Nurse Damaged by Hepatitis B Vaccine

[Guest guest]

http://www.whale.to/vaccines/fluck.html

Testimony of Betty D. Fluck for U.S.

<http://www.whale.to/v/hepb.html>House of Representatives Committee

on Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, &

Human Resources. L. Mica. Chairman

Effectiveness of Hepatitis B Vaccine

May 18, 1999

I would like to thank you for allowing me to come before you today to

share my experience with you. Never did I dream that I would have

this opportunity. I am a diagnosed victim of the Hepatitis B vaccine.

My husband and I are not anti-vaccine. Each of our three boys has

been vaccinated per Health Department Guidelines. However, they will

not have the hepatitis B vaccine. On December 2, 1997, I took my

second Hepatitis B vaccine in the series of three. I was required to

have the immunization for my job. I am a Registered Nurse and have

been for twenty years. I had just started a new job as a Public

Health Nurse for the local Health Department in Kokomo, Indiana. Part

of my job description was to give immunizations in the department's

weekly clinic.

Roughly twelve hours after receiving my vaccine, I woke up in severe

pain - I developed a 104 F fever, nausea and vomiting, respiratory

problems, a rash, severe head, neck and back pain, swollen joints and

I was unable to move my legs. When the fever broke several hours

later, I regained a small percentage of my leg strength. but the

severe damage had already been done. I had to use a cane to move

around. I had absolutely no energy and I had constant joint and leg

pain. I was sleeping approximately 22 hours per day. I continued to

rim intermittent low grade fever.

The first doctor that I went to said that I had a reaction to the

Hepatitis B vaccine but was unable to help. I went from doctor to

doctor looking for help. I ended up at Indiana University Medical

Center in Indianapolis. I first saw a doctor who was very kind and

told me that he had read about some of the problems with the vaccine.

He promised to do some research into the vaccine adverse reactions.

He asked me to see one of his colleagues at I. U. Med Center, a

rheumatologist. This rheumatologist from I U. was simply hostile to

the idea that the Hepatitis B vaccine could have caused my problems.

He suggested that some of my problems could be attributed to a kidney

stone. Please be aware that at that point, my fingers were so painful

that I could not open a soda can.

I returned to the first doctor at I. U. Med Center one month later

for a scheduled follow up. This doctor who had been encouraging and

sympathetic one month ago now refused to use the word vaccine and

attributed some of my problems to the " aging process " . Unhappy with

both of these doctors, I requested a meeting with a patient advocate

and the I. U. doctors. At this meeting, the first doctor finally told

me that I had a " political problem. not a medical one. "

My condition continued to deteriorate from cane, to walker, to

kneebraces. Finally in September, 1998, 1 was put in full leg braces

that run from my toes to my hips. With the use of the braces and

forearm crutches, I have some mobility. Eight months after the

initial injury, I was able to find an out of state doctor who was

treating people for vaccine damage. I must now see him every three months.

The vaccine has caused nerve damage to my legs and hands. The medical

name for my problem is Chronic inflammatory Demylenating

Polyneuropathy (CIDP). I also have multiple types of auto immune

disorders, and I now have an elevated rheumatiod arthritis factor. I

undergo weekly IV treatment s that cost several thousand dollars per

week. Although I have more energy now there is no real prognosis for

my condition.

Immediately after I was injured, I contacted the pharmaceutical

company asking them for help. They told me that they had never heard

of this problem before. I realized at that point that I was not that

unique and decided to write to the FDA through the Freedom of

Information Act. I requested any reports on file about adverse

reactions to the Hepatitis B vaccine for one particular company from

1991 to present. Four months later I received a box containing a 1045

page report. On each page, there were summaries of approximately

eight reactions . These 8000 + reactions ranged from mild to death.

I made an appearance on ABC's 20/20 in January, 1999 on their story

about the Hepatitis B vaccine. Since that show was aired. I have

received numerous calls from adult victims and parents of children

who have been injured after taking the Hepatitis B vaccine. One

common theme among victims is that their doctors told them that it

couldn't be the vaccine because it was perfectly safe.

I recently testified for the State Senate Committee in Indiana with

the intent of removing the mandate for the Hepatitis B vaccine for

school entry. The proposed ammendment was designed to give the

parents the choice to wave the vaccine for any reason.

On March 2, 1999, it passed the State Senate by a vote of 45 to 4.

However, the House sponsor of the original bill killed it rather than

bring the bill up for debate.

In Indiana, a doctor from the Department of Health told the Senate

Committee that one of the arguments for the vaccine was that it was

the " first anti-cancer vaccine. " Fortunately, we were able to show

that the " anti-cancer vaccine " theme was taken from the PATH website.

PATH is an organization within the World Health Organization. PATH

suggested that the " first anti-cancer vaccine " theme was a good

marketing tool to bring about interest in a " boutique " vaccine.

I have minutes from a CDC Study Group Meeting on the Hepatitis B

vaccine held in March, 1997. The minutes of the meeting show that it

would take at least a 60 day study to show the onset of MS. Clinical

studies done by the two manufacturers were four and five days in

length, respectively. It should be noted that the afternoon session

of this meeting was chaired by Dr. Sharrar of Merck. This

group was to decide how to identify various types of adverse

reactions such as MS and demylenating disease and to plan meaningful

studies. When Dr. Sharrar appeared on ABC's 20/20 in January he said

that he honestly believed that the Hepatitis B vaccine had not caused

any problems. Can an employee of a pharmaceutical company that

manufactures the vaccine be objective in designing experiments to

show fault in a product that generates close to a billion dollars in

sales for his company?

The form that people are given about the vaccine was written by the

CDC. It does not address serious adverse reactions. When you look at

the vaccine insert provided by the manufacturer, several adverse

reactions are noted. I have since talked to many Healthcare

professionals who are also unaware of the potential adverse reactions

listed on the vaccine insert. It makes me wonder why the

pharmaceutical company representative that I talked with earlier, the

one who was unaware of any adverse reactions, was unaware of what

their own company's insert said. A vaccine that still has so many

unanswered questions should not be mandated for children. It just

does not make sense. The right to decide if it is in the best

interest of the child should be made by the parents. After all, it

appears that for the most part when a child is severely handicapped

by this vaccine. the parents are on their own. No one pushing the

mandate is there for help or comfort.

In an article on the Hepatitis B vaccine that was printed in the

Washington Post. a spokesperson for the CDC, said that nothing

unexpected had been observed in the way of adverse reactions. At

first. I thought they meant that their position was that no adverse

reactions had occurred. Now, I really don't think it was denial.

Despite over 20,000 reports to VAERS for the two manufacturers

nothing unexpected had occurred. I really believe that the number and

type of injuries is no surprise to the CDC. May be the only surprise

for the CDC is just how hard the victims are fighting back.

BETTY D. FLUCK

<http://www.whale.to/a/fl.html>[Media USA, Jan 2003] Vaccine victims

forced to wait

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