Questions for Dr. Perry Kendell

Dr. Perry Kendall
Provincial Health Officer, Province of British Columbia
via Jeff Groot’s (Senior Public Affairs Officer) e-mail: jeff.groot@gov.bc.ca
November 23, 2009
RE: ­Questions about the H1N1 Pandemic and the H1N1 Influenza Vaccine

Dear Dr. Kendall:

We appreciate the opportunity to submit these important questions to you on behalf of British Columbians. We regret that you were unavailable to appear personally on RoadKill Radio.Com, despite our willingness to accommodate your schedule in any capacity that worked for you or anyone else from your office.

Mr. Groot, Senior Public Affairs Officer for the Ministry of Healthy Living, has assured me during our telephone call that you will answer these questions relating to the H1N1 vaccine so the public can gain a better understanding of the governmental decision-making that has taken place during this so-called “pandemic.”

According to your government profile, The Health Act outlines your role as the Provincial Health Officer (PHO). As senior medical health officer for British Columbia (BC), your responsibilities are said to include:

• advising the Minister and senior members of the ministry on health issues in BC and on the need for legislation, policies and practices concerning those issues;

• monitoring the health of the people of BC;

• providing information and analyses on health issues;

• reporting to the public on health issues, the need for legislation, a change of policy, or practice respecting health in BC.

I trust that you are familiar with the Product Information Guide (PIG), a leaflet published by GlaxoSmithKline the manufacturer of the ASO3—Adjuvanted H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Vaccine. On page 2 of the PIG (October 21, 2009) it states:

Health Canada has authorized the sale of Arepanrix H1N1 based on limited testing in humans under the provision of an Interim Order (IO) issued October 13, 2009.

Question 1 – Have you read the Product Information Guide Published by GlaxoSmithKline?

Question 2 – Where in the public record have you advised British Columbians that the testing for this vaccine differs from the usual rigorous standards applied to vaccines, due to the “pandemic” categorization of H1N1 as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO)?

I applaud GlaxoSmithKline for clearly stating in their PIG that testing of this vaccine is in some cases minimal, and in others so deficient that “no clinical data” were available. An example of this is found on page 23 of the PIG concerning dosages for children 6—35 months. It states:

“Children 6-35 months: 0.25mL/dose (NO clinical data are available for influenza vaccines with ASO3 in this age group”

Question 3 – Have you—in keeping with your legislative mandate to “provide information” and to “report”—stated anywhere on the public record GlaxoSmithKline’s admission, as quoted above concerning 6-35 month old babies/toddlers, that “no clinical data are available for influenza vaccines with ASO3 in this age group”?

Question 4 – Have you, on the public record, warned parents that their children were being used in an experiment? If so, please provide details of where and when this has been stated or recorded.

Question 5 – Some media personalities (e.g., Christy Clark on CKNW) have called those who may refuse to inject this toxic, experimental concoction into their bodies, and/or their children’s bodies, “bad Canadians.” Do you agree with her? Or is she being irresponsible?

On page 22 of the PIG there are some assertions that warrant clarification. Under the heading “Interactions with this vaccine” GlaxoSmithKline responsibly states:

“There is no information on the administration of AREPANRIX H1N1 with other vaccines.”

Question 6 – Have you—in keeping with your legislative mandate to “provide information” and to “report”—stated anywhere on the public record that there is “no information available” about the interaction of this vaccine with other vaccines?

Question 7 – Have you at any time asserted that the vaccine is safe, knowing that the majority of British Columbians have previously received vaccines and the interactions of these combined compounds have yet to be tested?

The term “pandemic” incites considerable concern and in the past the established criteria warranted such a response.

Question 8: Where in the public record have you enlightened or educated British Columbians about the WHO redefining the criteria of the term “pandemic” in 2003, by eliminating terms that once justified global concerns but now define only a fluid, ill-defined and changeable terminology?

As a Public Health Officer (PHO) you are legislatively mandated to inform and educate. Public confidence in our medical system is in part rooted in the public’s ability to trust the PHO.

Informed consent, which I note is required by law and is a right of each individual, is defined by the patient being fully aware of both the risks and potential benefits of any medical procedure. A medical doctor, Dr. Roby Mitchell M.D., has gone very public in the United States in retracting his advice to health care professions to get the H1N1 vaccine citing their right to informed consent. After researching the vaccine, he in good conscience and as a professional, had to advise his patients of the facts and risks of the vaccine.

Question 9 – What are you doing to insure that those who are getting the H1N1 vaccination are making their decision based on informed consent?

The BC Centres for Disease Control has published a guide called ImmunizeBC, a guide supposedly designed to assist individuals in educating themselves about vaccines including the “Pandemic Influenza A/H1N1. I have reviewed this document. Question 7 in ImmunizeBC asks: “Is the vaccine safe?” The response states:

Yes. Vaccine safety is a priority. Clinical trials of the adjuvanted vaccine in adults have been conducted and other trials in other age and risk groups are being done.

All results to date indicate safety of this vaccine. The non-adjuvanted vaccine which can be used in pregnancyand in children under 3 years old is formulated the same way as seasonal vaccines and is expected to have the same safety profile as seasonal vaccine.

Question 10 – In consideration of GlaxoSmithKline’s own admissions contained in their own PIG as it relates to the vaccine, do you, in your capacity as PHO believe that the BC Centre for Disease Control is providing factual and accurate information concerning this vaccine?

I refer again to the ImmunizeBC guide. Question 16 in the guide again refers to the safety of the AS03 vaccine. It asks: “Is the AS03 adjuvant safe?” The response asserts:

“The ASO3 adjuvant has been tested in over 45,000 people around the world and has been evaluated by Health Canada as part of the review of the related A/H5N1 avian influenza pre-pandemic vaccine. No safety concerns regarding the use of the adjuvanted vaccine have been seen.”

Question 11 – If you agree with this assertion, that this adjuvant is “safe”, please detail the test you rely on for determining what is “safe”.

According to the GlaxoSmithKline PIG leaflet, several million Canadians could be adversely affected if injected with this vaccine. Under their own classifications:

“Common” (may occur with up to 1 in 10 doses) adverse reactions include: injection site bruising, itching. Then there is also fever, swollen lymph nodes, feeling sick, diarrhea. This means that if 32 million Canadians are vaccinated, 3.2 million are expected to have adverse reactions.

Question 12 – Should Canadians seek medical treatment for these types of reactions?

“Uncommon” adverse effects are projected at a rate of 1 in 100 doses. These include: Dizziness, feeling unwell, unusual weakness, vomiting, stomach pain, uncomfortable feeling in the stomach, belching, inability to sleep, tingling, numbness of hands or feet, shortness of breath, chest pains, rash, itching, pain, stiffness of muscles, muscle spasms. If 32 million Canadians were to be vaccinated, we can expect 320,000 Canadians suffer with these concerning symptoms/complications.

Question 13 – Should Canadians seek medical treatment for these types of reactions and/or symptoms?

“Rare” (may occur in 1 in 1000 doses)—If 32 million Canadians are injected with this vaccine, 32,000 may experience these reactions: Allergic reaction causing dangerous decrease of blood pressure, which if untreated may lead to shock. Other reactions include: Fits, severe stabbing or throbbing pain along nerves, low blood platelet count resulting in bleeding/bruising.

Question 14 – Should Canadians seek medical treatment for these types of reactions?

“Very Rare” 1 in 10,000 doses = 3,200 Canadians. These lucky, hopefully “informed” Canadians can look forward to Vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels which can cause skin rashes, joint pain and kidney problems) and Neurological disorders such as encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the central nervous system), neuritis (inflammation of nerves) and a type of paralysis known a Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS).

Question 15 – Should Canadians seek medical treatment for these types of reactions?

Question 16 – If you answered “Yes” to any of the above scenarios as projected by the vaccine manufacturer, what would the estimated (ball park) costs be to our medical system?

Projected cumulative total of probable adverse reactions if all Canadians are vaccinated: more than six and three-quarter million!—not including deaths from the vaccine (which, in 1976, were reported to be more than the number of deaths from the swine flu itself).

Question 17 — Are people who get the vaccination allowed to drive themselves home, even though these estimates project that more than 3-and-a-half million people will have reactions, a quarter to half of which (e.g, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, etc) would render them dangerous to others on the road?

Question 18 – What is the projected number of illnesses and deaths from H1N1 flu if no one is vaccinated?

I have spoken to a number of British Columbians about the vaccination, they seem to be unaware of GlaxoSmithKline’s stated and acknowledged risks associated with the vaccine. Most are shocked and feel betrayed when they read for themselves the truth about this experimental vaccine. Others are angry.

Question 19 – Who in BC is responsible for informing individuals about the known risks associated with this vaccine?

Question 20 – Have you published any statistics associated with the reporting of adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccination? If so where?

Question 21 – Hypothetically speaking, if a PHO does not fulfill the duty to provide crucial information to the citizenry, thus resulting in thousands of men, women and children ignorantly subjecting themselves to a medical procedure/experiment that the PHO knows (or should know) is unproven and potentially dangerous, in your opinion should he or she:

a. Advise the public of the facts and resign

b. Resign

c. Continue to communicate information that fails to provide the facts, thus knowingly endanger the lives of British Columbians

Question 22 – Do you personally own or have shares in, directly or indirectly, any stock, or other material interest in any pharmaceutical corporation?

Question 23 – Are you as PHO required to disclose any (or any potential) financial conflicts of interest prior to accepting this office?

Thank you for your willingness to answer these questions. On behalf of many Canadians and British Columbians, I look forward to your responses to these important questions, and sharing them with our audience.

Yours sincerely,

Kari Simpson.

Co—Host RoadKill Radio