the skin such as with a needle stick) have serologic

evidence of [hepatitis B] infection. "

In 1991, there were 18,003 cases of hepatitis B reported in the U.S. out of

a total U.S. population of 248 million. According to the October 31, 1997

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published by the CDC, in 1996 there

were 10,637 cases of hepatitis B reported in the U.S. with 279 cases

reported in children under the age of 14 and the CDC stated that " Hepatitis

B continues to decline in most states, primarily because of a decrease in

the number of cases among injecting drug users and, to a lesser extent,

among both homosexuals and heterosexuals of both sexes. "

CDC Recommends All Infants Get Hep B Vaccine - Even though hepatitis B is an

adult disease, is not highly contagious, is not deadly for most who contract

it, and is not in epidemic form in the U.S. (except among high risk groups

such as IV drug addicts), in 1991 the Advisory Committee on Immunization

Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended that

all infants be injected with the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine at birth

before being discharged from the hospital newborn nursery. A similar

recommendation was also made by the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This, despite the fact almost nothing

is known about the health and integrity of an individual baby's immune and

neurological systems at birth.

In 1991, media reports generated by the CDC used hepatitis B disease

statistics that were not anchored in documented fact but are still used

today to promote mass hepatitis B vaccination. Most of the inflated disease

statistics originate with statements generated by the Centers for Disease

Control. In the 1991 ACIP Recommendations calling for mass vaccination with

hepatitis B vaccine published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,

the CDC states that there are an " estimated 1 million-1.25 million persons

with chronic hepatitis B infection in the United States " and that " each year

approximately 4,000-5,000 of these persons die from chronic liver disease "

and that " an estimated 200,000-300,000 new [hepatitis B] infections occurred

annually during the period 1980-1991. " The CDC gives no scientific reference

for this data other than the CDC.

Just one year before the government's call for mass vaccination, hepatitis B

vaccine maker SmithKline Beecham in their 1990 hepatitis B vaccine product

insert stated, " The CDC estimates that there are approximately 0.5 to 1.0

million chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus in the U.S. and that this pool

of carriers grows by 2% to 3% (12,000 to 20,000 individuals) annually. "

Federal Recommendations Become State Laws - Because vaccination requirements

are controlled by states and not the federal government, in order for

federal health officials to achieve their goal of a 100 percent vaccination

rate with new vaccines marketed by drug companies, they must persuade states

to turn federal vaccine policies into state law. And, because during the

past 50 years, most state legislatures have completely turned over the power

to mandate vaccines to state health department officials, very infrequently

do state legislators take a vote to approve the mandating of a new vaccine

such as hepatitis B. So, while American children born in 1948 were only

required by state health officials to show proof of smallpox vaccination to

enter school, American children born in 1998 are required by most states to

be injected with 33 or 34 doses of 9 or 10 different viral and bacterial

vaccines to enter school, including three doses of hepatitis B vaccine.

Federal Health Officials Give State Health Officials Money To Force Hep B

Vaccination - Following the 1991 CDC recommendation for universal use of

hepatitis B vaccine by all children, state health department officials began

issuing mandates requiring children to show proof they have been injected

with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine in order to attend daycare or

school. By the end of 1997, 35 states had regulations on the books requiring

children to get 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine and, yet, only 15 states had

passed laws requiring prenatal screening of pregnant mothers for hepatitis B

infection.

To encourage states to mandate use of hepatitis B vaccine by all children,

federal health officials at the Centers for Disease Control give grants and

other financial incentives to state health departments to reward them for

promoting mass vaccination. Since 1965, the CDC has given state health

departments hundreds of millions of dollars through categorical grant

programs to promote mass use of federally recommended vaccines. At the same

time, if state health officials do not show federal health officials proof

they have attained a certain vaccination rate in their state, federal grants

to state health departments can be withheld.

In 1993, the Comprehensive Childhood Immunization Act of 1993 was passed

giving the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) the authority to

award more than $400 million to states to set up state vaccine registries to

tag and track children and enforce mandatory vaccination with federally

recommended vaccines, including hepatitis B vaccine. The Performance Grant

Program rewards a state with either $50, $75 or $100 per child who is fully

vaccinated with all federally recommended vaccines, including hepatitis B

vaccine and, in 1995, DHHS Secretary Donna Shalala gave the states the power

to approve a newborn's social security number in order to set up vaccine

tracking registries in more than half the states. The CDC plan is to hook up

the state vaccine tracking registries in order to create a de facto

centralized electronic database containing every child's medical records.

Pharmaceutical Industry Also Funds Forced Hep B Vaccination - In addition to

federal grants, many states get money from the Robert Wood Johnson

Foundation (Johnson & Johnson), which operates All Kids Count, to set up

vaccine tracking systems to enforce state vaccination mandates. (In 1989,

Merck & Co., the U.S. manufacturer of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR),

chicken pox and hepatitis B vaccines, joined with Johnson & Johnson to form

Worldwide Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co. with the goal of becoming " one of the

premier worldwide consumer products companies. " Merck's 1997 vaccine sales

reached 1 billion dollars.)

All Kids Count is a project of the Task Force for Child Survival and

Development headquartered at The Carter Center (former President Jimmy

Carter) in Atlanta, which is directed by former CDC director Dr. William

Foege. The Task Force is supported by the World Health Organization, World

Bank, Rockefeller Foundation, United Nation's Population Fund and vaccine

manufacturers, entities which also sponsor the Children's Vaccine Initiative

(CVI). The CVI, headquartered in Geneva, was launched in 1990 at the World

Summit for Children and promotes " the development and utilization " of

vaccines by all of the world's children.

Forced vaccination with hepatitis B vaccine is also promoted in states by

non-profit organizations such as Every Child by Two, founded in 1991 by

former First Lady Rosalyn Carter and Betty Bumpers, wife of Arkansas Senator

Dale Bumpers. Every Child by Two is funded in part by grants from Merck,

Lederle and Connaught, the three largest U.S. vaccine manufacturers.

The non-profit CDC Foundation, which began operation in 1995, has raised

more than $15 million in the past four years to augment the CDC's campaign

to enforce mass vaccination. The CDC Foundation, the Task Force for Child

Survival & Development and vaccine manufacturers funded the recent National

Immunization Conference held in Atlanta.

The five-year-old non-profit Immunization Action Coalition operates the

Hepatitis B Coalition, which nationally promotes hepatitis B vaccination for

all children. Funding comes from private donations, including a grant from

SmithKline Beecham, manufacturer of the hepatitis B vaccine, and a new

$750,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control. A newsletter produced

by this group contains the assurance that " Everything herein is reviewed by

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for technical accuracy

(unless it is an opinion piece written by a non-CDC author). "

Pharmacists Now Vaccinate - SmithKline Beecham, through the American

Pharmaceutical Association, has also funded a nationwide campaign called

" Pharmacy-Based Immunization Advocacy " which allows pharmacists to vaccinate

children and adults. As of 1998, the Hepatitis B Coalition reports that 23

states have passed laws giving pharmacists the right to sell and administer

hepatitis B and other vaccines.

Families Penalized For Refusing Hep B Vaccine - As state health departments

accumulate power and money to force vaccination with all federally

recommended vaccines, including hepatitis B vaccine, child and adult

citizens are punished by both federal and state health officials with

economic sanctions for refusing to comply. Refusal to be injected with

hepatitis B vaccine can result in citizens being denied an education,

including enrollment in daycare, elementary school, high school, college and

graduate school; denial of health insurance; denial of employment; denial of

federal entitlement benefits for poor children including food under the

Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and medical care under Medicaid.

In some states, like Texas, a needy family loses $25 per month per child in

state health benefits if all children have not received all federally

recommended vaccines, including hepatitis B vaccine.

Hep B Vaccine Licensed By FDA Without Adequate Proof of Long Term Safety -

In 1986, the FDA gave Merck & Co. a license to market the first recombinant

DNA hepatitis B vaccine, which replaced the old hepatitis B vaccines made

from blood taken from human chronic hepatitis B virus carriers. In awarding

Merck & Co. and, later, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, licenses to

market their genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccines in the U.S., the

FDA allowed both drug companies to use " safety " studies which only included

a few thousand children monitored for only four or five days after

vaccination to check for reactions. As " proof " their hepatitis B vaccine is

safe to be used in children, Merck & Co. stated in their 1993 product insert

that " In a group of studies, 1636 doses of RECOMBIVAX HB were administered

to 653 healthy infants and children (up to 10 years of age) who were

monitored for 5 days after each dose. "

Merck & Co. found that injection site and systemic complaints, such as

fatigue and weakness, fever, headache and arthralgia (joint pain), were

reported following up to 17 percent of all hepatitis B injections. Because

the FDA did not require drug companies to provide scientific evidence that

hepatitis B vaccine does not compromise the immune and neurological systems

of children and adults over weeks, months or years post-vaccination, Merck &

Co. warns in the 1996 product insert that " As with any vaccine, there is the

possibility that broad use of the vaccine could reveal adverse reactions not

observed in clinical trials " and SmithKline Beecham (1993) has a similar

warning that " it is possible that expanded commercial use of the vaccine

could reveal rare adverse reactions.

Another warning in the Merck 1996 product insert is " it is also not known

whether the vaccine can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant

woman or can affect reproduction capacity " and " it is not known whether the

vaccine is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are secreted in human

milk, caution should be exercised when the vaccine is administered to a

nursing woman. "

And, although doctors routinely inject hepatitis B vaccine into children

along with many other vaccines such as DPT, HIB, MMR and chicken pox

vaccine, Merck & Co. state in the 1996 product insert: " Specific data are

not yet available for the simultaneous administration of RECOMBIVAX HB with

other vaccines. "

Hep B Vaccine Efficacy Also Questioned - All vaccines stimulate only an

artificial, temporary immunity, and the length of immunity conferred by the

hepatitis B vaccine and the future need for more " booster " doses later in

life is still not clear. Merck & Co state in their 1996 hepatitis B vaccine

product insert that " the duration of the protective effect of RECOMBIVAX HB

in healthy vaccines is unknown at present and the need for booster doses is

not yet defined. "

In the CDC Prevention Guidelines: A Guide to Action (1997), the CDC states

" The duration of protection [of hepatitis B vaccine] and need for booster

doses are not yet fully defined. Between 30% and 50% of persons who develop

adequate antibody after three doses of vaccine will lose detectable antibody

within 7 years but protection against viremic infection and clinical disease

appears to persist. " If immunity only lasts 7 years, babies vaccinated with

hepatitis B vaccine may be candidates for more shots at age seven.

IOM Report Reveals Lack Of Adequate Scientific Studies - In Adverse Events

Associated with Childhood Vaccines published in 1994 by the Institute of

Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, observations about the limitations

of hepatitis B vaccine studies included the statements that " it is important

to note that individual trials usually involved a few hundred subjects for

study...when larger vaccination programs were monitored, observations of

adverse events were necessarily less detailed and less accurately reported "

and " the studies were not designed to assess serious, rare adverse events;

the total number of recipients is too small and the follow-up generally too

short to detect rare or delayed serious adverse reactions. "

The IOM report also noted that no controlled observational studies or

controlled clinical trials have ever been held to evaluate repeated reports

that hepatitis B vaccine can cause Guillain-Barré syndrome; arthritis;

transverse myelitis, optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis and other central

demyelinating diseases of the nervous system (degeneration of the myelin

sheath of the brain that helps transmit nerve impulses); or sudden infant

death syndrome (SIDS).

A major conclusion of the Institute of Medicine report was that almost no

basic science research has been undertaken to define at the cellular and

molecular level the biological mechanism of vaccine-induced injury and

death. The report concluded that " The lack of adequate data regarding many

of the adverse events under study was of major concern to the

committee...the committee encountered many gaps and limitations in knowledge

bearing directly or indirectly on the safety of vaccines. These include

inadequate understanding of the biologic mechanisms underlying adverse

events following natural infection or immunization, insufficient or

inconsistent information from case reports and case series...and inadequate

size or length of follow-up of many population-based epidemiologic

studies.. "

Medical Literature Cites Immune System/Brain Damage - During the past

decade, there have been many reports in the medical literature (primarily in

international medical journals rather than U.S. medical journals) that

hepatitis B vaccination is causing chronic immune and neurological disease

in children and adults, including lupus: Tudela & Bonal (1992); Mamoux &

Dumont (1994); Guiserix (1996); arthritis, including polyarthritis and

rheumatoid arthritis: Christan & Helin (1987); Hachulla et al (1990);

Rogerson & Nye (1990); Biasi et al (1993),(1994); Vautier & Carty (1994);

Hassan & Oldham (1994); Rheumatic Review (1994); Gross et al (1995); Pope et

al (1995); Cathebras et al (1996); Soubrier et al (1997); Guillain Barre

Syndrome GBS): Shaw et al (1988), Tuohy (1989); demyelinating disorders such

as optic neuritis, Bell's Palsy, demyelinating neuropathy, transverse

myelitis and multiple sclerosis: Shaw et al (1988); WHO (1990); Reutens et

al (1990); Herroelen et al (1991); Nadler (1993); Brezin et al (1993);

Mahassin et al (1993); Kaplanski et al (1995); Baglivo et al (1996);

Marsaudon & Barrault (1996); Berkman et al (1996); Waisbren (1997); diabetes

mellitus: Poutasi (1996); Classen (1996); chronic fatigue: Salit (1993);

Delage et al (1993); vascular disorders: Fried et al (1987); Goolsby (1989);

Cockwell et al (1990); Poullin & Gabriel (1994); Mathieu et al (1996);

Graniel et al (1997); and others.

In 1996, Burton A. Waisbren, M.D., a cell biologist and infectious disease

specialist, who is a founding member of the Infectious Disease Society of

America and past President of the Infectious Disease Society of Milwaukee,

pointed out in the Wisconsin Medical Journal that " there is an increasing

number of reports in the refereed medical literature about demyelinizing

diseases occurring after an individual has received the hepatitis B

vaccination...since the hepatitis B virus itself has been reported to cause

autoimmune problems, should we not be wary of giving antigens that seem to

have triggered these problems? " Waisbren, in a presentation before a 1996

Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Forum, warned that genetically

engineered hepatitis B vaccines contain polypeptide sequences that are

present in human neurologic tissues such as myelin and that, by a mechanism

called molecular mimicry, these polypeptides can act as autoantigens which

can induce autoimmune demyelinating diseases of the brain such as multiple

sclerosis.

In that same year, Montinari et al published a study in Italy evaluating 30

children and adults, the majority aged 3 to 9 months, who suffered central

nervous system disorders, such as seizures and autism, following hepatitis B

vaccination. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether there is an

immunogenetic basis (autoimmune type) responsible for the demyelination

process in the brain that can occur following recombinant hepatitis B

vaccination. The authors concluded " autoimmune diseases are more frequent in

nations where vaccines are widely used, the so called " clear " communities "

and they identified several potential genetic markers that " may visualize

risk patients for autoimmune diseases following hepatitis B vaccination.

Montinari's work to identify genetic factors for predisposition to hepatitis

B vaccine reactions is important in light of the study in 1989 by Alper et

al to identify genetic factors for those who do not respond to hepatitis B

vaccination. In that study, the authors concluded that there was genetic

predisposition to failure to respond to the vaccine. They stated: " These

results support our hypothesis that the production of anti-HBsAg

[vaccine-induced antibodies] is a dominant trait and that the inability to

produce high titers of anti-HBsAG after adequate immunization is a recessive

trait... " The authors concluded that the genetic markers they identified are

most prevalent in caucasians of European descent " and is associated with a

wide variety of diseases with autoimmune features in this population,

including Type 1 diabetes mellitus... "

In 1996, Barthelow Classen, M.D., CEO of Classen Immunotherapies Inc.,

published an epidemiologic study in the New Zealand Medical Journal and

reported that there was a 60 percent increase in Type 1 diabetes (juvenile

diabetes) following a massive campaign in New Zealand from 1988 to 1991 to

vaccinate babies six weeks of age or older with hepatitis B vaccine. His

analysis of a group of 100,000 New Zealand children prospectively followed

since 1982 showed that the incidence of diabetes before the hepatitis B

vaccination program began in 1988 was 11.2 cases per 100,000 children per

year while the incidence of diabetes following the hepatitis B vaccination

campaign was 18.2 cases per 100,000 children per year.

Vaccine Injuries Reported At NVIC Conference on Vaccination - At the First

International Public Conference on Vaccination sponsored by the NVIC on

September 13-15, 1997 in Alexandria, Virginia, physicians and scientists

from around the world gathered to speak about vaccine-induced chronic

illness. Canadian physician Byron Hyde, M.D., Chairman of the Nightingale

Research Foundation, and an internationally recognized authority on myalgic

encephalomyelitis (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome), spoke about the

data he has accumulated on more than 200 cases of serious immune and

neurological dysfunction following hepatitis B vaccination. Dr. Hyde said:

" There was a nurse in Wisconsin who had had two immunizations against

hepatitis B. After the second, she started to complain. They insisted that

she have three more [shots], full dosage. They gave her the first, she

complained of headaches, pain, and they told her this was anxiety neurosis.

They gave her the fourth and fifth and she lost I.Q., measurable loss of

intelligence, measurable loss in stamina, all of the things you see in the

worst cases of ME or chronic fatigue syndrome.....A lot of these cases that

we've looked at suggest demyelinating disease, disseminated myelitis,

localized injuries, three unexplained deaths...the problem with all of this

is that nobody has ever seriously studied it.... "

Dr. Hyde was particularly critical of the poor science and medicine that

hurts patients. He concluded " Almost all of these people who had adverse

reactions after the first immunization, after the second immunization were

individuals who had immunological side effects and who told their physicians

and the physicians did nothing about it but continued to proceed with

immunization... I think part of the problem is the pharmaceutical companies

and the governments themselves have attempted to say 'Here, take this sugar

pill, it is danger-free, it is a wonderful thing, it has no risk, no

problems' and doctors have become lazy and actually believed this dangerous

philosophy put out by the pharmaceutical companies and the governments. "

Hep B Vaccine Infant Deaths Reported In VAERS - Even though fewer than 10

percent of all doctors report health problems following vaccination, there

are more than 16,000 reports of hospitalizations, injuries and deaths

following hepatitis B vaccination that have been reported to the U.S.

government Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) since July 1990.

There are reports of deaths in infants under one month of age following

hepatitis B vaccination in VAERS, with most of the deaths being classified

as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), even though SIDS is not historically

recognized in the medical literature as occurring in babies under two months

of age.

One of those death reports was made for a 15-day old baby boy who died

within 48 hours of his first dose of hepatitis B vaccine. His father

testified at a 1995 Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Forum workshop. He

described what happened:

" For the first 13 days of his life, Nicholas was no different than any other

baby. He ate well. When he slept, he slept well. He acted just like my first

son acted when he came home from the hospital. " Nicholas was given a

hepatitis B shot at his regular check up at the pediatrician's office on the

13th day of his life. His father said:

" That night when I got home from work, I noticed that Nicholas was crying a

lot more than usual. In fact, he was screaming some of the time. He was

acting differently, but because we had just taken him to the doctor for a

checkup and they told us he was a big healthy boy, we thought everything was

OK. When he was just acting fussy, like babies sometimes do, we didn't know

anything about vaccines or that they can cause problems for some babies. "

" Nicholas cried on and off for most of the night. When I got up and went to

work the next day, he was still crying on and off. He continued during most

of the day and into the evening. The next morning, his mother found him dead

in his crib. From the way he looked, he had been dead for several hours. "

An autopsy was done the next day. A couple of weeks later, our pediatrician

told us over the phone that the autopsy showed Nicholas had died of sudden

infant death syndrome. He told us Nicholas was one of the healthiest babies

he had ever seen.. What I didn't know then but I know now is that the

pediatrician had made a report within 17 days of Nicholas' death to the

government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, VAERS. In VAERS,

Nicholas' death is listed as SIDS. Even though I didn't know anything about

vaccines or SIDS, something told me that there was a reason why Nicholas

died, and I had to find out why. "

After seeing an article in the Washington Post about the Institute of

Medicine report on adverse events associated with childhood vaccines,

Nicholas's father called the National Vaccine Information Center and began

talking to experts and researching infant death and vaccines. Eventually a

clinical professor of pathology, who had reviewed Nicholas' medical records,

autopsy and slides, stated in writing that Nicholas did not die of SIDS but

died a cardiac death, caused by passive congestive changes with pulmonary

edema and hemorrhage caused by the active immunization with hepatitis B

vaccine. The pathologist stated " I do not believe this was a sudden infant

death syndrome death. Sudden infant death syndrome is the most abused

diagnosis in pediatric pathology. In this particular case, the infant was

two weeks old. Sudden infant death at two weeks old is so rare as to be

virtually unheard of. "

The pathologist went on to say that Nicholas was at high risk for congestive

heart failure because his mother had gestational diabetes, but that he would

definitely have survived were it not for the stress induced by the hepatitis

B vaccination.

Nicholas's father, in his testimony before the Institute of Medicine, asked

" How many other newborn babies are dying from the effects of hepatitis B

vaccine, but are being wrongly diagnosed as SIDS and no one ever knows the

difference? I looked at the computer printouts of VAERS reports at the

National Vaccine Information Center, and I saw there were other reports of

babies just a few days or weeks old, who have died shortly after hepatitis B

vaccination. Many are listed as SIDS deaths, but are they? "

Adults Report Hep B Vaccine Injury And Death To NVIC - As hepatitis B

requirements force more adults to get vaccinated as a condition for getting

a higher education or working in the health care field, NVIC is receiving

more and more reaction reports like this one from a disabled nurse, who

recently wrote in:

" 24 hours after my first [hepatitis B] shot, I had muscle pain in legs and

arms - was told this was 'normal.' Same thing after 2nd shot. Six weeks

after 2nd shot I had my first episode of Raynauds [temporary loss of blood

flow to fingers resulting in tingling, throbbing, swelling, intense pain]

and also began having rashes on arms and neck. At this point it was minor

and not constant. I asked if it had anything to do with the vaccine and was

told no.

" Six months after the 1st shot, I received the booster. From then (1995) to

today, I have constant daily fevers up to 100.5, tormenting rashes and

prickling on arms, hands, neck and legs, muscle degeneration, joint pain

with restricted movement, difficulty swallowing and Raynauds has become

severe.

" I was perfectly healthy until the hepatitis B vaccinations and still all

the doctors tell me it has nothing to do with my illness. I had reactions to

two of the drugs they tried to treat me with. I am on total disability

because of these symptoms. I am an RN but was taught that the vaccines were

perfectly safe. "

Parents Oppose Hepatitis B Vaccine Mandate In Illinois - In the spring of

1997, a suburban Chicago mother of two daughters, ages 9 and 11, became

concerned when she received a notice from the school system stating that her

older daughter had to be vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine by September

1997 or she would be barred from attending school. Although both of Kathy

Rothschild's daughters were fully vaccinated with all other childhood

vaccines, she didn't know anyone with hepatitis B and couldn't understand

why her daughter had to get the vaccine. Her research led her to a public

library and then to NVIC.

With the help of Kathy Rothschild's State Senator, Kathy Parker, an

agreement by the Illinois Department of Health to not voice opposition, and

with support from NVIC members around the state, a bill passed the Illinois

Senate 52-2 on March 20, 1997, allowing parents the right to philosophical

exemption to vaccination. The bill also created a Task Force and required

the Board of Health to hold public hearings to review how Illinois public

health employees add new vaccines to state vaccination laws and how they

implement those laws.

After the bill overwhelmingly passed the Senate, the Illinois Department of

Health went back on its pledge not to oppose the bill and vigorously fought

against the bill in the House, successfully killing it in committee before

it had a chance to come to a floor vote. However, the health department did

agree to roll back the hepatitis B mandate for one year (until September

1998) and to hold three public hearings, which resulted in testimony from

physician expert witnesses and parents and reinforced the dangers of

hepatitis B vaccine and the need for informed consent rights to be

established within state vaccine requirements.

Doctor, Mothers Say Vaccine Safety Data Poor - In a December 1997 public

hearing in Chicago before the Illinois Board of Health, Mayer Eisenstein,

M.D., M.P.H., who is board certified in public health and preventive

medicine, quality assurance utilization review, by the National Board of

Medical Examiners and has recently completed a law degree, testified against

the proposed hepatitis B mandate. He said: " The idea of giving this vaccine

to a one-day old baby, a newborn, is preposterous. There is no scientific

evidence for this. In fact, I called up the [hepatitis B vaccine]

manufacturer and I had [a representative] come to St. Mary of Nazareth

Hospital, where I am Chairman of the Department of Medicine, and I asked

him: 'Show me your evidence on one-day old infants as to side effects [from

the hepatitis B vaccine]' - we have none. Our studies were done on 5 and 10

year olds.... As a father, grandfather, a physician, as a lawyer, I want the

option of not giving it to my children unless I believe the scientific

evidence is there. "

Later during the public hearing, a mother whose child reacted to the

hepatitis B vaccine testified that " We were told unless we had the shot our

children were not getting into school. In the past, I got the shots for my

children. So I went and got the [hepatitis B] shot. First shot, my daughter

got slightly sick. We didn't associate it with the shot. We associated it

with possible flu. Her legs hurt. Her back hurt.... "

" The second shot, within two days of this shot, my daughter's symptoms went

from mild to severe abdominal pain around the clock. She couldn't eat. She

couldn't sleep. Her legs hurt. She broke out in a rash. She had eczema over

most of her body. Going to the doctor, we were told it was in her head, that

she needed a psychiatrist. Then we decided we would find out for ourselves.

" It was the people who gave me [information on the vaccine], the list that I

should have gotten first that said what the reactions were, including severe

abdominal pain, eczema, rash, hair loss. My doctor didn't tell me that. I

was given a piece of paper that said reactions would be a minimum, maybe a

small fever. She had a fever the whole time.

" I never knew any of this existed, and this is $18,000 later, a child who

[had to be] out of school for the first three months and was tutored at

home. I don't want to see other kids go through this. I think there should

be more testing done. I think the parents should know that this shot isn't

for something that's easily picked up. This is for sexual transmission or

drug use. My child is ten years old. She plays with Barbie dolls and paints

her fingernails. She doesn't know about this stuff. I don't want to give her

a shot to protect her from something and someplace she's not at yet. "

Citizens Make Plea for Informed Consent - Before testifying at a Board of

Health public hearing held in Springfield on March 26, 1998, NVIC held a

press conference in the State Capitol building. Then, along with scores of

Illinois parents who traveled to Springfield to make public comment, NVIC

President Barbara Loe Fisher Reverend Robert VandenBosch, President of the

American Research Foundation, and Bonnie Dunbar, Ph.D., professor of cell

biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, presented formal

testimony.

Fisher told the Board of Health " There is a six year old girl named

Katherine lying in a bed in Skokie, Illinois unable to lift her head off her

pillow or walk to the bathroom. Just 13 weeks ago, Katherine was an ice

skater with boundless energy and a dream of going to the Olympics. Her

mother didn't want her to get the hepatitis B shot but her pediatrician told

her it was a political issue like AIDS and the American Academy of

Pediatrics (AAP) was going to mandate the vaccine soon. Katherine got that

hepatitis B shot and now she may never skate again. Where were her informed

consent rights? And where will the doctors from the state health department

and the CDC and the AAP be when her mother carries her up the stairs to the

bathroom? And will the state of Illinois pay her medical bills when her

insurance runs out after DHHS and the Justice Department oppose giving her

federal compensation? "

During limited public comment time, all of the parents asked the Board of

Health to allow citizens to follow the judgment of their conscience when

making vaccination decisions for their children, including the right to

exercise informed consent to vaccination without suffering harassment and

punishment at the hands of state health and school officials. Some, like a

young man who was kicked out of an Illinois college in the middle of the

semester because of his sincere religious beliefs, asked for the right to

follow his religious convictions without being punished by doctors employed

by the state. He said:

" They have refused to give me credit for this semester and have told me not

to attend class and have cancelled my appointment with my advisors. I

applied for a religious exemption. Both my parents wrote letters identifying

my objection. We were refused on the grounds that, in order for a religious

exemption to occur, I must identify 'a recognized church or religious

organization.' I don't believe that anyone has a right to judge my religion.

How does recognition of my belief by another human being make it more or

less? I am confused by the word 'organized.' How does the number of people

or the structure under which they operate validate my beliefs? This is a

violation of my Constitutional right to religious freedom. "

Rev. Robert VandenBosch, an ethicist, warned that " The First Amendment [of

the U.S. Constitution] clearly defines the free exercise of religious

beliefs and the moral rights of individuals to obey the judgment of their

conscience in matters of life and death. The Ninth Amendment of the

Constitution guarantees that governmental authority cannot override

individual rights of conscience. It states: 'The enumeration of the

Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage

others retained by the people.' One of the rights retained by the people is

the right of conscience. "

Professor Of Cell Biology Investigates Hep B Vaccine Damage - Professor

Bonnie Dunbar, Ph.D., who has a distinguished 25 year career in academic and

laboratory science and has been honored by the U.S. National Institutes of

Health (NIH) for her pioneering work in contraceptive vaccine development,

presented at the March 26 Illinois Board of Health hearing and described

disabling reactions to hepatitis B vaccine suffered by her brother and a

research assistant.

" Three years ago my brother, who is a geologist Ph.D. agronomist with four

college degrees, came to work with me at Baylor College of Medicine to work

on a collaborative project in molecular genetic engineering of wheat

proteins. He was required to take the hepatitis B vaccine. Within 24 hours

to four days after the first injection, he had fever and severe fatigue for

one week. Two to four weeks after that injection, he ended up with a whole

series of symptoms that now 15 doctors have said are clearly symptoms of an

adverse reaction to this vaccination. Even workman's compensation for the

state of Texas is compensating him for over $300,000 worth of medical

expenses. "

" At about the same time, a 21-year old girl, a medical student, came to work

in my lab for the summer, She, too, had to get the hepatitis B vaccine.

After the first injection, she had fever and fatigue. Three weeks following

her second injection, she lost vision in her one eye but, after 6 months,

regained most of her sight. She was reluctant to get the third dose of

vaccine, and talked with her doctor and he told her this [hepatitis B]

vaccine is the safest; there's no problem. After the third injection, she

ended up in the hospital for two months extremely ill and she has lost all

of her eyesight in one eye. "

Dr. Dunbar went on to explain to the Board of Health members that during the

past three years of collecting data on the hepatitis B vaccine, she has been

contacted by hundreds of doctors and patients around the world who have

reported severe autoimmune and neurological complications to hepatitis B

vaccination in previously healthy children and adults, including serious

rashes, fever, joint pain, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis and

lupus-like symptoms, rheumatoid arthritis and neurological dysfunction. As a

basic science researcher with expertise in cell and molecular biology, she

is investigating the possibility that molecular mimicry or other autoimmune

mechanisms may be the reason why the genetically engineered hepatitis B

vaccine " tricks " the immune systems of genetically susceptible individuals

into attacking their own bodies, causing debilitating autoimmune disorders.

After analyzing the data she has accumulated, Dr. Dunbar, in collaboration

with colleagues at other academic and medical institutions, applied for a

NIH research grant to investigate the role that genetic factors may play in

hepatitis B vaccine reactions and in vaccine failures. Their goal is to

identify genetic markers so high risk children and adults could be screened

out of the mass vaccination program and spared injury and death. The grant

was turned down twice by the government in July 1997 and July 1998 but Dr.

Dunbar and her colleagues are in the process of refiling the grant, along

with additional data.

Hep B Vaccine Victims In France Sue - An article in the July 31, 1998 issue

of Science, an American scientific journal, reports that French attorneys

representing 15,000 French citizens filed a lawsuit against the French gover

nment " accusing it of understating the vaccine's risks and exaggerating the

benefits for the average person. " One French physician has reportedly

collected data on more than 600 people suffering from serious immune and

neurological dysfunction following hepatitis B vaccination, many with

symptoms resembling multiple sclerosis. Science quotes a World Health

Organization official as saying " These fears [of the hepatitis B vaccine]

are quite unfounded " and reveals that CDC employee Robert Chen, who is

responsible for monitoring vaccine safety for the U.S. government, has a

simple explanation for the growing number of reports of hepatitis B vaccine

associated injury and death in the U.S., Canada and Europe. His scientific

analysis leads him to believe that " It's human nature to attribute cause to

almost anything that precedes a tragedy. "

Hep B Vaccination Can Mean A Positive Hep B Blood Test - A little known fact

about hepatitis B vaccine is that those who are vaccinated can test positive

for hepatitis B on some routine blood tests. NVIC has received calls from

adults who report that, after getting hepatitis B vaccine, they are testing

positive for hepatitis B when they undergo routine blood tests in doctor's

offices. The Red Cross maintains that more sensitive lab tests used by blood

banks can differentiate between hepatitis B antibodies produced by disease

and those produced by the vaccine.

HIV vaccines now being tested in humans also produce positive tests for HIV.

As noted in a September 1997 Washington Post article about HIV vaccine

trials: " Foremost among the worries of many would-be volunteers is the

problem of forever testing positive for AIDS antibodies...although

sophisticated laboratory tests can usually tell the difference between AIDS

antibodies caused by a vaccine and those that indicate a real HIV infection,

few laboratories are equipped to make that distinction. Moreover, as

vaccines get better by more closely mimicking the real infection, it will

become more difficult to distinguish between the two. "

Is Forced Hepatitis B Vaccination Paving Way For Forced Vaccination With

AIDS Vaccine? Hepatitis B is the first disease transmitted not by casual

contact like smallpox or polio, but by high-risk behavior such as IV drug

use and sexual promiscuity, that has been mandated for use by all children.

With the identical transmission routes as HIV, there are strong indications

that forced vaccination of infants and children with hepatitis B is just a

trial run for forced vaccination with an AIDS vaccine when it is put on the

market in the next few years. AIDS vaccines are currently in human trials as

a race to bring them to market intensified after a call last year by

President Clinton to make the creation and use of an AIDS vaccine " a

national mission. "

CDC Plans For Mass Vaccination Of All Children With AIDS Vaccine - In a

February 12, 1997 meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization

Practices (ACIP), Neal Halsey, M.D., chairman of the American Academy of

Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Infectious Diseases, AAP liaison member of the

ACIP and Director of the Institute of Vaccine Safety at John's Hopkins

University, reminded HIV vaccine researchers and developers at the meeting

that the CDC plans to target 11 to 12 year old children for " universal

application " of an HIV vaccine. Halsey told them:

" One of the things that's happened in the past with vaccines is that

sometimes the manufacturers have developed them and tested them primarily in

an age group or a population which may not be the final target population

that this committee has considered. Over the last few years we have

developed a statement on adolescent immunization and it probably would be

worth your reading that, and others, because we really see age 11 to 12 as

the target age for introduction of vaccines for prevention of sexually

transmitted diseases. And I know that, at this time, you are really studying

adults and you're also some distance away from the actual - having a [HIV]

vaccine in hand that might be licensed and approved - but at least it would

be nice if there were studies that were planned in parallel when you move

another step in the direction of actually having a candidate vaccine,

realizing where WE think we would want to use universal application of such

a vaccine. And so I think maybe [you should get] a copy of the adolescent

immunization statement. "

With the Children's Vaccine Initiative (CVI) and pharmaceutical industry

setting up the mechanism for global mass vaccination of children and adults,

including the creation of national and international vaccine tracking

systems, countries with low HIV rates like the U.S. and Europe will be

forced to use an HIV vaccine in order to pay for the vaccination of

populations in Asia and Africa where HIV infection rates are skyrocketing.

In 1996, HIV vaccine developer Stanley Plotkin, M.D., of Pasteur Merieux

Pharmaceuticals (who developed the rubella vaccine and has been a vaccine

policymaker member of the AAP Committee on Infectious Disease and AAP

liaison member of the ACIP) explained why mandatory vaccination in rich

countries like the U.S. help deliver vaccines to Third World markets:

" The keystone of the [global mass vaccination] system is that the research

costs [of drug companies] are recouped in North America and Europe and the

vaccines are sold in the developing world at much, much lower margins...the

relatively high rate of childhood vaccination seen lately in most parts of

the world is the result of that system, " explained Plotkin.

CDC Tells Congress About Future Vaccines - In testimony before the U.S.

Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources in 1997, CDC official Walter

Orenstein, M.D., made a bid to persuade Congress to reauthorize 288 million

dollars for the CDC's Immunization Grant Program in the $427 million 1998

DHHS budget request for immunization activities. In a review of the history

of vaccination, Dr. Orenstein recounted that, although almost a century

passed between the development of the smallpox vaccine in 1796 and that of

the rabies vaccine in the 1880's, by the middle of the 20th century there

were nearly two dozen vaccines on the market.

Painting a picture of the future, Orenstein said: " On the horizon are

vaccine technologies that would have been considered science fiction just a

decade ago, but are now reported at scientific meetings. Snippets of

synthetic DNA have worked as experimental vaccines in animals. Edible plants

have been bioengineered to become vaccine factories....vaccines have been

enclosed in microscopic capsules, permitting them to be released slowly over

time... "

Orenstein reminded legislators that " Every day about 11,000 babies are born

in this country. Each of these children starts with immunization coverage of

zero. There is why our responsibility to our Nation's children never ends;

it must be sustained every day of every year.... completing state-based

immunization registries is the cornerstone of assuring disease prevention. "

Vaccine Registries To Tag, Track, Force Vaccination - Even though CDC

officials admit that there is already a 96 percent vaccination rate in the

U.S. with federally recommended vaccines, they are setting up state vaccine

tracking registries and plan to link them together to create a de facto

national electronic tracking system to ensure mass compliance with federal

vaccine policies. Citizens will be tagged with a number at birth and tracked

even when moving from state to state.

In 1995, DHHS Secretary Donna Shalala appropriated the social security

numbers assigned to newborns to allow states to enter all babies in state

vaccine tracking systems. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and

Accountability Act (HIPAA), also known as the Kennedy-Kassebaum legislation,

outlined plans for a " unique health care identifier " number, which is an

alternative to the social security number, to be assigned to citizens at

birth and electronically monitor their medical records, including

vaccination records.

In a 1998 CDC publication entitled Initiative on Immunization Registries,

the CDC states that " we see [vaccine] registries as a possible first step in

the development of an electronic pediatric record " and " computerized

registries will eventually be capable of capturing immunization for

individuals of all ages " and " until a unique personal identifier can be

established on a national basis, multiple means of identification must be

used [in state vaccine registries]. " Core data that is now collected in many

state vaccine tracking systems include a citizen's name, address, phone

number, social security number, birth date, sex, race, primary language,

patient birth order, patient birth registration number, patient Medicaid

number, mother's name (including maiden name) and social security number and

father's name and social security number.

Most often state officials automatically enroll newborns into the vaccine

registry without informing parents or giving them the right to " opt-out " of

the registry. In the state of Texas, PROVE, a parent group led by Dawn

Richardson, worked to get legislation passed in 1997 requiring the state

health departments to obtain a parent's prior written consent to enroll a

child in a vaccine registry.

The CDC goes on to state that one of their main goals is " establishing a

target date to achieve the goal of establishing immunization registries in

every community in the Nation " and " promoting the inter-operability of

registries with other developing medical information systems " and " promoting

the automated exchange of immunization records between registries. "

What You Can Do - If you want to make informed, voluntary decisions about

hepatitis B vaccination, there are several actions you can take to educate

your community and protect your informed consent and privacy rights.

Circulate this newsletter in your community among your family, friends, and

neighbors. Get reprints by sending in the enclosed reprint order card.

Reprints are available for $1.25 each. Bulk pricing is available. Give

copies to your doctors, lawyers, teachers, school principals, nurses and

others. Send a copy to your favorite newspaper, radio and TV station. Send a

copy to your state and federal legislators with a personal letter. Report

vaccine reactions by calling NVIC at 1-800-909SHOT or accessing NVIC's

website at www.909SHOT.com. If you are pregnant, get tested for hepatitis B

disease. If you are infected, your baby is a candidate for vaccination.

Stand up for your informed consent rights. If you do not test positive for

hepatitis B; do not fall into one of the high risk categories described in

this newsletter; and decide you do not want your newborn vaccinated before

leaving the hospital newborn nursery, you can amend the " consent for medical

treatment " forms you sign upon entering the hospital before giving birth by

writing on the form that you do not give consent for hepatitis B vaccination

of your baby in the hospital. Check to see if your state has a vaccine

tracking system and, if you do not want your baby enrolled in a tracking

system, find out how you can exercise your informed consent rights. Get more

information, including checking your state vaccination laws for requirements

and exemptions. Hepatitis B vaccine is required in 35 states. There are

medical exemptions in all states, religious exemption in all but two states

(West Virginia and Mississippi) and philosophical exemption in 16 states.

Don't let anyone intimidate or coerce you into taking action before you have

had the opportunity to become fully informed about all your options and are

comfortable with your vaccination decision.

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