Help! The government stole my wallet!

Dec 19, 2009

I went out shopping the other day, and in a moment of weakness, I bought a lottery ticket. Money down the drain. But there was a 40 million dollar prize so I figured that my 'investment' of less than $10 might turn out to have some pretty great rewards. Oh well, another expense I needed to justify to myself in this difficult time.

The government's having a pretty hard time of it too. Only their justification for spending between $500 million and $1 billion on the swine flu vaccination campaign is going to need to be pretty darn good. I don't think the Australian people will be - or should be - as indulgent to this spend as my husband is to my little momentary weakness.

The government seems to have spent this money in a moment of panic. "Everybody else was doing it!", they would cry. "If we didn't get it then, it would have all been gone by the time we decided.", they moan as they dig a hole in the ground with the toe of their little Doc Martin boots, tears starting in the corners of their eyes.

They are looking for sympathy. For us to say, "There, there dear. It's OK. Could have happened to anyone. She'll be right!" and pat them on the back and tell them to run off an play with the other countries for a little while longer, but be sure to come in soon for dinner."

But it's not OK. And she definitely won't be right. Especially not if she was pregnant at the time she got the bloody shot!

On the first of December, 2009, I submitted the following questions regarding the swine flu vaccination to the two policy advisors who cover this issue for Nicola Roxon, Federal Minister for Health. To date, I have not even had the courtesy of a reply to say they are looking into this issue. Below are my questions. I will now be submitting them to the Opposition Health Spokesperson,

I would suggest that if you have 5 minutes spare, you may want to send the same questions or some of your own to these people. If you have more luck in getting a reply than I have, please do let me know.

Attention Ruth Kearon and Meredith Arcus (nicola.roxon.mp@aph.gov.au)

Good morning. I am writing to you as President of the Australian Vaccination Network, an Australian vaccine safety organisation with more than 2,500 members who would like to be better informed about the current pandemic influenza (AH1N1) outbreak and campaign.

I was hoping that you could provide me with the following up-to-date information as quickly as possible. Regarding the Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine:

1- How many doses of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine were ordered from CSL Pty Ltd? What was the total cost of both (a) the vaccines themselves and (b) the government's promotion of this vaccination campaign?

2- How many doses of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine have been administered to date?

3- How many reactions have been reported to the Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine to date? What are the details of these reactions and numbers of each (age of vaccine recipients, reactions reported, final outcome and follow-up)?

4- Have there been any spontaneous abortions reported following administration of the pandemic influenza vaccine?

5- How many cases of A (H1N1) 2009 have been reported in Australia since the outbreak began? How many of these cases were laboratory diagnosed?

6- How many deaths from A (H1N1) 2009 have been reported in Australia since the outbreak began? How many of these deaths were diagnosed by pathology testing?

7- What tests is the Australian government using to confirm the presence of A (H1N1) virus?

8- What is the government planning on doing with any unused Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine? What is the use-by date on the stocks which have been ordered from CSL?

Thank you for your prompt assistance with this matter. If you require any clarification, please feel free to contact me either by return email or at the telephone number below.

I went out shopping the other day, and in a moment of weakness, bought a lottery ticket. Money down the drain. But there was a 40 million dollar prize so I figured that my 'investment' of less than $10 might turn out to have some pretty great rewards. Oh well, another expense I needed to justify to myself in this difficult time.

The government's having a pretty hard time of it too. Only their justification for spending between $500 million and $1 billion of our money on the swine flu vaccination campaign is going to need to be pretty darn good. I don't think the Australian people will be - or should be - as indulgent to this spend as I was to myself for my little momentary weakness.

The government appears to have spent this money in a moment of panic.

"Everybody else was doing it!", they would cry, bottom lip puffing out in an adorable pout.

"If we didn't get it then, it would have all been gone by the time we decided.", they moan as they dig a hole in the ground with the toe of their little Doc Martin boots, tears starting in the corners of their eyes.

They are looking for sympathy. For us to say, "There, there dear. It's OK. Could have happened to anyone. She'll be right!" and pat them on the back and tell them to run off and play with the other countries for a little while longer, but be sure to come in soon for dinner because it was starting to get dark.

But it's not OK. And she definitely won't be right. Especially not if she was pregnant at the time she got the bloody shot!

More and more websites are springing up where women are posting to say that they have lost their unborn children shortly after receiving this vaccine - the first vaccination to specifically target pregnant women and one which contains 24.5 mcg of toxic mercury in the form of thiomersal (thimerosal in the USA) - a known neurotoxin with a very long list of side effects.

And both children and adults are reporting cases of severe neurological problems including Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Dystonia, both crippling and 'incurable' conditions.

I would suggest that if you have 5 minutes spare, you may want to send the same questions or some of your own to both of these people. If you have more luck in getting a reply than I have, please do let me know.

Attention Ruth Kearon and Meredith Arcus

I was hoping that you could provide me with the following up-to-date information as quickly as possible. Regarding the Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine:

2- How many doses of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine have been administered to date?

4- Have there been any spontaneous abortions reported following administration of the pandemic influenza vaccine?

5- How many cases of A (H1N1) 2009 have been reported in Australia since the outbreak began? How many of these cases were laboratory diagnosed?

6- How many deaths from A (H1N1) 2009 have been reported in Australia since the outbreak began? How many of these deaths were diagnosed by pathology testing?

7- What tests is the Australian government using to confirm the presence of A (H1N1) virus?

8- What is the government planning on doing with any unused Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine? What is the use-by date on the stocks which have been ordered from CSL?

If a thief came along and took the wallet out of my pocket to support their drug habit, I would have the full force of the law at my disposal to ensure that they would be brought to justice. The result should be no different when it's the government that is doing the actual nicking of my money here.

Oh, and I never did win that lottery draw either, more's the pity!

Informed Choice

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