[NVIC] Voices for Hiding Vaccine Risks: Follow the $$

August 7, 2008

Voices for Hiding Vaccine Risks: Follow the $$

By Barbara Loe Fisher

www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com

When it comes to hiding vaccine risks from

the people, all you have to do is " follow the money " to find

out who has always done it the best. There are a number of influential

non-profit organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics

(AAP), Every Child by Two, and Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) that

have been funded by drug companies selling vaccines and/or have been paid

by federal agencies using taxpayer dollars to push vaccine use.

On July 25, CBS News reported on some of

the financial ties between vaccine manufacturers and non-profit

organizations or individuals (i.e., rotavirus vaccine patent holder

Offit, M.D.) who are aggressively promoting vaccination and refusing to

acknowledge vaccine risks. The report infuriated a new

" non-profit " organization, Voices for Vaccines, that demanded

CBS News retract its story and " apologize " for informing the

public about the money connection between the pharmaceutical industry and

individuals and organizations urging people to buy and use vaccines. On

August 1, CBS News issued a statement defending the public's right to

know:

" Our report last Friday

represents one part of the extensive reporting CBS News has done, and

will continue to do, on the issues surrounding vaccines and possible

links to autism. That continuing coverage has repeatedly reported on the

critical importance of the nation's maintaining a robust vaccination

program for children. Reporting on what critics, including members of

Congress, believe to be potential conflicts of interest for vaccine

advocates who receive funding from vaccine makers is also an entirely

legitimate aspect of our overall coverage. We believe our report was in

no way defamatory of any institution or individual, and that no

retraction is warranted. "

While parents are doing their own

research so they can make educated vaccine choices for their children

that minimize vaccine risks, celebrities questioning vaccine safety such

as McCarthy are being challenged by celebrities defending vaccine

safety such as Peet, Yesterday, Peet became the celebrity

spokesperson for Every Child by Two.

When you connect the dots in a

" Follow the Vaccine Money " exercise, you don't have to look

very far to see who is paying who to promote unquestioning faith in the

safety of vaccines and one- size-fits-all vaccine policies. It takes a

lot of money for the drug companies and their allies to persuade parents

that it is necessary to pump 69 doses of 16 vaccines into children from

birth to age 18 to keep them healthy.

Here are some of the major players:

• The Center, founded in 1984

by Jimmy and lyn is affiliated with Emory University and

sponsors vaccination programs funded by drug companies and operated by

former employees of the CDC. (lyn co- founded Every Child by

Two with Betty Bumpers in 1991 with funding from vaccine manufacturers.)

Several vaccine manufacturers have donated more than $1 million to the

Center.

• The International Task Force for

Disease Eradication is sponsored by the Center and operates

programs that are funded by vaccine manufacturers (see " Health

Program Partners " at ) and directed by present and former CDC

officials for the purpose of eradicating infectious diseases including

polio, mumps and rubella through mass vaccination programs.

• The Center is a partner with

the Task Force for Child Survival and Development, which sponsors

programs funded by vaccine manufacturers and directed by former CDC

officials such as Foege, M.D., M.P.H. and Alan Hinman, M.D.,

M.P.H. • The Task Force for Child Survival

and Development is sponsoring Voices for Vaccines, which has a Steering

Committee composed of individuals employed by an affiliate of the

Center or Every Child by Two and non-profit organizations, many of whom

receive funding from vaccine manufacturers such as the American Academy

of Family Physicians and Immunization Action Coalition and P-Kids and

Families Fighting Flu.

These are only some of the major

players keeping the Vaccine Machine up and running smoothly in the U.S.

It is a machine powered by a national and international web of

individuals working for and with major pharmaceutical corporations,

government health agencies, non-profit medical organizations, world

banks, the World Health Organization and wealthy philanthropic

foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to make sure

that people in every country continue to purchase and use many vaccines

without thinking about it.

The public health program that began with

a mandate to eradicate smallpox from the earth using smallpox vaccine has

turned into a lucrative ATM for the drug companies. It provides a kind of

money laundering scheme for " non-profits " who pretend to be

free from conflicts of interest with an industry whose products they are

hawking. It has also become a money pit for the American taxpayer feeding

the insatiable Vaccine Machine creating hundreds of new vaccines being

tested in more than 2,000 clinical trials that will no doubt be

candidates for future vaccine mandates.

Peet, who is being coached by

doctors to tell parents to " trust the doctors, " has learned her

lines well but neither she nor McCarthy will ultimately decide the

fate of the vaccine safety and informed consent movement begun by parents

of vaccine injured children in 1982. Because what is at stake is not the

outcome of a Hollywood celebrity face- off but the ability of the

American people to free themselves from the tyranny of the " medical

experts " who have betrayed the public trust by failing to do their

job. (See article Peet Heads " Campaign Urging Vaccinations For

Kids " , below under PUBLIC HEALTH.- ed.)

For nearly three decades, before and after

passage of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, parents

have been calling on doctors in charge of the mass vaccination system to

find out how and why vaccines injure and kill some children. We have been

asking doctors to give us a good explanation for why so many of our

highly vaccinated children are so chronically ill with 1 in 6 becoming

learning disabled; 1 in 9 suffering with asthma and 1 in 150 developing

autism. And the only explanation we get or action we have seen is doctors

and government health agencies sticking their heads in the sand and

twisting themselves into pretzels yelling " it's a coincidence "

every time a child regresses into chronic poor health after

vaccination.

The last thing we need to do is return to

the dark ages when we allowed ourselves to be treated like the infants

whose lives we entrusted without question to paternalistic pediatricians

patting us on the head. You don't have to have an M.D. or Ph.D. written

after your name to become an informed health care consumer and weigh the

benefits and risks of vaccination in order to make an intelligent, well

considered vaccine decision for your child or yourself.

Unquestioning faith belongs in a church

and not in a doctor's office.

" Tonight,

on the

CBS Evening News, we dig into the allegations of financial conflicts

of interest among some widely-quoted " independent " voices in

the debates over vaccine safety. We weren't as lucky as Grassley: The

groups we approached refused to provide us with a full accounting of

their financial relationships. Although two of the groups receive tax

benefits for their non-profit status, they are not required to file such

details with the IRS and would not provide them to us, either. In the

case of a prominent vaccine specialist who is routinely offered up as an

" independent " voice to speak on vaccine safety, he, too, was

unwilling to disclose to us how much remuneration he's received from the

vaccine industry. And the vaccine companies we asked? They said they

would not, or could not give such information as: financial support they

give to educational institutions, physicians and research projects; a

list of outside physicians who are on the payroll as researchers,

speakers, advisors or consultants; and an accounting of funding provided

to non-profits, medical organizations and government entities such as

IOM, NIH, CDC and FDA. " - Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News Blog

(June 25, 2008)

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs /2008/07/25/couricandco/entry4295088.shtml?

source=search_story

" The vaccine industry gives millions to the Academy of

Pediatrics for conferences, grants, medical education classes and even

helped build their headquarters.... Every Child By Two, a group that

promotes early immunization for all children, admits the group takes

money from the vaccine industry, too - but wouldn't tell us how much. A

spokesman told CBS News: " There are simply no conflicts to be

unearthed. " But guess who's listed as the group's treasurers?

Officials from Wyeth and a paid advisor to big pharmaceutical clients.

Then there's Offit, perhaps the most widely-quoted defender of

vaccine safety. He's gone so far as to say babies can tolerate

" 10,000 vaccines at once. " This is how Offit described himself

in a previous interview: " I'm the chief of infectious disease at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor of pediatrics at

Penn's medical school, " he said. Offit was not willing to be

interviewed on this subject but like others in this CBS News

investigation, he has strong industry ties. In fact, he's a vaccine

industry insider. Offit holds in a $1.5 million dollar research chair at

Children's Hospital, funded by Merck. He holds the patent on an anti-

diarrhea vaccine he developed with Merck, Rotateq, which has prevented

thousands of hospitalizations. And future royalties for the vaccine were

just sold for $182 million cash. Dr. Offit's share of vaccine profits?

Unknown. " - Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News (June 25, 2008)

http://www.c bsnews.com/stories/2008/07/25/cbsnews_investigate

s/main4296175.shtml

" Voices For Vaccines objects to the defamatory allegations

made by the CBS Evening News on Friday, July 25, against the American

Academy of Pediatrics, Every Child By Two, and the Vaccine Education

Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, with our colleague Dr.

Offit singled out for baseless criticism. It is our privilege to

partner with these institutions in our mission to disseminate reliable

information about vaccines. These groups advocate for immunization based

on the overwhelming evidence for the lifesaving power of vaccination, and

motivated by a sincere concern for the health of America's children. It

is preposterous and deeply offensive for CBS to suggest otherwise by

insinuating that the pharmaceutical industry improperly influences the

views of these vaccine advocate.... An obvious starting point for an

unbiased reporter assigned to investigate this possibility would have

been to determine whether the advocates' recommendations were in accord

with the scientific consensus on immunization, as articulated by neutral

bodies such as the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention..... " - Randall, Voices for

Vaccines letter to CBS (July 31, 2008)

http://voicesforvaccines.org/Blog/wp-

content/uploads/2008/08/cbs-vaccine- letter1.pdf

" The new " Vaccinate Your Baby " campaign will address

misperceptions about vaccines that cause confusion among parents and put

children at risk. " When I was pregnant with my daughter ie, I

had all kinds of questions, including ones about immunization, " said

Ms. Peet. " There is a wealth of misinformation about vaccines out

there, particularly in Hollywood. My husband and I took the time to speak

to several doctors about our concerns. What became clear to us was that

delaying vaccines could jeopardize our baby's life. I have teamed up with

Every Child By Two to help parents get the facts straight on this very

important issue. " Ms. Peet added, " My main message to parents

is that they should not be taking medical advice from me or any other

celebrity. They should look to their pediatrician, the AAP and other

experts. " - Every Child by Two Press Release (August 5,

2008)

http://www.vaccinateyo urbaby.org/news/releases/2008/080805_peet_ecbt.cf

m

Voices for Hiding Vaccine

Risks: Follow the $

by Barbara Loe

Fisher

w ww.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com

www.NVIC.org

www.Stand UpBeCounted.org

When it comes to hiding vaccine risks from the people, all you have to do

is " follow the money " to find out who has always done it the

best. There are a number of influential non-profit organizations such as

the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Every Child by Two, and

Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) that have been funded by drug

companies selling vaccines and/or have been paid by federal agencies

using taxpayer dollars to push vaccine use.

On July 25,

CBS News reported on some of the financial ties between vaccine

manufacturers and non-profit organizations or individuals (i.e.,

rotavirus vaccine patent holder Offit, M.D.) who are aggressively

promoting vaccination and refusing to acknowledge vaccine risks. The

report infuriated a new " non-profit " organization,

Voices for Vaccines, that demanded CBS News retract its story and

" apologize " for informing the public about the money connection

between the pharmaceutical industry and individuals and organizations

urging people to buy and use vaccines. On August 1, CBS News issued a

statement defending the public's right to know:

" Our report last Friday represents one part of the extensive

reporting CBS News has done, and will continue to do, on the issues

surrounding vaccines and possible links to autism. That continuing

coverage has repeatedly reported on the critical importance of the

nation's maintaining a robust vaccination program for children. Reporting

on what critics, including members of Congress, believe to be potential

conflicts of interest for vaccine advocates who receive funding from

vaccine makers is also an entirely legitimate aspect of our overall

coverage. We believe our report was in no way defamatory of any

institution or individual, and that no retraction is

warranted. "

While parents are doing their own research so they can make educated

vaccine choices for their children that minimize vaccine risks,

celebrities questioning vaccine safety such as McCarthy are being

challenged by celebrities defending vaccine safety such as

Peet, Yesterday, Peet became the celebrity spokesperson for

Every Child by Two.

When you connect the dots in a " Follow the Vaccine Money "

exercise, you don't have to look very far to see who is paying who to

promote unquestioning faith in the safety of vaccines and one-

size-fits-all vaccine policies. It takes a lot of money for the drug

companies and their allies to persuade parents that it is necessary to

pump 69 doses of 16 vaccines into children from birth to age 18 to keep

them healthy.

Here are some of the major players:

* The Center, founded in 1984 by Jimmy and lyn

is affiliated with

Emory University and sponsors vaccination programs funded by drug

companies and operated by former employees of the CDC. (lyn

co- founded Every Child by Two with Betty Bumpers in 1991 with funding

from vaccine manufacturers.) Several vaccine manufacturers have donated

more than $1 million to the Center.

* The International Task Force for Disease Eradication is

sponsored by the Center and operates programs that are

funded by vaccine manufacturers (see " Health Program

Partners " at ) and directed by present and former

CDC officials for the purpose of eradicating infectious diseases

including polio, mumps and rubella through mass vaccination programs.

* The Center is a partner with the

Task Force for Child Survival and Development, which sponsors

programs funded by

vaccine manufacturers and directed by former CDC officials such as

Foege, M.D., M.P.H. and

Alan Hinman, M.D., M.P.H.

* The Task Force for Child Survival and Development is sponsoring

Voices for Vaccines, which has a

Steering Committee composed of individuals employed by an affiliate

of the Center or Every Child by Two and non-profit organizations,

many of whom receive funding from vaccine manufacturers such as the

American Academy of Family Physicians and

Immunization Action Coalition and

P-Kids and

Families Fighting Flu.

These are only some of the major players keeping the Vaccine Machine up

and running smoothly in the U.S. It is a machine powered by a national

and international web of individuals working for and with major

pharmaceutical corporations, government health agencies, non-profit

medical organizations, world banks, the World Health Organization and

wealthy philanthropic foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation to make sure that people in every country continue to purchase

and use many vaccines without thinking about it.

The public health program that began with a mandate to eradicate smallpox

from the earth using smallpox vaccine has turned into a lucrative ATM for

the drug companies. It provides a kind of money laundering scheme for

" non-profits " who pretend to be free from conflicts of interest

with an industry whose products they are hawking. It has also become a

money pit for the American taxpayer feeding the insatiable Vaccine

Machine creating hundreds of new vaccines being tested in

more than 2,000 clinical trials that will no doubt be candidates for

future vaccine mandates.

Peet, who is being coached by doctors to tell parents to

" trust the doctors, " has learned her lines well but neither she

nor McCarthy will ultimately decide the fate of the vaccine safety

and informed consent movement begun by parents of vaccine injured

children in 1982. Because what is at stake is not the outcome of a

Hollywood celebrity face- off but the ability of the American people to

free themselves from the tyranny of the " medical experts " who

have betrayed the public trust by failing to do their job.

For nearly three decades, before and after passage of the National

Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, parents have been calling on

doctors in charge of the mass vaccination system to find out how and why

vaccines injure and kill some children. We have been asking doctors to

give us a good explanation for why so many of our highly vaccinated

children are so chronically ill with 1 in 6 becoming learning disabled; 1

in 9 suffering with asthma and 1 in 150 developing autism. And the only

explanation we get or action we have seen is doctors and government

health agencies sticking their heads in the sand and twisting themselves

into pretzels yelling " it's a coincidence " every time a child

regresses into chronic poor health after vaccination.

The last thing we need to do is return to the dark ages when we allowed

ourselves to be treated like the infants whose lives we entrusted without

question to paternalistic pediatricians patting us on the head. You don't

have to have an M.D. or Ph.D. written after your name to become an

informed health care consumer and weigh the benefits and risks of

vaccination in order to make an intelligent, well considered vaccine

decision for your child or yourself.

Unquestioning faith belongs in a church and not in a doctor's office.

__________________________________________