Chiron: Vaccine License Suspended - Doubts Over Flu And Meningococcal Vaccines
CategoriesAccording to a report of BBC News, the manufacturing license of vaccine maker Chiron has been suspended for three months, making it impossible for the manufacturer to sell its Fluvirin vaccine in the "flu season" of this coming winter. There may be a severe shortage in the wings for the US flu vaccine market.
Last year, the nasal-application FluMist vaccine was launched with a big promise and a high price, but turned out to be a flop. Sales were less than expected. Also the generally available injectable vaccine's usefulness was questioned by experts and despite heavy promotion, sales generally fizzled amid questions over the safety and usefulness of the jabs.
But Chiron Corporation is not only supplying flu vaccines. The company is currently involved in a 200 million $ contract with the New Zealand health authorities to supply a meningococcal vaccine for a mass vaccination program expected to cover more than a million children in that country. The vaccine is highly experimental and next to nothing is known about its side effects, but NZ health authorities are telling the population "not to worry". Investigative journalist Jonathan Eisen has done a remarkable job documenting the New Zealand meningococcal vaccine's potentially hazardous profile citing Chiron's own data sheets. His article is contained in a special issue of "What Your Doctor Will Never Tell You", which can be downloaded in PDF format here...
What Your Doctor Will Never Tell You
This 24 page publication documents the New Zealand menongococcal vaccine scandal, which could be a repeat of what happened four years ago in the UK, where a meningitis C vaccine made by Chiron caused several deaths that were covered up by the health authorities "for fear of panicking parents".
The New Zealand publication also pulls together a wealth of highly interesting vaccine information that any concerned parent should know. I recommend you download and read the file.
One of the articles cited, written by Dr. Mike Godfrey, is particularly interesting and documents the connection of meningococcal "infection" and lack of vitamin C, a common nutrient that seems deficient in a sizeable proportion of populations world wide.
Godfrey, in the article titled Meningitis – or Scurvy? says:
The features of meningococcal sepsis include a severe capillary leak syndrome and disseminated intravascular coagulation or clots. It is possible that this could effectively be acute haemorrhagic scurvy and eminently amenable to appropriate therapy. The 1940-70s literature supports this with parenteral ascorbic acid (AA) capable of destroying diphtheria, tetanus, salmonella, gas gangrene (clostridium) and meningococcal endotoxins.Prof. Clemetson's 1989 3 volume texbook on Vit.C showed why bacterial toxin-induced mortality increases with AA depletion. Other researchers have confirmed that non-survivors from meningitis having oxidised whatever AA reserves they had to neutralize bacterial toxins, suffered acute, lethal scurvy.
AA levels in the spinal fluid of meningitis patients has been negatively correlated with the outcome of patients with bacterial meningitis and thus, its depletion also may be an indicator of a bad prognosis.
Up to 15% of the population may be scorbutic (below 0.2mg/100ml serum) and thus at increased risk of bacterial endotoxin toxicity as would many of the impoverished and nutrient-deficient South Auckland populations. The latent scorbutic state can then be converted into frank scurvy by infections (and even vaccines), and under such conditions hemorrhagic phenomena are frequent. All of the patho-physiological features of haemorrhagic and thrombotic conditions found in bacterial meningitis are seen in AA deficiency states.
It could therefore surely be appropriate to administer this safe and cheap therapy concurrently with antibiotics to everyone suspected of this disease. Indeed, it is possibly only when the liver is overwhelmed by bacterial toxin that a fulminating haemorrhagic disease ensues.
It would appear thus that meningococcal disease is both eminently preventable and even curable by simply supplying sufficient amounts vitamin C, a nutrient which is of great importance for health but which human bodies cannot manufacture, to those suffering from the infection or who might be at risk of contracting it.
Godfrey also mentions in his article that the "epidemic" apeared to be already well on its way out and that the number of cases had been sharply reduced in the years prior to the all-out vaccination drive of the New Zealand health authorities.
This is has also been documented by another New Zealand based researcher, Ron Law, who put the statistics together and who provides a comment, blasting the health minister's obvious disregard for real data on disease incidence. Here is the information provided by Law's Beyond Alternative Solutions:
"If the Ministry of Health wants to be taken seriously by the public and politicians, then it has to be honest in its risk communications," says risk and policy analyst, Ron Law (09-832 4773)."Why is the Mystery of Health not celebrating the fact that there has been a natural 75% decrease in deaths and a 49% decrease in the number of meningococcal disease cases since the epidemic peaked in 2001?" asks Ron Law.
"Could it be that promulgating these stunning facts might mean less political and public enthusiasm for its MeNZB campaign? Or maybe it is because it will be impossible for the Ministry to claim any success for its MeNZB campaign in the future if the public and politicians knew the truth?"
The Ministry of Health has announced the completion of the first 100,000 vaccinations with its experimental MeNZB vaccine. Given its target of reaching 1.15 million New Zealanders, and given that three vaccinations are required to achieve the 75% immune response rate desired, that means that the programme has completed less than 3.3% of its target in terms of vaccinations given.
Comparing the Ministry's Meningococcal Disease Update Week 38: 11/09/2004 to 17/09/2004, to week 38 reports for 2001, 2002, and 2003, there has been a steady decline in the number of cases and and an even more dramatic decline in the number of deaths due to meningococcal B disease since the peak in 2001.
It is noted that the MOH is using total Meningococcal disease to wage its PR campaign against a particular strain of Meningococcal bacteria. Based on MOH information, in 2003 71.5% of laboratory confirmed cases were caused by the strain that the vaccine is designed to protect against. The following data are adjusted accordingly.
Year / Cases / Decline (%) / Deaths / Decline (%)2001 .. 315 ......................... 16
2002 .. 309 .... 2% ................ 9 ......... 43%
2003 .. 293 .... 7% ................ 6 ......... 63%
2004 .. 161 .... 49% .............. 4 ......... 75%* Note: Decline percentages as given are cumulative.
Based on Ministry of Health advice, Health Minister Annette King falsely stated in July 2004 that, "The epidemic has shown no signs of abating..." Why was the Minister misled by her officials?In its euphemistically called, 'Fact Sheet number 1," the Ministry of Health said, "Rates of disease are still at peak levels and the epidemic is expected to last at least another 10 years if there is no vaccine developed."
"This statement, masqueraded as fact, is clearly scientifically false and one can only surmise as to why the Ministry of Health would knowingly mislead both the Minister and the public by making such false statements," says Ron Law.
The evidence is speaking for itself. There is clearly no scientific basis for continuing the MeNZB programme; it should be suspended forthwith.
This is important to not only protect the wellbeing of 1.15 million New Zealanders at risk, but perhaps even more importantly, to protect the credibility of important future public health initiatives.
The New Zealand example is by no means unique. Many vaccines claim successes in combatting disease that were not due to the vaccine but rather to accompanying (and many times ongoing for years before) reduction of infections by improvements in basic sanitation and nutrition.
The record is further skewed by the fact that vaccine adverse reactions are not systematically reported and collected, hiding many of the long term adverse effects that vaccines are increasingly being linked to, such as diabetes, heart trouble, cancer and developmental problems - autism and ADHD.
See also related:
Warning to flu vaccine maker releasedDramatic Meningococcal Decline Continues
Graphic of meningococcal disease deaths since 1997 - by Ron Law
Download fileGraphic of meningococcal cases from 2001 peak to 2004 - By Ron Law
Insight: The Biology Of A Meningococcal Vax Company
Thursday, 11 November 2004 - By Barbara Sumner Burstyn and Ron Law
Chiron Corporation. Does that name a ring a bell? In North America, itís gone from barely known to highly recognized in less than a month since 45 million doses of flu vaccine made by the company in its British factory, were found to be contaminated. In Brazil the company made headlines when over 5 million doses of a vaccine were recalled following serious adverse reactions.Polio Vaccine Voodoo - Intriguing Questions
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