Government Wipes Recent Vaccine
Injury Data from Website
June 23, 2015
Story at-a-glance
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In March 2015 the US government removed the latest vaccine
injury court statistics (data from 2014 and 2015) from a
publicly reported chart
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There had been a sharp uptick in court victories for people
claiming they or their children were injured or killed by
vaccines in recent months
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This data is no longer reflected on the site’s
“adjudication” chart, which seriously skews the reality of
what’s happening in vaccine court
By Dr. Mercola
Many are not aware that in the US there is a “vaccine court”
devoted to hearing cases of people who believe they’ve been injured
by a vaccine. It’s an alternative to the traditional US court
system, established in 1986 after a string of high-profile lawsuits
had slammed vaccine manufacturers.
At the time, the diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus vaccine (DPT) was
accused of causing seizures, brain damage, and other serious adverse
reactions in a number of children. At least two parents who filed
lawsuits against the vaccines’ makers were awarded millions of
dollars in compensation.
At that point the vaccine manufacturers threatened to stop
producing certain vaccines if the litigation continued. Rather than
forcing the vaccine makers to produce safer vaccines – and stand
behind that supposed safety – Congress passed the National Childhood
Vaccine Injury Act, which shielded the vaccine makers from any
liability related to their products.1
The American Public – Not the Vaccine Makers – Pay the Costs of
Compensation
The vaccine court compensates victims not from a fund set up by
vaccine makers… but through an account funded by a 75-cent surcharge
on every vaccine given (so the combination MMR vaccine has a $2.25
fee tacked on to it because that shot contains three vaccines). So
not only are the vaccine makers held at no fault, they don’t have to
pay a cent to those injured by their vaccines.
The court even created a list of side effects that are known to
be caused by vaccines. Generally, in order to win a claim a person
must prove they developed a condition on the list within a certain
timeframe of receiving a certain vaccine.
If the side effect is not on the list – known as the
vaccine injury table – or it developed outside of the accepted
timeframe, the victim must prove, usually via a statement from a
medical expert, that the vaccine could have caused the injury.
NPR detailed the story of Lisa Smith, a woman who was healthy
until she received a
flu shot and, a few days later, realized she couldn’t walk and
had developed severe pain in her legs.2
She had developed Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disease
of the nervous system that is in the process of being added to the
official vaccine injury table. She only learned of vaccine court
after a friend told her about it. She filed a claim and was awarded
a settlement of an undisclosed amount.
Many People Are Not Aware of Vaccine Court
In 2014, there were 542 claims to the vaccine court. Of the
cases, 365 were compensated for a total of $202 million, with
settlements ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands
of dollars.3
What you’ll notice is that very few of these claims are
publicized or disclosed to the public in any way. The more Americans
learn of legitimate vaccine injuries – those that have been vetted
and compensated in a court of law – the more they may start to
question the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
There is, however, a government vaccine court website, which is
run by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an
agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
It maintains vaccine injury court statistics that have
historically been updated monthly – until the government
mysteriously removed more than a year’s worth of data
earlier this year…
US Government Removes Vaccine Injury Court Statistics from Public
Website
According to investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson, in March
2015 the US government removed the latest vaccine injury court
statistics (data from 2014 and 2015) from a publicly reported chart.4
HRSA stated they removed the data in order to synch up with data
from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which
is only current through 2013 and details the number of vaccine doses
given in the US.
However, there had been a sharp uptick in court victories for
people claiming they or their children were injured or killed by
vaccines. This data is no longer reflected on the site’s
“adjudication” chart, which seriously skews the reality of what’s
happening in vaccine court. As Attkisson reported:
“Since January of 2014, the number of flu vaccine cases
conceded by the government is more than double the previous
eight years combined. The adjudication chart only reflects half
of the current number.
Concessions won by flu shot victims since 2006
Chart shows (through 2013): 42
Actual number (through April 2015): 88
Also on the rise is the number of vaccine injury cases
the government has ‘conceded:’ up 55% in a little over one year.
As a result of the recent website changes, neither of these
trends is reflected on the current ‘adjudication’ chart.”
In addition, the site has been altered to make vaccine court
stats harder to find. The adjudication chart used to be the first
item on the statistics page, but the chart was replaced by language
stating vaccines are safe and effective.
Since 1998, more than 15,916 claims were filed in the vaccine
court. The total paid out to vaccine victims was about $3.1 billion.
While 4,083 were compensated, Attkisson reports that 9,893 were
dismissed. Further, the majority of vaccine injuries never make it
to vaccine court. According to Attkisson:5
“Only about one injury case for every million doses of
vaccines is compensated in vaccine court. Adverse events occur
more frequently, according to vaccine warning labels, but rarely
end up in the little-known vaccine court.”
Getting Compensated Through Vaccine Court Isn’t Always Easy…
While the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was
originally set up to give vaccine-injured Americans an expedited,
non-adversarial, less expensive administrative alternative
to a civil court lawsuit, the process usually only adds
more suffering.
Many vaccine victims are left waiting without support and
financial assistance for years on end, while their case snakes its
way through the red tape. Some VICP claimants even say they felt
“attacked” by the government that was supposed to help them.
Another problem has been a lack of public awareness that this
program even exists. Reportedly, federal officials operating the
VICP have vowed to publicize the program, promising improvements in
its literature to make it easier to understand, and improvements to
its website.
They’ve also stated they will seek to increase awareness among
health care providers, parents and expectant parents, older adults,
Spanish speaking adults, as well as civil litigation and plaintiff’s
attorneys.6
What actually happens remains to be seen. Several years ago, a
comprehensive consultant report about publicizing the VICP was
created at a cost of $300,000. Few recommendations were ever
implemented, however.7
Moreover, VICP directors didn’t begin taking action on publicity
until after a congressionally requested Government Accountability
Office (GAO) inquiry began last year.
Public outreach has also been largely ignored since the program’s
inception. The Associated Press also claims it found evidence
suggesting that “the government seems intent on keeping the National
Vaccine Injury Compensation Program’s public profile low.”8
How Common Are Vaccine Injuries?
When the VICP was first created, if the injured party was denied
compensation or was dissatisfied with the amount of the award, they
could then proceed with a civil lawsuit with certain restrictions,
depending upon the case.
Unhappy with this partial liability protection, drug companies
kept pushing for complete liability protection and, in 2011,
convinced the US Supreme Court majority to rule that federally
licensed and recommended vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe” and that
the VICP should be the “sole remedy” for all vaccine injury claims.9
I think it’s worth repeating, in case you just glossed over it:
The reason you cannot sue a vaccine manufacturer for injury or death
is because vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe.” At this
point, vaccine manufacturers have virtually no incentive whatsoever
to ensure the safety and effectiveness of vaccines that are
recommended by federal health officials and mandated by state health
officials.
The question you’re probably wondering is, so how safe, or
unsafe, are they? The answer is, no one really knows, as appropriate
safety studies haven’t been conducted.
It's important to understand that ALL vaccines carry a risk for
provoking an immediate acute adverse reaction, such as anaphylactic
shock, fainting, or
having a seizure, which could be truly life threatening if
you're driving a car or crossing a street after you have left the
store where you got vaccinated, for example.
Further, vaccines can impair and alter immune system responses
and can also cause brain inflammation (encephalitis or
encephalopathy) that may lead to permanent brain damage.
In addition, as Institute of Medicine Committees have pointed out
in published reports, some individuals are more susceptible to
suffering harm from vaccines because of biological, genetic, and
environmental risk factors but, most of the time, doctors cannot
predict who will be harmed because there are few scientific studies
that have evaluated vaccine risks for individuals.10
Problems with a One-Size-Fits-All Vaccine Program
It’s now known that the microbiome influences our health and that
an individual’s gut microbes may help determine their immune
response to vaccines. For instance, infants that responded to the
rotavirus vaccine had a higher diversity of microbes in their gut,
as well as more microbes from the Proteobacteria group, than infants
who did not mount the expected immune response.11
Further, there has been little scientific research into how
vaccines affect your genes and it’s likely different for every
person because no two people are identical in terms of inherited
genes, environmental exposures, or epigenetic influences that
contribute to biodiversity.
There's really no way to predict which genes will be affected,
but the US government promotes, and in some cases mandates, the same
vaccine schedule for every American.
Yet, each individual will have a unique response to any given
vaccine based on their age, current health status, and microbial
makeup. In addition, we're also epigenetically predisposed to
respond differently in terms of the vaccine side effects we might
develop.
The fact is vaccines are tolerated by some people and devastating
to others. Here are just some of the ways vaccines can impair or
alter immune responses and brain function:
- Some components in vaccines are neurotoxic, including heavy
metals such as mercury preservatives and aluminum adjuvants;
residual toxins like endotoxin and bioactive pertussis toxin;
and chemicals like formaldehyde and phenooxyethanol.
- The lab-altered and genetically engineered viruses and
bacteria in vaccines may impair immune responses and do not
stimulate the same kind of immunity that occurs when the body
responds to an infectious disease
- Foreign DNA/RNA from human, animal, and insect cell
substrates used to produce vaccines may trigger serious health
problems for some people
- Vaccines may alter your T-cell function and lead to chronic
illness
- Vaccines can trigger allergies by introducing large foreign
protein molecules into your body that have not been properly
broken down by your digestive tract (since they are injected).
Your body can have an allergic reaction to these foreign
particles
Protect Your Right to Informed Consent and Defend Vaccine Exemptions
With all the uncertainty surrounding the safety and efficacy of
vaccines, it's critical to protect your right to make independent
health choices and exercise voluntary informed consent to
vaccination. It is urgent that everyone in America stand up and
fight to protect and expand vaccine informed consent protections in
state public health and employment laws. The best way to do this is
to get personally involved with your state legislators and educating
the leaders in your community.
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.
National vaccine policy recommendations are made at the federal
level but vaccine laws are made at the state level. It is at the
state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights
can have the greatest impact. It is critical for EVERYONE to get
involved now in standing up for the legal right to make voluntary
vaccine choices in America because those choices are being
threatened by lobbyists representing drug companies, medical trade
associations, and public health officials, who are trying to
persuade legislators to strip all vaccine exemptions from public
health laws.
Signing up for NVIC's free Advocacy Portal at
www.NVICAdvocacy.org gives you immediate, easy access to your own
state legislators on your Smart Phone or computer so you can make
your voice heard. You will be kept up-to-date on the latest state
bills threatening your vaccine choice rights and get practical,
useful information to help you become an effective vaccine choice
advocate in your own community. Also, when national vaccine issues
come up, you will have the up-to-date information and call to action
items you need at your fingertips.
So please, as your first step,
sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.
Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know
If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine
reaction, injury, or death, please talk about it. If we don't share
information and experiences with one another, everybody feels alone
and afraid to speak up. Write a letter to the editor if you have a
different perspective on a vaccine story that appears in your local
newspaper. Make a call in to a radio talk show that is only
presenting one side of the vaccine story.
I must be frank with you; you have to be brave because you might
be strongly criticized for daring to talk about the "other side" of
the vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the courage to not
back down. Only by sharing our perspective and what we know to be
true about vaccination will the public conversation about
vaccination open up so people are not afraid to talk about it.
We cannot allow the drug companies and medical trade associations
funded by drug companies or public health officials promoting forced
use of a growing list of vaccines to dominate the conversation about
vaccination. The vaccine injured cannot be swept under the carpet
and treated like nothing more than "statistically acceptable
collateral damage" of national one-size-fits-all mandatory
vaccination policies that put way too many people at risk for injury
and death. We shouldn't be treating people like guinea pigs instead
of human beings.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I encourage you to visit the website of the non-profit charity,
the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), at
www.NVIC.org:
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NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View
descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have
suffered vaccine reactions, injuries, and deaths. If you or your
child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider
posting and sharing your story here.
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If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn
how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine
injuries.
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Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post
descriptions of harassment and sanctions by doctors, employers,
and school and health officials for making independent vaccine
choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One That Will Listen and Care
If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to
you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don't want, I
strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another
doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care
is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an
effort to stop the change in attitude of many parents about
vaccinations after they become truly educated about health and
vaccination.
However, there is hope.
At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that
they're starting to adopt a more individualized approach to
vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of
parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of smart
young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making
personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying
vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or
continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline
use of one or more vaccines.
So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with
compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is
right for your child.
© Copyright 1997-2015 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/06/23/vaccine-injury-data.aspx
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