W.H.O.-Dr. Tedros Slips Up And Admits Some Countries Are Using Booster Shots To Kill Children
17-Year-Old Died ‘Suddenly in Sleep’ 6 Months After 2nd Pfizer Shot
By
VAERS data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included a total of 1,205,755 reports of adverse events from all age groups following COVID vaccines, including 26,396 deaths and 214,521 serious injuries between Dec. 14, 2020, and March 25, 2022.
Full artilcle can be read further down this web page
Pfizer Fauci & FDA Openly Colluding To Run COVID Vaccine Science Experiments On 6 Month Old Babies?
They won't stop until..?
Although it might be a new year doesn’t mean the Biden administration is done peddling COVID-19 hysteria on the American people. With the new Omicron variant still spreading, the Democrats, with Dr. Anthony Fauci leading the charge, have continued to push the COVID-19 jab on every American. Not only wanting adults to get the jab, but the FDA has also approved the drug for any child over the age of 5. And although children have a lower chance of developing severe side effects from the virus, Dr. Fauci recently revealed that there are ongoing trials involving the COVID-19 drug and six-month-old babies.
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In the video, which is featured below, Dr. Fauci is giving his usual COVID update when he starts to list off some facts about the Omicron variant in children. At first, Dr. Fauci even admits that the new variant appears to be less severe than other strains. But while some might have thought the doctor was finally going to start talking facts, he quickly went into how child hospitalizations are up, and it is mostly due to those who haven’t gotten the jab.
Parasites and sharp metal pieces found in hundreds of vials across all vaccine companies
We Will Not Comply
Did You know that Australian Children are being taken away from their parents to get the COVID-19 Vaccine Shot?
Dont' Break - Stand Strong - Do Not Comply
This is not about controlling a virus, its about controlling you!!!!
Chat Truth Till We Reach Critical Mass, [23.08.21 21:53]
[Forwarded from Andy Heasman (Andy)]
Was speaking to a nurse who works in the Mater hospital yesterday. She has worked the same two wards for the past 14 years and says she hasn’t ever seen the number of people presenting with respiratory problems and complications than in the past two months. They are all double vaccinated. But the docs are refusing to link it to the vaccine or COVID-19, but the nurses know, they say it’s hard to avoid the link now. Meanwhile she says not a single unvaccinated person has ever presented at the hospital with COVID-19 (which makes sense as anyone who isn’t vaccinated at this stage doesn’t believe in it). But she says unvaxxed people who come in with broken legs etc are tested, told they have the virus, and then put on the covid wards, even though they don’t believe they have it and aren’t even sick. But it means Holohan can go out that night and say the majority with COVID-19 in hospitals are unvaxxed!!!!
In Italy people are burning their green passes (vaccine passports), in protest to the medical apartheid being implemented by totalitarian European governments.
Mass civil disobedience is now a moral obligation.
Modera Wants To Use 6 Month Old Australian Babies In Covid-19 Vaccine Trials
VACCINE GENOCIDE
VIDEO PROOF THAT VAERS DATA IS BEING MANIPULATED CDC REMOVES 150,000 DEATHS
FROM VAERS SYSTEM VACCINE GENOCIDE
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on: Wednesday, July 7th 2021
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
Doctors Given Power to Vaccinate Young Children Without the Knowledge of Parents
Posted on:
Wednesday, July 7th 2021 at 10:45 am
Written By:
Barbara Loe Fisher, Co-Founder NVIC
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
15 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
16 National Vaccine Information Center. If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions.
17 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowser to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
18 CDC. Contraindications and precautions to commonly used vaccines. May 4, 2021.
19 CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines: Summary Documents for Interim Clinical Considerations. June 1, 2021.
20 Fisher BL. Do You Know How to Recognize A Vaccine Reaction? NVIC Newsletter Aug. 27, 2018.
21 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. June 2021.
22 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
23 English A, Shaw FE, McCauley MM et al. Legal Basis of Consent for Health Care and Vaccination for Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008; 121 (Supplement 1): S85-S87.
24 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. Sec. 300aa-26. Vaccine information.
25 CDC. Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): Required Use. July 28, 2020.
26 42 U.S.C. United States Code, 2016 edition. Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 6A - Public Health Service. Subchapter XIX - Vaccines. Part 2 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Subpart c - ASSURING A SAFER CHILDHOOD VACCINATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATED STATES Sec. 300aa-25. Recording and reporting of information.
27 MedAlerts. Search the U.S. Government's VAERS Data and Reporting Vaccine Reactions to VAERS.
28 Fisher BL. DIY If Your Doctor Won't Report Vaccine Reactions to VAERS. NVIC Newsletter June 2, 2021.
29 Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. VICP Data & Statistics June 2021. Who Can File A Petition and Filing Deadlines.
30 Family Education and Privacy Act. Title 34: Education.
31 Nunez K. What You Need to Know About Informed Consent. Healthline Oct. 11, 2019.
32 Encyclopedia.com. Nuremberg Code Establishes the Principle of Informed Consent.
33 Komesaroff PA, Parker M. Ethical Aspects of Consent. Issues Magazine March 2009.
34 Otterstrom K. The Legal Right and Responsibilities of a Parent. Lawyers.com Apr. 9, 2015.
35 Findlaw. How Long Do Parents' Legal Obligations to Their Children Continue? Nov. 17, 2018.
36 Fisher BL. The Moral Right to Conscientious, Philosophical and Personal Belief Exemption to Vaccination. Oral and referenced presentation to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee May 2, 1997.
37 Kelley AE, Schochet T, Landry CF. Risk taking and novelty seeking in adolescence: introduction to part I. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004; 1021-1032.
38 Steinberg L. Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9(2): 69-74.
39 Harvard Mental Health Letter. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Harvard Health Publishing Mar. 7, 2011.
40 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
41 Steinberg L. Monahan KC. Age Differences in Resistance to Peer Influence. Dev Psychol 2007; 43(6): 1531-1543.
42 Knoll LJ, Magis-Weinberg L, Speekenrbrink M et al. Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence. Psychological Science May 25, 2015.
43 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
44 Heath S. Understanding the Power Hierarchy in Patient-Provider Relationships. Patient EngagementHIT July 23, 2019.
45 Koleva G. Authoritarian Doctors, Timid Patients, and a Health Care Gridlock. Forbes May 29, 2012.
46 Fisher BL. The National Plan to Vaccinate Every American. NVIC Newsletter Mar. 21, 2020.
47 NVIC. National Vaccine Information Center Cites "Betrayal" of Consumers by US Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. Businesswire Feb. 23, 2011.
48 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
49 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Oct 19, 2005.
53 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Evaluation of Biologic Mechanisms of Adverse Effects: Increased Susceptibility. Chapter 3 (p. 82). Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.
54 National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccination: Know the Risks and Failures. 2019.
55 Fisher BL. Why Is Informed Consent to Vaccination a Human Right? National Vaccine Information Center June 28, 2017.
17-Year-Old Died ‘Suddenly in Sleep’ 6 Months After 2nd Pfizer Shot
VAERS data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included a total of 1,205,755 reports of adverse events from all age groups following COVID vaccines, including 26,396 deaths and 214,521 serious injuries between Dec. 14, 2020, and March 25, 2022.
04/01/22
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released new data showing a total of 1,205,755 reports of adverse events following COVID vaccines were submitted between Dec. 14, 2020, and March 25, 2022, to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). VAERS is the primary government-funded system for reporting adverse vaccine reactions in the U.S.
The data included a total of 26,396 reports of deaths — an increase of 337 over the previous week — and 214,521 of serious injuries, including deaths, during the same time period — up 2,937 compared with the previous week.
Excluding “foreign reports” to VAERS, 799,732 adverse events, including 12,103 deaths and 78,227 serious injuries, were reported in the U.S. between Dec. 14, 2020, and March 25, 2022.
Foreign reports are reports foreign subsidiaries send to U.S. vaccine manufacturers. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, if a manufacturer is notified of a foreign case report that describes an event that is both serious and does not appear on the product’s labeling, the manufacturer is required to submit the report to VAERS.
Of the 12,103 U.S. deaths reported as of March 25, 17% occurred within 24 hours of vaccination, 21% occurred within 48 hours of vaccination and 59% occurred in people who experienced an onset of symptoms within 48 hours of being vaccinated.
In the U.S., 559 million COVID vaccine doses had been administered as of March 18, including 330 million doses of Pfizer, 210 million doses of Moderna and 19 million doses of Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
Every Friday, VAERS publishes vaccine injury reports received as of a specified date. Reports submitted to VAERS require further investigation before a causal relationship can be confirmed.
Historically, VAERS has been shown to report only 1% of actual vaccine adverse events.
U.S. VAERS data from Dec. 14, 2020, to March 25, 2022, for 5- to 11-year-olds show:
- 9,771 adverse events, including 234 rated as serious and 5 reported deaths. The most recent death involves a 7-year-old boy (VAERS I.D. 2152560) from Washington who died 13 days after receiving his first dose of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine when he went into shock and suffered cardiac arrest. He was unable to be resuscitated and died in the emergency department.
- 17 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis (heart inflammation). The CDC uses a narrowed case definition of “myocarditis,” which excludes cases of cardiac arrest, ischemic strokes and deaths due to heart problems that occur before one has the chance to go to the emergency department.
- 37 reports of blood clotting disorders.
U.S. VAERS data from Dec. 14, 2020, to March 25, 2022, for 12- to 17-year-olds show:
- 30,771 adverse events, including 1,771 rated as serious and 43 reported deaths.
The most recent death involves a 17-year-old boy (VAERS I.D. 2189006) from Georgia who “suddenly died in his sleep” six months after receiving his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine. The boy had an autopsy but the results were not disclosed. He had no underlying health conditions. - 68 reports of anaphylaxis among 12- to 17-year-olds where the reaction was life-threatening, required treatment or resulted in death — with 96% of cases attributed to Pfizer’s vaccine.
- 650 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis, with 638 cases attributed to Pfizer’s vaccine.
- 165 reports of blood clotting disorders, with all cases attributed to Pfizer.
U.S. VAERS data from Dec. 14, 2020, to March 25, 2022, for all age groups combined, show:
- 20% of deaths were related to cardiac disorders.
- 54% of those who died were male, 41% were female and the remaining death reports did not include the gender of the deceased.
- The average age of death was 72.7.
- As of March 25, 5,341 pregnant women reported adverse events related to COVID vaccines, including 1,687 reports of miscarriage or premature birth.
- Of the 3,637 cases of Bell’s Palsy reported, 51% were attributed to Pfizer vaccinations, 40% to Moderna and 8% to J&J.
- 874 reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome, with 42% of cases attributed to Pfizer, 30% to Moderna and 28% to J&J.
- 2,373 reports of anaphylaxis where the reaction was life-threatening, required treatment or resulted in death.
- 1,655 reports of myocardial infarction.
- 13,657 reports of blood-clotting disorders in the U.S. Of those, 6,104 reports were attributed to Pfizer, 4,871 reports to Moderna and 2,638 reports to J&J.
- 4,088 cases of myocarditis and pericarditis with 2,511 cases attributed to Pfizer, 1,388 cases to Moderna and 179 cases to J&J’s COVID vaccine.
Woman dies from rare brain disorder after second Pfizer shot
In an exclusive interview with The Defender, Richard Sprague said his wife, Jennifer, developed Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) after her second Pfizer shot and died within five months of the second dose.
Jennifer, a healthy 60-year-old woman from Missouri, experienced her first “event she couldn’t explain” four days after receiving the second Pfizer dose. Over the following weeks, her symptoms worsened until she could no longer work, pour coffee or walk without assistance.
Jennifer was later hospitalized and diagnosed with CJD, a fatal prion disease that causes degeneration of the brain. Her health rapidly deteriorated until she could no longer sit up on her own or communicate.
When Jennifer’s insurance would no longer cover her injury, she was placed on hospice and sent home. She died Feb. 21.
Sprague, who remains unvaccinated, encouraged others to avoid COVID vaccines unless they have full knowledge of potential adverse events and an understanding that the vaccine is experimental.
Heart damage found in teens months after second Pfizer shot
A new peer-reviewed study published March 25 in the Journal of Pediatrics showed more than two-thirds of adolescents with COVID vaccine-related myopericarditis had persistent heart abnormalities months after their initial diagnosis — raising concerns for potential long-term effects.
Researchers at Seattle Children’s Hospital reviewed cases that occurred between April 1, 2021, and Jan. 7, 2022, of patients younger than 18 who presented to the hospital with chest pain and an elevated serum troponin level within one week of receiving a second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine.
While 35 patients fit the criteria, 19 were excluded for various reasons. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the remaining 16 patients was performed three to eight months after they were first examined.
The MRIs showed 11 had persistent abnormal findings and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), although levels were lower than in previous months.
According to the study, “The presence of LGE is an indicator of cardiac injury and fibrosis and has been strongly associated with worse prognosis in patients with classical acute myocarditis.”
Pfizer’s COVID vaccine less effective against Omicron for children 12 and older
Pfizer’s COVID vaccine showed “reduced effectiveness” against the Omicron variant among children 12 and older, according to a study published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The study, funded by the CDC, involved 1,185 patients, 88% of whom were unvaccinated.
During the “Delta-predominant period” (July 1 to Dec. 18, 2021), researchers reported vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization for COVID among adolescents 12 to 18 years old was 93% two to 22 weeks after vaccination.
During the “Omicron-predominant period” (Dec. 19, 2021, to Feb. 17), among adolescents in the same age group, vaccine effectiveness fell to 40% against hospitalization for COVID, 79% against critical COVID and 20% against noncritical COVID. This group’s median interval since vaccination was 162 days.
The study did not assess effectiveness of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine against the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant, which is now the most dominant strain in the U.S.
Incurable neurological disorder, aphasia, linked to COVID vaccines
News Wednesday that actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia, requiring him to “step away” from his career, cast a spotlight on the incurable neurological disorder, which has also been linked to COVID-19 and COVID vaccines.
According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to areas of the brain responsible for language.
The condition often occurs suddenly, but frequently follows a stroke or head injury, or could occur as a result of a brain tumor or progressive neurological disease.
Although The Defender found no evidence Willis’ diagnosis is linked to either COVID or COVID vaccines, reports of aphasia following the vaccine continue to pile up in VAERS.
In 2019, there were only 52 cases of aphasia reported to VAERS for all vaccines combined.
According to the latest data, between Dec. 14, 2020, and March 25, 2022, there were 3,079 cases of aphasia reported following COVID vaccines, with 342 cases occurring in those aged 65 to 74.
Moderna weighing vax for kids under 6
Moderna last week said it will seek Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its COVID-19 pediatric vaccine, after announcing its two-dose regimen reduced cases of symptomatic disease by 43.7% in children 6 months to 2 years old and by 35.7% in children ages 2 to 6.
The company said its Phase 2/3 KidCOVE study of its mRNA-1273 in children “successfully met its primary endpoint.”
However, as Politico reported Wednesday, and as experts told The Defender, some doctors and scientists question whether Moderna’s clinical trial data will be sufficient for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant EUA for the vaccine.
Experts cited the trials’, small sample size, low efficacy rates and reliance on a research workaround called immunobridging as weaknesses that could hinder Moderna’s case.
“Given the other data that surrounds it, I don’t know that it’s a slam dunk that the FDA will move forward in terms of releasing it for emergency use,” Peter Hotez, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at the Baylor College of Medicine, told Politico.
“We’re still learning about the relationship between virus-neutralizing antibodies and effectiveness,” Hotez said, adding the FDA might need to raise its standards.
Multiple experts also raised questions about the risk-benefit ratio of the COVID vaccines for an age group with a statistically insignificant risk of severe illness.
Children’s Health Defense asks anyone who has experienced an adverse reaction, to any vaccine, to file a report following these three steps.
Originally published on www.nvic.org, by Barbara Loe Fisher
This past year, we have seen many lawmakers in the U.S. and other countries vote to eliminate or severely restrict civil liberties in the name of the public health.1 2 3 One of the most outrageous legislative actions violating parental and human rights took place in Washington, DC in November 2020 when City Council officials gave doctors the power to vaccinate children as young as 11 years old and hide what they did from parents.4 5 6 7 8 The DC Mayor refused to veto the bill9 10 and, in January 2021, the U.S. Congress sat on its hands11 12 and gave tacit approval to enactment of the most dangerous child vaccination law in America.
In a breathtaking violation of medical ethics and several federal laws, the new vaccine concealment law in Washington, DC allows doctors to extract "informed consent" from young children too immature to know what informed consent13 means or what a vaccine reaction looks and feels like.14 15 16 The DC City Council majority, with only three members dissenting, cruelly disempowered parents by voting to make it illegal for a doctor, insurance company or school administrator to divulge a child's vaccination history in records that can be seen by the child's mother or father.17
Parents Won't Have Information to Protect Child From Vaccine Injury
An 11-year old child does not know or understand his or her personal health history but most parent do. If a child has experienced previous vaccine reactions, has severe allergies or other health conditions that could increase vaccine risks,18 19 parents kept in the dark will not have a way to protect their child from further harm.
Parents who don't know which vaccines their children have been given will not be able to monitor them for signs of a potentially life-threatening vaccine reaction that requires immediate medical treatment.20 If the child is injured or dies after vaccination, parents will not know they must apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) before the filing deadline expires.21
Parents will not know their insurance company has been billed for vaccines. Parents will not know that a school the child attends is in possession of their child's secret vaccination records even when there is a vaccine exemption for religious belief reasons on file with the school.
This blatant violation of a parent's moral right and legal responsibility to make medical risk decisions on behalf of a minor child was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics22 and pushed through by the DC City Council, while the Mayor and the US Congress looked the other way.
Washington, DC Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Federal Laws
First, DC's vaccine concealment law violates vaccine safety provisions of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, a federal law that confirmed vaccine injuries and deaths are real and made preventing vaccine reactions a national priority. Parents of DPT vaccine injured children secured vaccine safety provisions in the 1986 Act, which directs doctors and other medical workers to give parents written vaccine benefit and risk information before a child is vaccinated23 and also mandates that vaccine providers record which vaccines the child is given in a record the parents can access.
Specifically, the 1986 Act mandates that "health care providers who administer a vaccine" must give a child's legal representative "a copy of the information materials" developed by the Centers for Disease Control QUOTE "prior to the administration" of a vaccine.24 25 The 1986 law also requires each person administering a vaccine to QUOTE "ensure that there is recorded in such person's permanent medical record or in a permanent office log or file to which a legal representative shall have access upon request" certain information: Number 1: the date of administration of the vaccine; Number 2: the vaccine manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine; and Number 3: the name and address and, if appropriate, the title of the health care provider administering the vaccine."26
These informing and recording vaccine safety provisions were included in the 1986 Act specifically to provide parents with information they need to make well informed vaccine decisions for their minor children; and to help parents recognize and prevent vaccine reactions; and to ensure a vaccine reaction is reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).27 28
If a doctor can secretly inject a young child with one or more vaccines and hide the vaccination records, how will parents know what is happening when a vaccine reaction occurs? They won't have the information they need to take their child to an emergency room or be able to make the connection between the vaccinations and a child's regression into poor health.
This lack of critical information about their child's medical history also means parents will likely miss the deadline for filing a claim in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which has awarded more than 4.5 billion dollars to the vaccine injured over the past three decades.29
DC's vaccine concealment law violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which guarantees parents the legal right to have access to their children's education records, including health and vaccine records, at the primary and secondary school level.30
Vaccine Concealment Law Violates Informed Consent Rights
DC's vaccine concealment law also violates the long standing ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking,31 which has governed the ethical practice of human research and medical practice since the Nuremberg Code was published in 1947 after the Doctor's Trial.32 33 Informed consent is exercised on behalf of minor children by parents, who are morally and legally responsible for the well-being and financial support for their children until they are old enough to live independently.34 35 36
Child development specialists have documented how young children and teenagers lack the critical thinking skills and emotional maturity to exercise good judgment when assessing risks.37 38 39 40 Pre-adolescents are more susceptible to pressure from peers and authority figures.41 42 43 44
Doctors and Other Vaccine Administrators Have No Liability for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths
Doctors are the ultimate authority figures in our society today, and many are serving as authoritarian implementers of one-size-fits-all federal vaccine policies and state vaccine mandates.45 46 Like vaccine manufacturers, doctors and other persons who administer vaccines cannot be held liable in civil court when a child dies or is injured.47 Congress passed special legislation in 2020 to make sure that doctors or anyone else who administers a Covid-19 vaccine cannot be sued.48
When the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent for a child, it is the mother and father raising that child on a day-to-day basis who will be left with the life-long consequences - not the doctor who has been given the power to secretly persuade the child to take vaccines, and not the politician who voted to give doctors that power.
The DC Council sponsor of the bill entitled the "Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act" originally wanted doctors to be able to vaccinate children of any age - no matter how young - without the knowledge or consent of their parents. She argued that minors of any age can get an abortion in Washington, DC and get treated for a sexually transmitted disease or substance abuse without the knowledge or consent of their parents.49
She told Medscape Medical News that parents with "anti-science" beliefs were not vaccinating their children based on a "disproven belief" that vaccines may cause harm, which puts other people at "extreme risk" for disease.50
A dissenting DC City Council member countered with "Medical professionals and schools should not be permitted to coerce impressionable minors into procedures capable of causing injury or death behind their parents' back."51
DC Vaccine Concealment Law A Profound Betrayal of Public Trust
The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights states that:
"The interests and welfare of the individual should have priority over the sole interest of science or society;" and "For persons who are not capable of exercising autonomy, special measures are to be taken to protect their rights and interests;" and "Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information."52
It is a profound betrayal of public trust for any city, state or federal government to strip parents of their God given right to protect their children from harm by allowing a doctor to give a child a pharmaceutical product without getting a parent's permission. Science is not perfect, doctors are not infallible, and pharmaceutical products like vaccines come with risks that can be greater for some individuals than others,53 54 55 which is why parents must retain the human right to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of their minor children.
Will the vaccine concealment bill that is now law in Washington, DC be exported to your state next?
Take Action Today To Protect Parental Rights
If you want to protect parental and informed consent rights, register for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal today and stay up to date on vaccine laws being proposed in your state so you can contact your legislators and take positive action.
Never be the one who has to say you did not do today what you could have done to change tomorrow.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.
And our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America.
References
1 Fisher BL. How Fear of a Virus Changed Our World. NVIC Newsletter June 1, 2020.
2 Anderson A. These Endless Public Health Mandates Threaten American's Liberty. Heritage Foundation Mar. 15, 2021.
3 Weisberg L, Molnar P. With vaccination rates up and COVID-19 cases way down, California is poised to ditch masks and social distancing, but there are still some rules and protections in place as we navigate a new pandemic landscape. LaJolla Light June 14 2021.
4 Council of the District of Columbia. B23-0171-Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2019. (Effective from Mar. 16, 2021).
5 Al-Arshani S. Kids as young as 11 years old would be able to consent to vaccinations under a new bill proposed in Washington, DC. Business Insider Oct. 21, 2020.
6 Richardson D. DC Bill B23-0181 Allowing Children 11 Years Old and Older to Be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge or Consent Advances. The Vaccine Reaction Oct. 26, 2020.
7 Smith W. D.C. to Legalize Vaccination of 11-Year Olds Without Parental OK. National Review Nov. 5, 2020.
8 Turner M. DC Council to make final vote on bill that would allow minors to get vaccines without parental consent. WUSA-9 Nov. 12, 2020.
9 Austermuhle M. D.C. Activists Want Bowset to Veto Bill That Would Allow Minors to Consent to Vaccines. NPR Dec. 7, 2020.
10 Ault A. 11-Year-Olds Could Receive Vaccines Without Parental Consent in DC. Medscape Dec. 24, 2020.
11 McNeely M. Bill to Let 11-Year Olds Make Medical Decision: Will Congress Say No? Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Feb. 24, 2021.
12 Parentalrights.org. Breaking DC Update: Lee Attempts "Common Consent." Mar. 3, 2021.
13 FindLaw. Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient. June 6, 2018.
14 Blakemore SJ, Robbins TW. Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1184-1191.
Official Data shows many more people have died due to the Covid-19 Vaccines in 8 months than people who have died of Covid-19 in 18 months
There can no longer be any doubt that the Covid-19 injections are more deadly than the alleged Covid-19 virus itself thanks to a raft of official Public Health and Government data available, confirming more people have died due to the Covid-19 vaccine in 8 months than people who have died of Covid-19 in 18 months.
NHS data for England shows that since March 2020 up to the 12th August 2021 a total of 3,743 people have allegedly died of Covid-19 who had no other pre-existing conditions which include dementia, chronic kidney disease, chronic pulmonary disease, chronic neurological disease, and heart disease.
Whilst official data provided by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) shows that just 704 people have died of Covid-19 in the whole of Scotland who had no other pre-existing conditions between March 2020 and July 31st 2021.
However, data released by Public Health Scotland shows that between the 8th December 2020 and 11th June 2021 a total of 5,522 people died within 28 days of having a Covid-19 injection with 1,827 deaths being due to the Pfizer jab, 3,643 deaths being due to the AstraZeneca jab, and 2 deaths being due to the Moderna jab.
This means that in just 6 months nearly 8 times as many people died within 28 days of having a Covid-19 vaccine than people who died of Covid-19 (704 deaths) in 18 months in Scotland. Whilst 1.5 times as many people died within 28 days of having a Covid-19 vaccine in Scotland than the number of people who have died of Covid-19 (3,743 deaths) in 18 months in England.
Even when adding the number of people who have died of Covid-19 in both England and Scotland together; which comes to 4,447 deaths in 18 months, there have still been 1,075 more deaths within 28 days of having a Covid-19 vaccine in Scotland.
Public Health England have so far refused to publish the number of deaths within 28 days of a having a Covid-19 vaccine in England, claiming they do not hold the data despite their counterparts in Scotland being able to provide it.
But based on the number of deaths seen in Scotland and adjusting to the population for England we estimate that the number could have been as high as 57,470 in England by the 11th June 2021.
There are of course those that will argue that using the number of deaths within 28 days of having a Covid-19 vaccine does not mean the person died due to the Covid-19 vaccine. They are of course correct, but these will be the same people that believe a death that has occurred within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test is definitely a Covid-19 death.
Which is why we’d like to point these people to the data provided by the MHRA Yellow Card scheme, which shows more people have died due to the Covid-19 vaccines in 8 months than the number of people who have died of Covid-19 in the whole of Scotland in 18 months.
As of the 11th August there have been 293,779 adverse reactions and 501 deaths reported to the MHRA against the Pfizer mRNA injection.
As well as 813,622 adverse reactions and 1,053 deaths reported to the MHRA against the AstraZeneca viral vector injection.
The Moderna mRNA injection meanwhile has caused at least 41,274 adverse reactions and 14 deaths as of the 11th August 2021. This vaccine has also mainly been administered to younger adults who are least at risk of suffering debilitating disease if infected with Covid-19. Around 1.4 million people have received the Moderna jab which means at least 1 in every 33 people have suffered and adverse reaction and at least 1 in every 100,000 people have sadly died.
The overall number of deaths due to all three jabs now stands at 1,596 when including the 28 deaths that have been reported where the brand of vaccine was not specified.
Therefore 892 more people have died due to the Covid-19 vaccine in the UK in 8 months than people who have died of Covid-19 in Scotland in 18 months.
But it’s also important to remember that the MHRA have stated just 10% of serious adverse reactions are reported to the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.
Therefore that official number could be as high as 15,960 meaning thousands more have died due to the Covid-19 vaccine than have died of Covid-19 in the whole of the UK.
It doesn’t matter which way you look at it, the official data is now clear. The Covid-19 vaccines are more deadly than the alleged Covid-19 virus itself, and that is precisely why Public Health England refuse to publish the number of deaths that have occurred within 28 days of having a Covid-19 vaccine.
17 Pharma Henchmen Who Voted to Experiment on Your Kids — and How to Shun Them
The 17 members of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee who voted 17-0 in favor of authorizing Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 all have deep ties to pharma.
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On Oct. 26, the membership of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted 17-0 in favor of lower-dose use of Pfizer’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11.
The 17 individuals — including an “acting” committee chair and 11 voting members who were temporary rather than core VRBPAC members — formulaically stated the injections’ benefits outweigh the risks in that age group.
Three days later, Dr. Janet Woodcock — a 35-year FDA veteran serving “temporarily” as commissioner — evoked her personal credentials “as a mother and a physician” when she predictably extended Pfizer’s
This article highlights the conflicts of interest and financial entanglements with vaccine companies that enabled this rogues’ gallery’s immoral vote to expose 28 million U.S. children to the risk of injury and death.
These conflicts are ably documented by groups such as the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), in databases such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Open Payments and in the Children’s Health Defense (CHD) eBook, “Conflicts of Interest Undermine Children’s Health.”
What this information strongly suggests is that VRBPAC’s members — soi-disant (so-called) authorities in their respective fields — are thoroughly beholden to pharmaceutical, military, philanthropic and academic paymasters, with stock options, grants, patents and prestige clearly ranking well ahead of children’s safety.
This article also gives readers the tools and information to shun and shame these corrupt doctors and scientists — and their institutions. (See shunning action items at the end of the article.)
Sham deliberations
The Biden administration’s Oct. 20 release of a detailed pediatric vaccination plan, the administration’s pre-purchase of 65 million Pfizer pediatric doses and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) advance issuance of guidelines for vaccinating 5- to 11-year-olds are all clear signals that VRBPAC’s “deliberations” and vote were a sham — with the outcome predetermined.
VRBPAC’s Oct. 26 vote to foist the risky COVID vaccines onto defenseless children shows that even under intense and well-informed public pressure, the committee members were prepared to proceed with their shameful and shameless decision.
Buttressed by top-down directives, VRBPAC members apparently felt free to ignore 140,000 comments submitted to FDA by members of the public — an estimated 99.999% of whom objected to administering the vaccines to younger children.
On Oct. 25, CHD put FDA on notice that “CHD will seek to hold [FDA] accountable for recklessly endangering this population with a product that has little efficacy but which may put them … at risk of many adverse health consequences, including heart damage, stroke and other thrombotic events and reproductive harms.”
Around the world, doctors, scientists, parents and citizens who have questioned or opposed the need for pediatric COVID vaccination are horrified by the VRBPAC and FDA decisions, having witnessed the cascade of catastrophic post-injection adverse events in adolescents and young adults — including life-altering injuries that FDA and Pfizer refuse to acknowledge.
Two of VRBPAC’s “yes” votes came from CDC officials — hardly a disinterested or independent contingent. Most of the others who voted “yes,” including the 11 temporary voting members and acting chair, are affiliated with leading schools of medicine and public health heavily reliant on government grants and funding from entities like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (The Gates Foundation is a “major funder of universities” and gives two-thirds of those funds to U.S. institutions).
One National Institutes of Health (NIH) division director abstained, citing “limited safety and efficacy data.” The VRBPAC meeting also included one non-voting pharmaceutical industry representative from Merck.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is widely expected to endorse vaccination of 5- to 11-year-olds at its meeting on Nov. 2-3. As political economist Toby Rogers has noted, “Every person on [the ACIP membership] list has a financial conflict of interest. That is not good science.”
Shunning: a powerful tool
What can a frustrated and appalled public do to take to task powerful policymakers who are impervious to embarrassment?
We can shun.
The word “shun” means to “avoid using, accepting, engaging in or partaking of” or to “refuse to accept socially” or “stay away from.”
Psychologists are well aware of the impact of shunning — a tried-and-true method of rejecting those who behave immorally. Speaking in 1880 of absentee landlords intent on evicting Irish farmers suffering from near-famine conditions, Charles Stewart Parnell argued to great effect:
“When a man takes a farm from which another has been evicted, you must shun him on the roadside when you meet him, you must shun him in the streets of the town, you must shun him in the shop, you must shun him in the fairgreen and in the marketplace and even in the place of worship, by leaving him alone, by putting him in a moral Coventry, by isolating him from the rest of his country as if he were the leper of old, you must show your detestation of the crime he has committed.”
After reviewing VRBPAC members’ statements, activities and affiliations (summarized below), you may agree that it is well past time to shun them.
As citizens, employees, co-workers, shareholders and alumni, stop supporting individuals and institutions that are unashamedly willing to harm our children.
Cowardice, avarice and petty craving for prominence are no substitute for integrity and morality, and should not be rewarded.
Acting Chair Arnold Monto
Dr. Arnold Monto (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is professor of public health and epidemiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Monto has been acting chair for VRBPAC’s COVID-19 vaccine deliberations since October 2020. Previously, he was a four-year VRBPAC member (through January 2020).
Monto was a key player in pandemic planning and response for many decades, including during past headline-grabbing pandemics (real or invented) such as the 1968 Hong Kong influenza, bird flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
Monto is a key proponent of the unproven theory that schoolchildren must be vaccinated to achieve “herd immunity.”
Pfizer’s COVID vaccine clinical trial results showed more Bell’s palsy in the vaccine group (four cases out of 18,801) than in the placebo group (zero out of 18,785). Monto characterized this finding as “not out of line with the routine occurrence of Bell’s palsy in the population,” adding, “so we cannot say the vaccine caused it.”
However, Bell’s palsy has been associated with vaccines for decades and has been compensated through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
Also of note:
- Monto founded and co-directs the University of Michigan-based Michigan Influenza Center, one of five centers across the country that collects data for CDC.
- Monto has served as principal investigator on studies funded by CDC, the National NIH and Sanofi Pasteur.
- According to POGO and Open Payments, between 2014–2020, Monto received 117 payments totaling more than $176,000 (65% for consulting and speaking fees) from Pfizer as well as Seqirus, Hoffmann-La Roche, Sanofi, Genentech, Novartis and Shionogi.
- Monto has consulted for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
- In earlier clinical trials (2006–2008 and 2011–2013), Monto laid the groundwork for the “nonpharmaceutical interventions” that have been brought to the fore during COVID (e.g., masking, “sequestration” and social distancing).
Notably, the University of Michigan houses the nation’s #5-ranked School of Public Health and one of the country’s largest university health systems. In 2020, the university received $144 million in revenue via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act — most of which (94%) was associated with the Provider Relief Fund administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The CARES monies represent an amount nearly equal to what the university received in private gifts ($149 million) from foundations and others.
The University of Michigan has been embroiled in a massive sex abuse scandal, with allegations that it covered up decades of abuse by the university’s late athletic physician Robert Anderson — reportedly “the largest scale of sexual abuse by a single person in U.S. history.”
Captain Amanda Cohn (core VRBPAC member)
Captain Amanda Cohn, M,D, (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is chief medical officer in the Office of Vaccine Policy, Preparedness, and Global Health at CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Cohn is also executive secretary for ACIP, which is about to have its own vote on COVID vaccines for 5- to 11-year-olds. Cohn has attended past VRBPAC meetings and has served on the committee since February 2020.
Cohn started her CDC career as an officer with the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). After researching the part played by EIS officers in past “epidemics,” journalist Jon Rappoport concluded it serves as a front for the medical cartel, with a mission to persuade the public that “the whole world is being attacked by viruses, all the time.”
Judging by the papers listed in her curriculum vitae, Cohn’s particular niche seems to be to sell vaccines as a “rite of passage” for infants and troubleshoot how best to increase vaccine uptake in specific (and vulnerable) populations such as pregnant women, unaccompanied minors, adolescents, senior citizens and Africans.
At the Oct. 26 meeting, Cohn cheerily framed COVID vaccination as an equity issue, stating “This is an age group that deserves and should have the same opportunity to be vaccinated as every other age group.”
At a VRBPAC meeting in October 2020, Cohn stated:
“I just want to … clarify one point, which is just for the public record that the federal government cannot mandate vaccines … In the setting of an EUA, patients and individuals will have the right to refuse the vaccine.”
She has not repeated this statement since President Biden issued his attempted federal-mandate-by-
Cohn lied to the public and to medical professionals, incorrectly referring to non-existent evidence that COVID vaccines are effective in individuals who previously had a coronavirus infection — the clinical trial evidence showed the contrary.
Speaking with Congressman Thomas Massie in early 2021, Cohn agreed this messaging was a “mistake” but then continued to publicly put forth the same false information without correcting the record.
Also of note:
- In October 2020, Cohn presented “Vaccinate with Confidence for COVID-19 Vaccines,” a national strategy to “reinforce confidence” through “novel and … robust strategies to increase demand and uptake.” In that presentation, Cohn noted that “a new pandemic, a new vaccine and a new adult-focused platform means shifting tactics.”
- At the VRBPAC meeting that same month, Cohn evoked the likelihood of waning COVID vaccine immunity after four to six months, describing it as a “potential communication issue.”
Oveta Fuller (temporary voting member)
Oveta Fuller, Ph.D. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is, like Monto, at the University of Michigan (since 1988), where she directs the African Studies Center and is an associate professor of microbiology and immunology.
Fuller also participates in the university’s BioSocial Methods Collaborative — a center created to “link the social and health sciences” and “transcend the separate silos of social science, medicine and biology.”
Fuller has held the status of a “temporary voting member” at VRBPAC meetings on COVID vaccines. In December 2020, Fuller was one of four to vote against recommending Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use, citing concerns about autoimmunity and stating, “We don’t even know what’s going to happen to people in the long term who get these lipid particles and mRNA vaccine.”
At the time, Fuller described her role on the committee as “a heavy responsibility” and “very sobering.” This did not stop her from readily endorsing the experimental shots for young children 10 months later.
Two of Fuller’s self-described research interests include global health and HIV. As an ordained minister, Fuller promotes an HIV intervention called “Trusted Messenger” that recruits Black church leaders to “dispel myths” about HIV, saying it takes place at “the intersection of faith and science.”
Fuller now wants to apply this experience to COVID, using “trusted messengers” to increase vaccine uptake among Black Americans who “distrust the healthcare system.”
Two other interests of Fuller’s are “practical implementation of biomedical discoveries” (again, using religious leaders “to take biomedical advances into their community organizations”) and microchip detection of pathogens — a research area that has become hot since COVID and in which DARPA and the Pentagon have displayed considerable interest.
Microchips — sensors inserted under the skin — are the next step beyond wearable sensors. DARPA and collaborators completed a study in late 2020 in which wearable sensors allowed the researchers to monitor “heart rate, respiratory rate, physical activity, oxygen saturation and electrocardiographic data” in participants deliberately infected with the flu.
Fuller is currently collaborating with chemical engineers and human genetics researchers to develop microchip technologies to detect variations in influenza virus.
Also of note:
- Over her career, Fuller has received research and career awards from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)/NIH, the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of State.
- Fuller has also attracted monies from private foundations like the Ford Foundation and is the Ford Foundation Fellows’ liaison for the state of Michigan. The Ford Foundation recently launched an initiative to “further global vaccine access” and ensure “equal access to COVID-19 vaccines” globally.
Hayley Gans (core VRBPAC member)
Dr. Hayley Gans (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University Medical Center and has served on VRBPAC since mid-2019. Gans has been at Stanford since her medical internship and residency in the early 1990s.
In 2015, Stanford received $50 million from the Gates Foundation to “accelerate” efforts in vaccine development. Unsurprisingly, Gans is a staunch vaccine proponent, stating, “History and science support vaccines as one of the safest and most effective infectious disease prevention strategies, second to clean water.”
The bulk of Gans’ research and publications focus on infant immunity and the “challenges of tailoring vaccines and effective immunizations for young children,” notably measles vaccines made by Merck.
Gans advocates vaccinating severely immunocompromised
At the December 2020 meeting at which VRBPAC recommended Pfizer’s first EUA, Gans initially expressed reservations about including 16- and 17-year-olds but then voted with the majority anyway in favor of the vaccine for those 16 and up.
Soon after, Gans enthused that the “careful consideration and scientific deliberation” that led to VRBPAC’s EUA decisions for COVID vaccines was “miraculous” and the evidence “overwhelming in favor of approving vaccination … with little [sic] serious events.”
Also of note:
- Regarding being part of the unanimous vote in favor of Moderna’s EUA, Gans stated, “I would say the evidence that has been studied in great detail on this vaccine highly outweighs any of the issues that we’ve seen.”
- At a June 2021 VRBPAC meeting to discuss the “data needed to support authorization and/or licensure of COVID-19 vaccines for use in pediatric populations,” Gans asked questions about the failure of existing safety surveillance systems to adequately capture pediatric adverse events. Her questions also underscored that no one is trying to identify risk factors for myocarditis, nor is anyone “proactively” adding autoimmune side effects to the solicited list of adverse events. These concerns did not stop the pediatric specialist from now voting to inject 5-year-olds.
- In 2015, Gans received payments from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) totaling roughly $4,700. Publications reveal Gans has also been a consultant for Merck, the company whose vaccines she studies. Gans frequently publishes papers with authors who have even more extensive financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
- According to disclosures in a 2021 publication, Gans has received funding/grant support from the NIH’s National Vaccine Program Office and has consulted for HHS.
James Hildreth (temporary voting member)
James Hildreth, Sr., Ph.D., M.D. (https://twitter.com/
Meharry was a COVID vaccine test site and brags about administering Pfizer’s vaccine on campus to children ages 12 and up.
Hildreth has been one of the media’s go-to Black leaders during COVID. He threw in his lot with Dr. Anthony Fauci early on by framing vaccines as the primary solution. He has also spoken out against the use of ivermectin for COVID prevention or treatment, declaring (against all evidence to the contrary in PubMed) that “there is no study in the world of ivermectin in humans.”
He was appointed to VRBPAC as a “temporary voting member” for the COVID vaccine deliberations.
In an April 2020 interview, Hildreth echoed A. Oveta Fuller’s approach to making inroads in a deservedly skeptical Black community, stating “One of the most important roles for HBCUs [historically black colleges and universities] during this outbreak is to continue to serve as trusted messengers and opinion leaders for these communities.”
In September 2021, Hildreth drummed up alarmism about children of color “dying from COVID-19,” laying the groundwork for his Oct. 26 “yes” vote.
Also of note:
- Hildreth, who is Black, was educated at Harvard and Oxford (as a Rhodes Scholar) before attending medical school and teaching until 2005 at Johns Hopkins University. Johns Hopkins is infamous for its experiments on vulnerable populations, including Black children and adults. Johns Hopkins established the HeLa cell line after taking cells from patient Henrietta Lacks without permission.
Jeannette Lee (temporary voting member)
Jeannette Lee, Ph.D. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is a biostatistics professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas. Previous positions included a two-decade career at the University of Alabama and a few years working in industry at Bristol-Myers.
Lee lists one of her top research interests as “design of clinical trials,” notably pediatric trials. She was specifically sought out as a “temporary voting member” of VRBPAC due to her “unique and specialized competencies in biostatistics specifically for clinical trials.”
Judging by her “yes” vote on Oct. 26, Lee was apparently unconcerned by the well-documented design defects of Pfizer’s clinical trials, which, as Toby Rogers pointed out, were “intentionally undersized to hide harm,” among other problems.
Lee is already a core voting member of the FDA’s Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Committee, which considers the “safety, effectiveness and appropriate use of human cells, human tissues, gene transfer therapies and xenotransplantation products.”
Could Lee’s gene therapy “competencies” be the reason why she was solicited to rubber-stamp the experimental gene-based mRNA COVID injections?
Lee required and was granted a waiver to serve on VRBPAC due to a financial interest in Philip Morris International (with holdings valued between $25,000 and $50,000). The waiver request noted Philip Morris is “a company which can be affected by the particular matters before the [VRBPAC] committee.”
Members of the public who are unaware of the relationship of tobacco to vaccines should note that tobacco-based models of vaccine production represent a key area of DARPA investigation and investment.
On Oct. 14, the Philip-Morris-backed firm Medicago announced the launch of the world’s first tobacco-based COVID-19 vaccine.
Although former CDC director Brenda Fitzgerald was forced to resign in early 2018 after her conflicted investments in tobacco and vaccines became public, Lee received her waiver without fuss. “The need for her participation” was deemed to outweigh “any potential conflict due to the financial interest described.”
The waiver letter also noted that it would be “difficult to find another individual with equivalent expertise who is not conflicted either by a consulting/research relationship or by a disqualifying financial interest.”
Also of note:
- At the February 2021 VRBPAC meeting that authorized emergency use of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID vaccine (at which Lee reliably voted “yes”), Lee noted there would be “a lot of interest” in seeing data — as it happens, non-existent — pertaining to the influence of viral strain on vaccine efficacy.
- Lee has received extensive grant support from NIH as well as support from CDC and the U.S. Department of Defense.
- Like James Hildreth, Lee’s graduate training was at Johns Hopkins University.
Ofer Levy (temporary voting member)
Ofer Levy, M.D., Ph.D. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Areas of interest pursued by Levy’s PVP — funded by NIH and NIAID as well as the Gates Foundation — include big data and development of new vaccine adjuvants to rev up immune responses in a “population-specific manner.”
With NIAID support, the program has also been working to develop age-specific COVID vaccines. Levy is “a named inventor on patents relating to vaccine adjuvants and human in-vitro systems that model vaccine action.”
Levy and Boston Children’s Hospital are currently recruiting for a NIAID-funded clinical trial that will study newborn responses to hepatitis B vaccines in Gambia and Papua New Guinea.
In a strategically timed interview in late September, Levy advance-signaled his “yes” vote, stating that a vaccine for children at this moment in time “would be important.” Levy also argued, last December, that it was “important to include children” when he endorsed Pfizer’s shot for teenagers ages 16 and 17.
Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, he characterizes the FDA’s review process — with at most one month for data review — as “robust” and “transparent.”
Also of note:
- Open Payments shows that since 2014, Levy has received $463,374 in “associated research funding” from Shire and MedImmune and roughly $19,000 in consulting fees and other payments from biopharma companies UCB, GSK, Merck and Shire.
- At the 2nd Biennial Precision Vaccines Conference organized by Levy and colleagues and held at Harvard in 2019, Levy’s group chose as their opening speaker vaccine scientist Dr. Stanley Plotkin. Plotkin is infamous for his 1960s experiments on orphans and for harvesting organs from hundreds of fully formed aborted fetuses to make vaccines. The invasive immunoengineering, nanoparticle-reliant “delivery systems” and fancy adjuvants that he and Levy are now cheerleading may sound more sophisticated but are scarcely more reassuring.
Cody Meissner (core VRBPAC member)
Dr. H.. Cody Meissner (cmeissner@
After going to medical school at Tufts in the early 1970s, Meissner remained in Boston for postgraduate training at Boston Floating Hospital, Dana Farber and Harvard, devoting a brief two years to NIH before accepting a faculty position at Tufts in 1979.
Since 2014, Tufts Medical Center has received more than $14 million in “general payments” from companies that include Boston Scientific, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Jansswen, Biogen, Amgen, Pfizer, Gyrus Acmi, Sanofi, Otsuka and Genentech.
More significantly, Tufts has received more than $38.5 million in research payments — with Pfizer as the top funder (12% of total). Other biopharma companies providing research monies include Merck, Gilead, Shire, Takeda, Abiomed, Otsuka, Novartis and AbbVie.
Meissner has served on VRBPAC since summer 2018. During the deliberations about 5- to 11-year-olds, Meissner expressed several reservations, noting that the coronavirus is largely “a disease that spreads from adults to adults,” pointing out that more than four in 10 children (according to CDC data) have experienced natural infection and thus likely have natural immunity and commenting that some children “may be at increased risk of myocarditis.”
Meissner stated, “We’re getting down to a very small percent of otherwise healthy (5)- to 11-year-old children who might derive some benefit, and we simply don’t know what the side effects are going to be.”
He also commented that while scientists have “a very good sense of what the adverse events are” for measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination, “We do not have that with this particular messenger RNA vaccine.”
Last December, Meissner abstained from the initial EUA vote for Pfizer’s shot, and in June 2021, he stated he was “concerned about the safety issue” for pediatric vaccines.
Nevertheless, perhaps in deference to Pfizer’s prominent place in Tufts’ portfolio of funders, Meissner is now on the record with a vote in favor of Pfizer’s vaccine for “otherwise healthy” children.
Also of note:
- Meissner has served on ACIP since 2008 as well as on various committees of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a medical trade group notorious for its own conflicts of interest.
- Since 2010, Meissner has sat on the Massachusetts Vaccine Purchasing Advisory Council and, since 2017, on HHS’s National Vaccine Advisory Committee.
Patrick Moore (temporary voting member)
Patrick Moore, M.D., MPH (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) has been a professor of microbiology and medical genetics at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) since 2002. Pittsburgh is home to influential foundations such as the Richard King Mellon Foundation — which just announced a $150 million grant for the city’s development of science, technology, robotics and manufacturing — and the Pittsburgh Foundation. Moore holds the Pittsburgh Foundation Endowed Chair in Innovative Cancer Research.
Moore had a varied career prior to settling at Pittsburgh, including (like CDC’s Amanda Cohn) a two-year stint as a CDC EIS officer (in the “special pathogens” branch), some time at CDC’s Fort Collins lab, two years as Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Health and eight years in Columbia University’s epidemiology division.
At the Oct. 26 meeting, Moore expressed disappointment “that the clinical trials for children didn’t start until June 1 of this year.” Despite the abbreviated timeline, he dismissed the risk of myocarditis as a “theoretical risk” and stated, “If surveillance systems do start seeing severe outcomes and deaths from vaccination, I’m quite confident those surveillance systems will tell us we need to pause like we did with the J&J vaccine.”
Moore declined to comment on the fact that the Johnson & Johnson “pause” was short-lived, nor did he mention the 15- and 16-year-olds who recently died of heart problems and “fatigue” within one to six days of receiving Pfizer injections.
Also of note:
- In late September, the University of Pittsburgh co-hosted the Precision Medicine World Conference, at which the organizers made a point of honoring the husband-and-wife researchers who led development of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine.
Michael Nelson (temporary voting member)
Michael Nelson, M.D., Ph.D. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is chief of the Asthma, Allergy and Immunology Division of the University of Virginia’s (UVA’s) School of Medicine. He also earned his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at UVA.
Nelson lists his research interests as including “vaccine immunology and adverse effects.”
Nelson stepped into the UVA position only in late 2020, after a 25-year career in the U.S. Army, including at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Among other activities, Nelson served as consultant to the Army Surgeon General in allergy, immunology and immunizations.
In the Oct. 26 discussion, Nelson made the bold suggestion that parents should be allowed “to weigh the benefits and risks [of COVID vaccines] for their children,” stating “We should certainly not underestimate the knowledge and decision-making power of the public.”
Nonetheless — surely well aware of the potential for the vaccine to be mandated for school attendance — Nelson joined 16 other members of VRBPAC in giving Pfizer’s vaccine the go-ahead in children as young as 5.
Also of note:
- Nelson is no stranger to FDA committees, having chaired the FDA’s Allergenic Products Advisory Committee from 2014 through most of 2017. In 2019, that same committee cleared the way for biotech firm Intrommune Therapeutics to go after the significant immunotherapy market for peanut allergies — a problem that many believe is linked to childhood injections.
- While at Walter Reed, Nelson received modest payments from Sanofi Pasteur.
Paul Offit (core VRBPAC member)
Dr. Paul Offit, M.D. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is professor of pediatrics and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), as well as holding the Merck-endowed Maurice R. Hilleman Chair of Vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Offit developed the Merck RotaTeq rotavirus vaccine — recommended by ACIP in 2006 for universal use in infants.
Offit is a notorious vaccine industry insider and shill and has famously asserted that babies can tolerate “10,000 vaccines at once.”
The group Vaccine Nation ranks Offit sixth on its top-ten list of “vaccine influencers,” along with figures like Bill (#1) and Melinda (#4) Gates and GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley (#5).
Offit began serving on ACIP in 1998, three weeks before the nation’s first rotavirus vaccine (Wyeth’s ill-fated RotaShield) got the committee’s and Offit’s thumbs-up. Shockingly, ACIP recommended the vaccine for universal use before FDA had even licensed the product.
When RotaShield’s propensity for causing serious infant bowel obstructions (called intussusception) forced Wyeth to pull it from the market the next year, Offit abstained from ACIP’s vote withdrawing its endorsement.
In 1998, four out of eight ACIP members, Offit included, “had financial ties to pharmaceutical companies that were developing different versions of the [rotavirus] vaccine.”
A blistering 2000 report by the House Committee on Government Reform criticized conflicts of interest at both CDC and FDA, asserting that it should not be “routine” for scientists with drug industry ties to serve on policy advisory committees.
When queried, Offit gaily admitted, “I am probably just the kind of person you are talking about. I am a co-holder of a patent for a (rotavirus) vaccine [RotaTeq]. If this vaccine were to become a routinely recommended vaccine, I would make money off of that.”
Offit did make money, earning “at least $29 million as part of a $182 million sale by [CHOP] of its worldwide royalty interest” in RotaTeq. This jackpot earned Offit the nickname of Dr. Paul “For Profit” Offit.
RotaTeq has remained on the childhood schedule to this day despite being linked to fatal cases of intussusception and despite contamination with viruses linked to wasting in pigs.
Offit’s industry-sponsored propaganda often seeks to erode parental rights to make decisions about their children’s health — dangerous rhetoric that he has not hesitated to ratchet up since COVID.
In late August 2021, for example, Offit editorialized for CNN that “parents do not have carte blanche” with respect to their children and that “school district mandates [such as COVID vaccine mandates] that reduce the risk of death to children should be enforceable.”
Selectively ignoring the provable deadly track record of COVID vaccines less than one year after their rollout, Offit also asserted on CNN that “there is no constitutional right to avoid vaccine mandates against a deadly disease.”
Offit briefly drew attention in 2020 when he issued a rare (for him) safety warning, pointing out COVID vaccines’ potential to trigger antibody-dependent enhancement. When it came time for Offit to vote for the experimental vaccines, however, he confidently flip-flopped, stating he was “not personally concerned” about their safety.
The same cavalier attitude was on display at the Oct. 26 VRBPAC meeting when Offit declared, “You never know everything. The question is whether you know enough.”
Contradicting the clear evidence that children have vanishingly small risks of COVID-related hospitalization and death, Offit declared, “We certainly know there are many children between 5 and 11 years of age who are susceptible to this disease who could very well be sickened or hospitalized or die from it” — and then voted “yes.”
Also of note:
- In addition to his Merck-endowed academic chair and Merck’s bulk purchases of Offit’s books for distribution to physicians, Offit has received other payments from both Merck and Pfizer.
- In 2009, Bill and Melinda Gates honored Offit at a global health event. Offit serves on the board of directors of the Gates Foundation’s GAVI Campaign, which pushes “widespread use of current and new vaccines” for the world’s poorest children.
- In 2013, Offit publicly urged Britain to mandate liability-free MMR vaccines. Concerned journalists asked, “Should we trust Offit’s claims … that MMR vaccines should be made compulsory, especially when he has consulted for the MMR vaccine manufacturer Merck and has personally made considerable profit from Merck and vaccines?”
Steven Pergam (core VRBPAC member)
Steven Pergam, M.D., MPH (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is medical director of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and became a core member of VRBPAC in early 2020. He is also an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and in the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division.
Pergam is a cancer and kidney transplant survivor and has advocated for “early [COVID] vaccination in … cancer and transplant patients,” also stating, “There is no question in my mind that boosters will be needed.”
He shared photos of himself reportedly receiving the two-dose Pfizer series in December 2020 and January 2021. At the time, he stated doctors should “be open about side effects and not be dismissive of consumer anxiety.”
Pergam has received grant support from NIAID. His disclosures also include “grant support from Global Life Technologies and participation in research trials with Chimerix, Merck and Sanofi-Aventis” as well as Optimer/Cubist Pharmaceuticals.
Also of note:
- Open Payments lists nearly $126,000 in research payments from Merck between 2014 and 2016.
Stanley Perlman (temporary voting member)
Stanley Perlman, M.D., Ph.D. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is professor of pediatrics, microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa. He was trained in medicine at the University of Miami and obtained his Ph.D. in biophysics from MIT.
Perlman’s university website states that his lab has been interested in mouse coronavirus infections “for several years” and also studies human coronavirus infections. Elsewhere, the university describes Perlman as a 40-year veteran of coronavirus research and one of the experts who named SARS-CoV-2.
Perlman has received funding from NIAID and has filed patents related to “protection against coronavirus infection.”
Last November, Perlman gained professional mileage from his VRBPAC participation, garnering a puff piece in a University of Iowa newsletter about his role “advising the federal government” on COVID vaccine authorizations.
A week before the most recent VRBPAC meeting, Perlman prematurely discussed “the possibility of America giving COVID-19 booster shots to young people” on the “Doctor Radio Reports” show with Dr. Marc Siegel.
Also of note:
- Perlman also is a consultant on ACIP’s COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Subgroup.
Jay Portnoy (temporary voting member)
Dr. Jay Portnoy (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is a professor of pediatrics and an immunologist at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, where he has held positions since 1985.
Portney is billed as the “consumer representative” on VRBPAC, but Open Payments suggests he is far more beholden to the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2014, he has received roughly $111,000 (229 different payments) in “general payments” from pharma, and another $100,000 or so in “research payments” and “associated research funding.”
A wide range of companies have issued general payments, including Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals (46%), Phadia, Mylan Specialty, Novartis, Alk-Abello, BioCryst, Teva, Sanofi, Genentech and AstraZeneca. Merck and Aimmune Therapeutics provided the research funding.
Portnoy admitted he received “over 4,000 emails urging him to vote against the vaccine” on Oct. 26, but he ignored those pleas, “persuaded by the data showing it works.” He also professed to be representing parents “who are terrified of sending their children to school.”
Last February, Portnoy voted to authorize the J&J vaccine, pronouncing it “as safe and effective as other vaccines approved for other illnesses, such as influenza” and emphasizing, “we’re in a race to stop the virus.”
Portnoy apparently had no comments when the J&J shot started causing fatal blood clots.
Also of note:
- Portnoy also serves on two other FDA advisory panels (Allergenic Extracts and Respiratory and Allergy Drugs).
- Portnoy has donated to the American Medical Association political action committee.
Eric Rubin (temporary voting member)
Eric Rubin, M.D., Ph.D. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) has been editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) since September 2019, as well as a physician holding positions at Harvard and Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Rubin is also an alumnus of Harvard as well as Tufts, where he earned both M.D. and Ph.D. As NEJM’s senior editor, Rubin is responsible for “oversight of all editorial content and policies.”
Last June, Rubin signaled his predisposition in favor of authorizing experimental pediatric COVID vaccination, stating, “This isn’t a blank slate, we’re not going in with a new vaccine to kids, we’re going in with a gigantic base of experience now in adults, and that experience has suggested that there may be rare side effects.”
He added, “I would just like to have the ability to use this vaccine if we need it,” disingenuously stating “[Just] because we give an EUA to the vaccine doesn’t mean we have to use it.”
By Oct. 26, Rubin was characterizing the VRBPAC decision as “a much tougher call than we thought coming into it,” alluding to a side effect (myocarditis) “that we can’t measure yet.”
In the context of these admissions — and Rubin’s gravitas as NEJM editor-in-chief — the public was, therefore, shocked to learn of his casual conclusion following his “yes” vote: Even while admitting that “there are kids who probably shouldn’t be vaccinated,” he felt comfortable stating, “We’re never going to learn about how safe this vaccine is unless we start giving it, and that’s just the way it goes.”
Also of note:
- Rubin serves on several boards focused on drug development, including the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, the Structure-Guided Drug Development Consortium and the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence.
Mark Sawyer (temporary voting member)
Dr. Mark Sawyer (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is professor of clinical pediatrics and director of UC San Diego’s pediatrics residency program, as well as medical director of the UC San Diego Immunization partnership.
With his professional focus on “public health aspects of immunization,” Sawyer’s position on experimentally vaccinating children has been clear from the get-go — with safety conspicuously absent from the conversation.
Last June, Sawyer voiced his agreement “with those in general who think we need these vaccines sooner rather than later in children,” stating “I’m pretty sure we’re going to need the pediatric component of immunity to create the herd immunity we need.”
In the Oct. 26 VRBPAC discussion, Sawyer made remarks similar to Rubin’s, stating that “more data won’t be available until the vaccine is more widely used” and expressing a desire for the vaccine “as a tool in our armamentarium.”
Also of note:
- In addition to VRBPAC, Sawyer sits on California’s COVID-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup and is a past member of ACIP and the AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases.
- Sawyer is also one of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society’s liaisons to ACIP.
- In 2014, Sawyer donated to the political campaign of corrupt, pharma-sponsored Richard Pan, the doctor/senator who spearheaded the regressive legislation that has eliminated virtually all vaccine exemptions in the state of California.
Melinda Wharton (temporary voting member)
Melinda Wharton, M.D., MPH (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), the second CDC member of VRBPAC, is director of the Immunization Services Division in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Wharton’s training spans Harvard, Johns Hopkins, the University of Michigan and Duke University.
Wharton’s entrée into CDC was as an EIS officer in the mid-1980s, followed by “positions of increasing responsibility” in CDC’s immunization program through the present day.
The Defender reported in January that concomitant with the plummeting vaccination rates triggered by COVID lockdowns was “an overall drop in reports of infant vaccine adverse events,” including “a precipitous drop in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) reports” — the lowest yearly number recorded in the history of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
This good news did not stop Wharton from fretting over “lagging” childhood vaccination rates.
On the other hand, Wharton’s attitude about pediatric COVID vaccine safety has been blasé. Last June, she stated she was “quite comfortable” with the idea of rolling out the vaccines to young children, characterizing the database on safety as “robust” (and neglecting to mention the alarming safety problems that were already quite apparent at that time).
Also of note:
- Wharton has served as ACIP’s executive secretary.
- In a 2010 publication, Wharton “urge[d] school nurses to promote pre-teen vaccines.” She also has actively participated in efforts to get more young teens to take the dangerous HPV vaccine.
The abstainer: Michael Kurilla (core VRBPAC member)
Michael Kurilla, M.D., Ph.D. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is director of NIH’s Division of Clinical Innovation in the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). He has served on VRBPAC since summer 2018.
Kurilla, who has a “top secret/sensitive compartmented information” (TS/SCI) security clearance from the U.S. government, has had a career that is a “par excellence” illustration of the revolving door between government, industry and academia.
Before directing NIH’s Division of Clinical Innovation, Kurilla worked in the NIAID Office of Biodefense Research Affairs, as well as at Wyeth and Dupont Pharma and the University of Virginia.
Kurilla explained his abstention from the Oct. 26 vote on COVID shots for young children “was based on the specific [yes/no] question the FDA asked,” and more specifically, on FDA’s lack of “nuance” and “one-size-fits-all” approach.
Arguing that alternate dosing should be made available to the estimated 40% of American children who have had COVID, he stated:
“I think the idea of doing under an emergency use authorization, two doses for everybody without any flexibility around this, I think is just not going to go over very well and I don’t think it’s going to give the health care community the options and parents the options to choose what’s best for their children.”
Kurilla also noted the brief three-month clinical trial follow-up period for children aged 5 to 11.
At a previous VRBPAC meeting (June 2021), acting chair Monto cut Kurilla off after the latter “asked whether the vaccines, made from a strain collected 18 months ago that is no longer in circulation, is the right one given current variants.”
At the Oct. 26 meeting, Kurilla predicted that vaccine-induced immunity in younger children would wane “within 4-6 months.” Stating, “The benefit here is assumed to be prevention of severe disease,” Kurilla asked, “The question really becomes, does this vaccine offer any benefits to them at all?”
Also of note:
- In March 2020, Kurilla’s NCATS “rapidly pivoted virtually all its programs to respond to COVID-19,” including launching “perhaps the most ambitious [electronic health records] project ever undertaken,” a project called the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), which “now contains detailed data on over 3 million people.”
- Kurilla’s multisite N3C network is partnering with software, data analytics and cloud computing companies Adeptia, TriNetX, MDClone, IQVIA, Palantir Technologies, Microsoft and Amazon.
- Kurilla deserted academia for industry due to self-described dissatisfaction with his “career trajectory.” That industry experience in drug development then landed him in biodefense at NIH. Kurilla states he enjoys working with the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and the National Security Council.
- Internationally, Kurilla served on the World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola Science committee.
- Kurilla lists past research grant support from NIH as well as biotechnology company GenBio.
The non-voting pharma rep: Paula Annunziato
Dr. Paula Annunziato (paula.annunziato@
Annunziato also helped ensure that Merck achieved two regulatory milestones for an experimental Ebola vaccine — expediting its U.S. and European review via an FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation and PRIME (PRIority MEdicines) status with the European Medicines Agency.
In a COVID-vaccine-related paper
However, in a VRBPAC session that same month, Annunziato hedged her bets, citing a variety of factors that might “in fact preclude continuation of some of these placebo-controlled studies.” By February 2021, participants in the placebo groups had essentially all been vaccinated.
Annunziato was present at the 2006 meeting of ACIP where the committee recommended routine Gardasil vaccination of 11- to 12-year-old girls and initiation of the vaccine series in girls as young as 9 at providers’ “discretion.”
Children’s Health Defense and the law firm Baum Hedlund have filed 12 lawsuits against Merck alleging the company knew its Gardasil human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was “defective and unreasonably dangerous.”
Zostavax was the first shingles shot approved in the U.S., but Merck quietly took it off the market in November 2020. Harvard Medical School claims this was “not because of side effects” but admitted back in 2007 that 370 people would need to get Zostavax “to prevent a single case of postherpetic neuralgia over the next three years.”
Lawsuits are ongoing alleging that Zostavax caused (rather than prevented) shingles and related injuries. Claiming Merck knew (or “should have known”) of serious risks and reactions associated with Zostavax, and asserting the company “failed to exercise reasonable care in [its] design, labeling, testing, formulation, manufacture, sale, marketing, and distribution.”
Annunziato co-authored a paper showing Zostavax — which she still deems to have had a “favorable” safety profile — generated 45,898 reported adverse events over a 10-year period, with nearly one in 10 of these rated as serious and 74 deaths considered “temporally but not causally associated with vaccination.”
Here’s what you can do
To get the shunning ball rolling, we list some suggested tactics below but also invite readers of The Defender to share their own suggestions in the comments.
Note: It is inconceivable that VRBPAC members would behave in such a corrupt manner without the approval and say-so of their institutions, so any shunning actions necessarily must also extend to the universities and other institutions that have these individuals’ backs.
- Send a Notice of Liability to each VRBPAC member — see examples at the Doctors for Covid Ethics website.
- Check the campaign contributions of VRBPAC members at OpenSecrets.org. If they are donating to a politician who represents your state or Congressional District, call or write to your representative and ask why they are accepting donations from people who are seriously compromised by the pharmaceutical industry and harming our children.
- Refrain from appointing VRBPAC members to the boards of community organizations — or revoke their current board appointments. These types of “good citizen” positions should not be offered to people who are not behaving as “good citizens.”
- All universities benefit from state and local appropriations. Contact your legislators, explain that academic operations at these universities are clearly supporting federal corruption and demand that the legislators revoke the appropriations.
- Write to the board of trustees or person who manages the university endowment. Demand they disclose their investments in companies that are harming our children and explain how these investments support active participation in federal corruption by those affiliated with the university.
- Stop donating to the universities and academic departments in question and let them know why. When asked for an update by your university alumni group, ask to be removed from the alumni email list and database, and explain you have stopped donating to the university as a result of its support of federal corruption.
- Cancel your season tickets and other participation in sports and cultural events at the university. Explain why.
- If you are involved in recruiting for your company, remove these universities from your recruiting lists. Write to the university’s placement office to explain why.
- Ask local newspapers to publish copies of the letters you write to university officials. Organize to support members of the independent media in researching and publishing information regarding VRBPAC members’ conflicts of interest, as well as the university conflicts of interest that compromise the institutions’ intellectual resources and activities in science, medicine and technology.
- Write to the university chaplain and ask for prayers for the university to be released from the spirit of corruption. Provide details.
- Identify the banks involved in managing the university’s bank accounts, financial assets, endowment and pension funds; where applicable, demand to know why the university is doing business with banks that have compromised our federal government accounts and are financing policies at the federal level that are harming our children.
- Do not buy or hold stocks in companies with which VRBPAC members are connected.
- Do not buy products or drugs that VRBPAC members have developed or patented.
- Make it clear — through letters to the editor and letters to the institutions — that you will not forget VRBPAC members’ decision to enable the needless harming of young children.
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