Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Surveillor

February, 18, 2019 | 42 Comments
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The recent moral panic around the Death of MR and the involvement of Instagram and Facebook in her death and maybe that of others is intriguing. Worthy of John Le Carre – at his Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy best.

This may be a cynical attempt by the old media – the BBC or NBC, the New York Times or the Guardian to put pressure on new media like Facebook and Google. There are appearances of concern for the Russell family but no evidence of real concern about anything other than getting a story – or making a point. If there was real concern for the families of any of these teenage girls a lot more would have been done about the hazards of antidepressants before this.

Despite the appearances, it’s entirely possible that this crisis has been engineered by Facebook to gain an advantage. It brings to our attention the possibilities that Facebook or Google might be able to flag up people who are actively suicidal and be able to intervene.

Shortly before the Russell brouhaha began unfolding in the UK, the New York Times reported that Facebook and other media companies have been using their surveillance methods to pick up people who may be actively suicidal and intervening – Minority Report like – for instance sending Tom Cruise around to save a life .

An article by Mason Marks in the Yale Journal of Health Policy Law and Ethics recently – HERE – outlined a number of the hazards involved in this, ranging from compromising peoples credit records to detention and forced medication or triggering death by cop.  Forcing Facebook to delete images in the Molly Russell case helps make a case for using the technology to intervene in other cases and making it even more of a policeman in all of our lives.

The latest big thing are Home Hubs, Personal Assistants like Alexa, intelligence units aimed at making homes smart.  These units will register every emotional nuance we have, all our contacts and activities. We could drift very quickly into an uncomfortable position.  Not just those of who buy them but those who don’t – what have you to hide then?

If the Police can…

As things stand, as an expert witness in cases where a drug may have played a part in triggering a suicide or homicide, I have for years been presented with police searches on their computers showing the sites people have visited before and after going on an antidepressant.  This is a powerful aid in working out whether the homicidal or suicidal thinking began before or after treatment – or whether it changed in character.  If the police using old tech have been able to do this for years, its unquestionably the case that Facebook and Google and other companies can do it.

They unquestionably could contribute evidence as to the rates at which people going on antidepressants become suicidal or have a malignant change in their thinking.  They can easily establish whether the kind of imagery Molly Russell may have viewed was provided by people who had gone on an antidepressant and become suicidal even if she hadn’t.

But were not hearing about this.  Why not?

What we’re getting is a confected fuss that looks like it suits the interest of government for greater surveillance capabilities and the new media – no one is particularly worried about the old media these days, except putting them to some good use before saying adieu.

One more aspect to this story though is the indifference of Facebook and Google to whether any of us lives or dies. Their argument is that it’s not their brief to worry about things like this.  This would be an invasion of our sacred privacy.

The links we make and the traces we leave provide material that can be put to use (and they can make money from) but it’s exactly to same traces and links that are on the one side being blamed for MRs death but on the other side could be used to help save her. The argument is we cannot get one without the other.

Of course you can – you might respond. It’s a matter of making a judgement, a diagnosis, coming to a verdict. But judgements and verdicts are exactly what Google and Facebook do not do. For them everything is equivalent – there is no evil – there is no good. They operate like a thermostat that will turn off the heating at a certain temperature and on at another but do so without making a judgement about whether a higher or a lower temperature is good or not. It’s a function.

But still we set our thermostats as Google and Facebook set theirs with theirs designed to avoid making any changes that reduce their revenue stream.

And the money always comes from the herd rather than any individuals within it.

This is the scenario Lily, Pfizer and Merck depend on when they claim that anecdotes are not data and that whether clinical trials show a problem or not is the only thing that counts. An individual making a good case for a connection between an antidepressant and suicide is a voice crying in the wilderness.

Curious that a business that depends on the plural of anecdote being data doesn’t disrupt that.

All Muslim Now

The image above shows an outfit designed to avoid surveillance – to avoid being tracked around town. There is a growth industry in people buying anti-surveillance gadgets like shields to block their webcams on computer and phones – they can be bought on amazon.

It seems a younger generation are much more savvy and already taking steps to create ways of living with some freedom in our new surveillance states.

One of the cute things about the outfit above is it offers us all a chance to look Muslim, or perhaps the way Catholic nuns used to look 50 years ago.  We may be all KKKing yet or Hijabbing.  There’ll be a premium on a good pair of ankles, for men as well as women.

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  1. Could we do a mass experiment by downloading sites with the buzz word suicide or suicidal over and over again and see what the consequences might be? Guage how much surveillance is going on alreadyTo Or would that attract the very surveillance and potential interference we despise?
    Do the individuals/comp
    anies who have invented ways to block the analytics advertise them so that more of the public than mainly the tech savvy will learn what’s going on -as well as being able to buy them. Can you tell us what to look for on amazon?

    Reply

    • Suzanne

      This is all news to me. But there are two recent books – Zucked by Robert MacNamee and The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff that bring some of these things out. I haven’t yet been hunting any surv stuff

      There are probably a bunch of teens out there who could tell us all what we should be doing or how to blow up the surveillance – but asking me isn’t the way forward on this one.

      But i can tell you a person;s computer history can very clearly show the impact of treatment on them.

      D

      Reply

  2. Suicide Predictions seem the most under nourished of all this IT

    Finding High Risk

    I would wager that most suicides that occur are by those not considered high risk and all the algorithms in the world will not deduce one from another

    What has always struck me about suicides is that all the nearest and dearest had no idea that they were feeling as they did – loving parents, siblings, and, yet, supposedly fresh faced and outwardly loved can disappear in the blink of an eye

    Many, many parents blame themselves “I had no idea” ..

    How many bereaved parents actually blame Facebook, Instagram, we have a story, blown-up.
    Molly’s dad is understandably distraught, this very nice man, wants to blame, but, is this mega-storm which has captured all the politicians and the media, in all our best interests …

    Would Alexa, tell the doctor who visits a potentially drug-induced suicidal person as she walks in the room “I have detected heat, brushing-air from her movement, strange behaviours I have not seen before. I am now detecting an alien presence in the room, there are vibes of discomfort and it is not from my friend of Alexa and I, Alexa, who has no emotions, am going to throw-up what is this presence doing and my feed-back is in my duty to warn my friend of Alexa …

    We definitely need a third-party when the doctor brushes-off the medication as being non-responsible …

    The ‘surveillance’ by doctors seems far worse than anything else on offer but getting anyone to remotely understand this when they are all joining up the wrong dots needs more than an ankle-kicking exercise in amateur theatrics …

    Alexa “turn on the lights” …

    Reply

  3. Thank you David. Just a few refs to the issue of surveillance –

    News.com.au – Your Doctor Could be Searching for you online……..
    with a link to an article describing how a man with mental health problems was identified on facebook and illegally forcibly detailed after an ambiguous photo he had posted was reported.

    ‘The Ethics of Researching Patients on the Web’ April 17th 2015 in Medical Economics

    In Journal of Dual Diagnosis – Ethical considerations and Social Media -a Case of Suicidal Posting on Facebook

    Facebook. Instagram ‘Why you doctor could be spying on you’ http://www.news.com.au

    There is also the case in Uk where 1000’s of medical records were handed over by the royal free trust to google without people’s consent. There was outrage about that – too late as the trust must have known it would be. What use was made of the information was not reported

    From amateur beginnings to ‘analytics’ . The most criminal thing of all is that the link of deaths to anti depressants is there as you explain yet not only the medical profession in cases investigating suicide keep quiet but so do the lawyers and the police who have looked at the records and seen a pattern – and sadly so do some parents. Papyrus and other help lines which use personal ‘stories’ don’t mention that at least some of the youngsters would have been taking medication. .

    Reply

  4. In another part of the wood.

    https://www.ageofautism.com/2019/02/heidi-larson-calls-for-vaccine-criticism-to-be-prosecuted-as-hate-crime.html

    Heidi Larson, the director of Vaccine Confidence Project, was seen and heard on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire Show on Friday morning. Here is an extract:

    HL: Well, I think the main thing is there most incredibly extensive safety around vaccines – the processes that go around vaccines, the reasons there is quite a while between when vaccines are developed and when children actually get them is because the system has become more and more and more robust around safety. Frankly, partly because of the public cry for this, but it has always been that way from a safety perspective because the government frankly is accountaH larsenble and if it is recommending and requiring in some senses these vaccines in some senses it is not in the interest of the governments or the producer to be recommending something which is going to cause any damage.

    VD: Should Facebook take these private groups down?

    HL: I think the issue with Facebook is a difficult one because on the one hand they are asked not to dig into people’s personal areas and on the other hand being asked to go and take things down so I think from a Facebook perspective its difficult to do that. From a public health perspective as we saw in the letter from Andrew Schifft (sic) to Mark Zuckerberg that this is something in the league of like hate crime….

    Of course, it is hard to know where to begin. Heidi may pronounce herself satisfied with vaccine technology but frankly she is just emoting – and she has no right to take the matter out of the public’s hands. To the best of my knowledge since I have been involved in these matters, the only attempts I have seen to reassure the public have been socially repressive….

    Reply

    • Kudos Bob Fiddaman, I read most of the conversation on your blog. It’s a sort of ‘status quo’: he won’t openly say he bases his opinion on bullshit biased data, while at the same time insinuate they you only see harm.

      And then, without any alarm at all, admits that alot of ‘new data and knowledge’ on ssri’s have been found in recent years. Not at all concerned that the patients have suffered these effects the whole time….

      Which in reality means that some poor soul back in 1991, was right when he claimed horrible sideeffects…

      It’s as if all this talk has no basis in reality for them, that they can’t empathize with those who in fact have suffered the sideffects they have fought to deny.

      And anyone who wants to call himself a scientist, but can’t see the issue with manufacturers that control every step of the ‘science’ behind their products, is just not meeting the basic requirements for being a scientist!
      Period.
      Ove.

      Reply

  6. Choice…

    Kristina K. Gehrki‏ @AkathisiaRx 31m

    Replying to @ParianteSPILab @Fiddaman

    Lost opportunity. But shocking to read that you believe my teen’s death-and all the others-was “rare.” False comments today create the demise & death of others tomorrow.

    Carmine M. Pariante‏ @ParianteSPILab 4h

    Carmine M. Pariante Retweeted BOB FIDDAMAN

    I am sorry that @fiddaman has decided to stop his blog conversation with me but of course I respect his decision.

    John Read
    @ReadReadj
    ·
    18 Feb

    The complete version of our review (Davies and Read, 2018) showing that about half of people coming off antidepressants expereince withdrawal effects is now online, FREE, (link:

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460318308347) sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

    Carmine’s Choice…

    https://truthman30.wordpress.com/2019/02/18/carmines-choice/

    “Is it no wonder that so many people have been harmed when you look at this scenario?”

    Reply

  7. Dr Healy portray the “madness” of the Pharmaceutical drug industry so well – it is frightening
    but for one who suffers the control of Human Subjects by Govternments & Healthcare his writings are easy to follow. Somehow in the writings of Pharmageddon there exists the Pharmageddon patient who no matter how he or she knows the dynamics of such a global industry of corruption – there is NO way out, no matter how one tries.

    Such “Patients” are hunted down even into their home, no matter how they try to protect themselves. Such “Patients” hit back now & again by naming & shaming those with Degrees of “Madness”.

    I try not to listen to the news but travelling today I could not help but hear it as the driver would listen to news 24/7. It was the inquest of the Skeffington brothers

    https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/we-thought-he-was-messing-family-of-boy-9-stabbed-to-death-by-brother-months-after-release-from-psychiatric-hospital-34287029.html

    As all inquests in Ireland and elsewhere go there is an Appeal for Healthcare to raise awareness of “Mental Health”…all of those years no matter how many doctors & families raise issues on “the drugs” no Governments or Healthcares are listening. They are only promoting the Pharmaceutical “Mental Health” diagnosis & still abusing Human Life by forced medication.

    Reply

  8. Dutch Seroxat teen users to sue GSK for side effects

    https://truthman30.wordpress.com/2019/02/19/dutch-seroxat-teen-users-to-sue-drug-maker-for-side-effects/

    More than 20 people who used the anti-depressant Seroxat (paroxetine) in their youth will make a formal claim against the maker GlaxoSmithKline at the end of this month, the Volkskrant said at the weekend. They say that GSK failed to inform them about the serious psychological side effects of the drug, including aggressive behaviour and an increased risk of suicide.

    https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/02/dutch-seroxat-teen-users-to-sue-drug-maker-for-side-effects/

    The SeroxatClaim foundation was set up last year after a Dutchman who took the drug while a youngster successfully sued GSK for the side effects he suffered. The side effects were not put down to the drug because they were not noted in the information leaflet provided with the medicine, even though GSK was aware of them, the court said. GSK is appealing against that ruling and declined to comment on the new court case, the Volkskrant said.
     
    In the meantime, the information leaflet has been amended and the drug is no longer prescribed to the under 18s. In 2012, The United States Department of Justice fined GlaxoSmithKline $3 billion for withholding data on paroxetine, unlawfully promoting it for under-18s and preparing an article that misleadingly reported the drug was effective in treating adolescent depression.

    Reply

  9. Kim Witczak

    Kim Witczak is a national drug safety advocate who became involved in pharmaceutical safety issues after the sudden death of her husband due to undisclosed antidepressant side effects. Kim co-founded Woodymatters, a non-profit dedicated to advocating for a stronger drug safety system, and co-created the international conference Selling Sickness: People Before Profits. In 2016, she was appointed Consumer Representative on the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drug Advisory Committee and is on the Board of Directors of National Physicians Alliance and MISSD (Medication Induced Suicide Prevention in Memory of Stewart Dolin). She is an active member of the DC-based Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition, making sure the voice of patients is represented in healthcare/FDA related legislative issues.

    https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/02/nasal-spray-for-depression/

    Time will tell, but as I always say, we (the American public) are the real clinical trial. We pay the ultimate price for the lowering of FDA standards for drug approvals.

    https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/misplaced-trust-fda-approval-concerns/

    “The family discovered Zoloft, an FDA-approved antidepressant, led to Woody’s tragic death.”

    Reply

  10. Scott Gottlieb goes for broke. New editorial in Age of Autism:-

    https://www.ageofautism.com/2019/02/the-greatest-tyranny-of-our-time.html

    The Greatest Tyranny of Our Time

    ‘Once you cede to the government the right to inject whatever a group of government officials deems appropriate into your body, where are you?

    ‘A blatantly corrupt agency led by a pharmaceutical industry insider, Scott Gottlieb, is pretending that the United States is in crisis over a few cases of measles. But the real point is that by extending the grip of government mandates it is using measles as a pretext to submit a subject population to an ever longer list of products which that population has to pay for through its taxes, and ultimately through its health.

    ‘If they wanted to target measles they would just step up vaccination in the locality of the outbreaks, but this is not what this is about, it is about enslaving a population to an industry, which only concerns itself with profit, and has no liability for its products. The health crisis in America today and in many other developed countries is not about infectious disease, it is about neuro-developmental disorders and chronic ill-health. Our governments have no explanation of this phenomenon but they just go on vaccinating with a longer list of products against diseases which in most cases are not that dangerous, or that you are relatively unlikely to get, while being actively hostile to reports of harm. And the FDA has hundreds of more products in the pipeline which it is itching to license, and which the ACIP will no doubt nod through to the schedule.

    ‘This is becoming the greatest tyranny of our time.’

    https://www.ageofautism.com/2019/02/food-drug-administration-threatens-to-step-in-to-federalize-vaccine-uptake.html

    Reply

  11. ‘It’s a one-and-done’…

    Dr Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sighed when asked about reluctance to vaccinate. 

    The NIH is pouring efforts and funds into designing a vaccine to protect people from the notoriously elusive flu, which mutates every year as it moves from humans to migrating birds and back again. 

    The measles vaccine, he said, is easy: ‘It’s a one-and-done.’

    ‘Everyone should be vaccinated. Period,’ Dr Fauci said.  

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6726429/US-government-FORCE-states-implement-tighter-vaccine-laws.html

    FDA Commissioner: Federal Government May Regulate Vaccines …

    time.com/5534592/fda-commissioner-federal-government-vaccine-policies

    29 minutes ago ·

    FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said the federal government may regulate vaccine policy if state laws continue to allow outbreaks

    Editor at large, Time Magazine, and Andrew Wakefield, video …

    http://time.com/5534592/fda-commissioner-federal-government-vaccine-policies/

    Anti-Vaxxers – Don’t Worry About Scott Gottlieb Running The FDA…

    bolenreport.com/anti-vaxxers-dont-worry-scott-gottlieb-running-fda

    “At his confirmation hearing, Scott Gottlieb, President Trump’s pick for head of the Food and Drug Administration and the former deputy commissioner of the agency under George W. Bush, vigorously defended vaccines.

    https://bolenreport.com/anti-vaxxers-dont-worry-scott-gottlieb-running-fda/

    Let’s break this up into its components…

    (1)  The head of the FDA DOES NOT MAKE POLICY for the Executive Branch of the US government.  The President of the United States does.  So, no one cares what Scott Gottlieb’s opinion about vaccines is.

    When the President tells the head of the FDA to jump,  his response is to say “How high, SIR?”

    Reply

  12. On ITV NEWS 21/2/2019

    ‘MPs to Investigate Resurgence of Anti-Vaccine Movement. Jamie Robertson Health and Science Producer.

    Phillipa Whitford Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group which begins it’s enquiry in May says ‘it is ‘critical to investigate and counter anti vaccine rhetoric on social media. Includes a link to parents ‘exposed to negative information’ but no spokesperson to speak for those who are opposed to vaccines especially those imposed on children. There is a link to previous proposal that all under 11year olds should be vaccinated, It’s all becoming reminiscent of the way people with AIDS were scapegoated with even suggestions of putting them on an island to avoid contaminating the population.

    Reply

    • I am preparing an article about this this morning. The biggest nonsense is the way this is reported – the ad hoc group of largely unknown parliamentarians are being paid to do this by GAVI i.e. a consortium Bill Gates and the WHO and every vaccine manufacturer. The inquiry which has no status within parliament and is more a matter of creating a menacing Macarthyite atmosphere.

      Reply

      • Daily Record article by T Chrichton and D Clegg -25Aug 2014

        Surgeon Philippa Whitford fronting the Yes campaign is exposed for spreading bogus claims about cancer treatments.’

        Sir Leonard Fenwick C. E. of NE NHS Foundation Trust said , referring to Philippa Whitford’s statements about potential cancellation of cancer treatments – in 2014 ‘This is the biggest lot of crap I have ever heard -It is just codswallop’. Johann Lamont said ‘the Yes campaign is just trying to scare patients’

        Well she obviously has the right credentials for leading the enquiry. Bogus claims might become a thing to look out for…

        Reply

  13. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office Drops Its Investigation Into GSK After 5 Years

    The GlaxoSmithKline PLC investigation focused on commercial practices  by the company, its subsidiaries and associated persons.  Again, following a detailed review of the available evidence and an assessment of the public interest there will be no prosecution in this case.

    https://truthman30.wordpress.com/2019/02/22/the-uks-serious-fraud-office-drops-its-investigation-into-gsk-after-5-years/

    “After an extensive and careful examination I have concluded that there is either insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction or it is not in the public interest to bring a prosecution in these cases.

    wide ranging and complex investigations.

    https://truthman30.wordpress.com/2019/02/22/join-the-dots/

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47330580

    Reply

  14. https://www.ageofautism.com/2019/02/robert-f-kennedy-jr-blocked-from-giving-evidence-at-congressional-hearings.html

    Robert F Kennedy jr Blocked From Giving Evidence At Congressional Hearings

    Robert F Kennedy jr has said that he is being prevented from giving evidence at two Congressional hearings on the grounds that they are full. It is ever more essential that everyone contacts their representatives to insist that all sides should be heard, particularly if their representatives are members of those committees.

    We re-publish the letter from last week giving details of the two hearings.

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/uncategorized/maintaining-medical-freedom-urgent-action-required/

    Reply

    • Ooops it’s happened again……in Pulse med mag 22nd feb 2019

      ‘Over 3000 GP practices are at risk of breaching data protection Act’ – ‘due to a new childhood vaccination and imunisation data system’ Data which doesn’t comply with the Act has been extracted and forwarded to the Child Health Info Service. Other extractions may be involved.
      Have the practices informed those who have had their data breached? The article didn’t say.

      Reply

  18. Sanofi faces indictment in the Philippines over deaths related to its dengue vaccine

    By Ed Silverman @Pharmalot
    March 1, 2019

    The fallout from the Dengvaxia scandal reached new heights on Friday as the Philippine Department of Justice found “probable cause” to indict Sanofi (SNY), a half-dozen of its employees, and several current and former Philippines health officials over a series of deaths related to the dengue virus vaccine.

    The authorities alleged that charges should be brought for “reckless imprudence resulting (in) homicide” in connection with “irregularities” and lapses in purchasing and approving the use of the Sanofi vaccine, as well as rolling out an immunization program. The company was cited for failing to actively monitor patients and failing to provide assistance after serious adverse events were reported.

    https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2019/03/01/sanofi-philippines-dengue-vaccine/?utm_source=STAT+Newsletters&utm_campaign=efb25cb3c5-Daily_Recap&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8cab1d7961-efb25cb3c5-149674737

    Reply

  20. FDA Commissioner Gottlieb, who raised alarms about teen vaping, resigns

    The 46-year-old physician, former venture capitalist and drug consultant will leave in about a month.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/03/05/fda-commissioner-gottlieb-who-raised-alarms-about-teen-vaping-resigns/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1d9eef0ba1c2

    Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who used his post to tackle difficult public health issues from youth vaping to opioid addiction – surprising early skeptics worried about his drug industry ties – resigned Tuesday, effective in about a month.

    Scott Gottlieb, M.D. Retweeted

    Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump 11h

    Scott Gottlieb, who has done an absolutely terrific job as Commissioner of the FDA, plans to leave government service sometime next month….

    Reply

  22. Recently Gottlieb, as head of the agency, led a highly irregular attack on state vaccine mandate exemptions, and resigned on the day of Congressional hearing to deliberate on the issue. It has all been part of a Big Pharma push – has his role as the director of the FDA now been fulfilled? It is, of course, all rather sudden.

    Reply

  23. Scott Gottlieb, M.D. Retweeted

    Secretary Alex Azar‏ @SecAzar 16h

    “Vaccinations save lives, protect our children… As public health officials, our role is to advance the health of the American people. This must include championing vaccinations.” Read this important piece from @HHS_ASH, @Surgeon_General & @CDCDirector:

    This Is the Truth About Vaccines
    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/opinion/vaccines-autism-flu.html

    Modern vaccines are highly effective and safe, with most serious side effects being exceptionally rare — and much less serious than contracting the actual disease. But misinformation about vaccines is still widely reported, so we feel it is crucial to state clearly and unambiguously: Vaccines do not cause autism and they do not contain toxic chemicals. That fact was demonstrated again this week in a new study on MMR vaccination by Danish researchers.

    Reply

    • Could it possibly be that there is a teensy weensy agenda? A few cases of measles followed by the biggest propaganda campaign on earth. It is all so incredibly spontaneous.

      Reply

      • Teeny weenies from U.S. Surgeon General

        Scott Gottlieb, M.D. Retweeted

        U.S. Surgeon General‏ @Surgeon_General 3h

        1/6 This weeks #SundaySpotlight -> Vaccinations save lives, protect our children and are one of our greatest public health achievements. This Is the Truth About Vaccines

        U.S. Surgeon General‏ @Surgeon_General 3h

        1/6 This weeks #SundaySpotlight -> Vaccinations save lives, protect our children and are one of our greatest public health achievements. This Is the Truth About Vaccines

        https://twitter.com/Surgeon_General

        Reply

  24. The Lancet

    09 March 2019

    Canada’s Mandatory Vaccination Reporting Plans

    An outbreak of measles in Vancouver, BC, Canada, has prompted new considerations about mandatory vaccination and reporting as tools to manage outbreaks and increase vaccination coverage. The city is dealing with the outbreak—caused by an unvaccinated child introducing measles after travel to Vietnam—at a time when UNICEF reports an ”alarming global surge of measles cases”. In the USA, measles incidence increased by 559% to 791 cases in 2018, prompting congressional hearings to manage the growing public health threat.

    BC plans follow the model of other Canadian provinces and US states, many of which also require immunisation records for school entry. Parents who refuse for religious or philosophical grounds are often required to attend a course on the risks of not vaccinating their children.

    Mandatory reporting, which involves parents or schools providing information to public health authorities about the immunisation status of all children—is vital for knowing who is immunised and to what extent. When an outbreak occurs, central registries help quickly establish which students should be excluded. But mandatory reporting is not a panacea, says Althea Hayden, medical health officer in Vancouver. With sufficient funding, mandatory reporting can increase vaccine uptake among the willing who might be unaware that their children are not vaccinated or haven’t had easy access to vaccinations.

    But outbreaks generally take hold in small pockets of under-vaccination, says Hayden, and mandatory reporting is not an effective strategy for motivating the vaccine hesitant.

    Indeed, even coupled with education, mandates for immunisation can entrench anti-vaccine views and be counterproductive to public health goals. Whole-government strategies are needed. The longstanding practice in Canada and the USA of linking vaccine uptake strategies to schooling should be reconsidered. Many contemporary outbreaks are started by unvaccinated travellers. Authorities might need to consider requiring vaccination for passports, as Argentina has announced, and for entry requirements, as with yellow-fever vaccination.

    https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)30511-2/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email

    Malcolm Brabant‏ @MalcolmBrabant Mar 6

    There’s a film and a book. But as yet no T shirt. #malcolmisalittleunwell.

    Reply

  25. Statement on Federal Vaccine Mandates

    https://aapsonline.org/measles-outbreak-and-federal-vaccine-mandates/?fbclid=IwAR1PkGh5zOgUkZiBnE4rNEMxQNzzZljsaYRFMQ7I3El8Y99EeXsd8R4_N8g

    The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) strongly opposes federal interference in medical decisions, including mandated vaccines. After being fully informed of the risks and benefits of a medical procedure, patients have the right to reject or accept that procedure. The regulation of medical practice is a state function, not a federal one. Governmental preemption of patients’ or parents’ decisions about accepting drugs or other medical interventions is a serious intrusion into individual liberty, autonomy, and parental decisions about child-rearing.

    Know Your Drugs

    Reply

  26. Juan Gérvas‏ @JuanGrvas 7h

    Italy. “No vaccine, no school”

    Italy bans unvaccinated children from school

    12 March 2019

    Italian children have been told not to turn up to school unless they can prove they have been properly vaccinated.

    The deadline follows months of national debate over compulsory vaccination.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47536981

    Why do parents not immunise their children?

    The anti-vaccination movement has been growing globally in recent years, sparking alarm from the World Health Organization.

    A long-discredited paper by Andrew Wakefield was behind much of the scare, but rumours around immunisation have continued to spread, leading to public health risks as not enough people are immune to such diseases.

    Mr Wakefield was struck off the UK medical register after fraudulently claiming there was a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and autism and bowel disease in children.

    He made the claim based on the experiences of just 12 children, and no other study since has been able to replicate his results.

    Reply

    • The new generation of politicians prattle like 7 year-olds. Grillo’s predecessor, Beatrice Lorenzin, gave interviews saying that 270 children had died in a recent measles outbreak in London:

      https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l739/rr-0

      And they all revert within seconds to the straw argument about Andrew Wakefield (even if any of what was said about him was remotely true). The problem is not measles – if they had been concerned about measles they would simply have targeted measles instead of making ten vaccine compulsory, but what was really afoot was Obama’s Global Health Security Agenda:

      https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l981/rr

      And GSK contracts

      https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k3596/rr-6

      It may be that the new Italian government has not been able to extricate itself from the agreements of the previous one, no doubt with accompanying sleaze.

      Reply

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