Wow! There are a lot of things happening at the moment. We hope all our members are safe and well and are doing their best to stay calm and happy under such uncertain circumstances.
For those who are feeling a little stressed please watch this video that Meryl Dorey filmed regarding not panicking about the current Covid 19 situation.
We are very sad to announce that the Mandatory Vaccination of Health Care Workers bill was rushed through the Victorian Parliament last week and is now awaiting royal assent (a signature) and it will be law. The Hansard transcripts from the Upper and Lower houses of the Victorian Parliament regarding the legislation are quite disappointing to read.
Hansard transcripts relating to the bill
https://beta.parliament.vic.gov.au/globalassets/hansard2/pim/dailypdf/legislative-assembly/20200219/hansard-2145855009-5192-20200219.pdf
https://beta.parliament.vic.gov.au/globalassets/hansard2/pim/dailypdf/legislative-assembly/20200220/hansard-2145855009-5284-20200220.pdf
https://beta.parliament.vic.gov.au/globalassets/hansard2/pim/dailypdf/legislative-council/20200317/hansard-974425065-6110-20200317.pdf
Of particular concern is this quote from Health Minister Jenny Mikakos.
I could say that if we had a vaccine for COVID-19 tomorrow, it would be added to the schedule, to this legislation. We would be ensuring that our healthcare workers got vaccinated as a matter of priority and ensure that our community got access as well.
Without seeing any testing or safety data Ms Mikakos is already wanting to mandate a Covid 19 vaccine for Victorian health care workers.
The legislation will become law as soon as it is signed, but at this stage will not be implemented until 2021. However, the following quote from Ms Mikakos does indicate that the Flu vaccine mandate may be brought in earlier if possible.
Ms Mikakos:
We need to get the implementation of this legislation right in terms of making sure that it is targeted at those front-line workers who have that direct contact with patients, but we also need to make sure that if it is possible to bring forward the implementation around the flu in particular, that we will certainly be exploring that.
Many people put a lot of effort into contacting and meeting with politicians with their concerns about the legislation, and they were successful in at least getting mentioned in parliament.
This is a quote taken from Shadow Minister for Health Georgia Crozier’s speech:
There is a huge amount of concern that I have received from people who do not agree with mandatory vaccination programs. I have met with them; I actually met with some of them who came into the Parliament. They met with me, Ms Bath and Mr Blackwood. They were a group of healthcare workers from the Gippsland area, and they are on the front line. Some of them were working in theatre, and they said, “We refuse to have the vaccinations that the government is demanding that we have”.
Well done to those groups who made the effort to voice their concerns. If more of us did this our voice would be very powerful and could change outcomes. It has to happen. Please keep contacting your Victorian state politicians about this disgraceful loss of bodily autonomy. It doesn’t matter that the legislation has passed. Keep making your concerns heard!
A mass walkout of health care workers is truly what is needed over this. Civil disobedience is fast becoming an action that will have to be taken.
Last Wednesday Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that from May 1st it will be compulsory for aged care facility workers and aged care visitors to have a Flu vaccine. The AVN has called and emailed the offices of the Prime Minister, Health Minster and Aged Care Minister. We were told that the Aged Care Portfolio will be responsible for over-seeing this, although we received a phone call back from Greg Hunt’s office. The assistant we talked to couldn’t or wouldn’t provide answers to our questions. We aren’t confident that the Government has even worked out how they are going to enact this new rule. Below is the list of questions we have asked the Government. At this stage they have not provided any information about any of our concerns, which include:
This aged care flu vaccine announcement is the first step on a very slippery slope towards mandatory mass vaccination in Australia.
We have been inundated with messages from people very worried about this legislation and we will be following up with Greg Hunt’s office until we get some answers. Sadly, many people may lose their jobs.
We implore everyone who is concerned about this legislation (and that should be everyone reading this newsletter!) to please write to these two people and have your voice heard:
Health Minister Hunt
[email protected]
Aged Care Minister Colbeck
[email protected]
Everyone employed in aged care needs to ask these same questions outlined above to the aged care facility where you work. If you have a loved one in aged care, ask these questions! Demand to know how they are going to enforce this. Do they really intend to ban you from your loved one for not consenting to a flu vaccine, which has nothing to do with the Covid 19 virus? Studies show that receiving a flu vaccine makes you more susceptible to contracting corona viruses, see:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X19313647
https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m810/rr-0
It seems counterproductive and dangerous to implement a vaccine policy that may increase cases of Covid 19 in the elderly, especially since the Flu vaccine itself has such low efficacy and has known side effects, up to and including death.
I will not sugar coat this. We are now looking down the barrel of a fast tracked Covid 19 vaccine being rolled out in Australia.
On Monday’s episode of the ABC television program Q and A the topic of Covid 19 was discussed by a the panel. When asked about a vaccine this is what PROF. PAUL KELLY had to say:
We need to be really clear about what the endgame is here, Hamish. So, we’re all hoping for a vaccine in the future. If we get a vaccine that works and is effective, then we’re protected and, fantastic, we can really defeat this virus. If we go into lockdown, as many people are suggesting we should do now, this is not a two- or four-week phenomenon, it’s until we get the vaccine.
So please be aware that these are the ideas that are being discussed at the top level right now. We may well see mandatory Covid 19 vaccine laws in the future. A fast-tracked vaccine may be available in 12 months. Some AVN members may be willing to receive that vaccine, but I am sure that everyone would be advocating for the right to choose. Medical procedures, particularly fast-tracked novel vaccines, must remain a choice.
We must never forget what happened in the USA during the Swine Flu fiasco of 1976, watch
Thousands of vaccine injuries and deaths resulted from that hastily conceived vaccination campaign.
Some of the current Covid 19 vaccines in development are using new methods. NVIC founder Barbara Loe Fisher discusses this in a recent article:
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health are working with a biotech company to quickly start clinical trials of an experimental messenger RNA vaccine and fast track it to licensure. 1 The FDA has not yet licensed messenger RNA vaccines that use part of the RNA of a virus to manipulate the body’s immune system into stimulating a potent immune response. 2 3 It looks like the coronavirus vaccine will be the first genetically engineered messenger RNA vaccine to be fast tracked to licensure, just like Gardasil was the first genetically engineered virus-like particle vaccine to be fast tracked to licensure. 4 5
There likely will be lots of questions about whether the fast tracked coronavirus vaccine was studied long enough to adequately demonstrate safety, especially for people who have trouble resolving strong inflammatory responses in their bodies and may be at greater risk for vaccine reactions.6
Read the whole article here:
https://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/March-2020/the-national-plan-to-vaccinate-every-american.aspx
I know a lot of people are very emotional right now and very stressed. We need to be looking out for each other and connecting with our community more than ever. While travel is restricted, I recommend that you meet up virtually, by using zoom or whatever conference calling method you prefer. Reach out to like-minded people. This is a great time to brainstorm and strategize ways to help inform people about vaccinations and how to advocate for vaccine safety and the freedom to choose. If you come up with some great ideas, please share them with us! [email protected]
I know it may seem like a difficult time to speak up, but a lot of people are actively seeking information at the moment. It is a great time to share information with those who normally are not interested in the vaccine issue.
We definitely have a timeline of when we can expect vaccine mandates to ramp up, so we need to be doing everything we can NOW to preserve the right to choose. This is not a drill. This is the moment we all need to dig deep and be brave.
If you are not yet connected with like-minded groups in your area, please contact us and we can put you in touch with your local group leaders. [email protected]
When travel restrictions are lifted, we will have the Australian Vaxxed bus ready to get on the road. That will be an incredible boost to our community. Please support it however you can.
Remember, you are not alone and there is nothing to fear. We will all help each other through this.
This is a limited time offer for all new and renewing members of the AVN! From now until April 5th, 2020, if you purchase a one-off, annual or gift membership, you (or your gift recipient) will receive a free downloadable pdf of Greg Beattie’s excellent book, Fooling Ourselves on the Fundamental Value of Vaccines! This is essential reading for anyone investigating the issue of vaccine necessity and answers the question – do vaccines really save lives – once and for all.
Join or renew but be quick because once this offer is gone, it’s gone!
Click here to sign up: https://shop.avn.org.au/collections/membership
~ Aneeta Hafemeister, AVN President
