This document discusses vaccine choice and informed consent regarding vaccination in Vermont. It argues that vaccine mandates restrict freedom of choice and informed consent. It provides information on vaccine exemptions, rates of vaccination in Vermont, and safety concerns regarding vaccines. The document aims to support parental choice in deciding whether and when to vaccinate their children.

1. Vaccine Decisions
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

2. Support Freedom of Health Choice
Parents making informed choices = acting in child’s best interest.
• The principle of informed consent should be held dear.
• Vaccine mandates negate the possibility of making a voluntary
decision and should not be tolerated in a just society.
• No medical practice should be forced upon Vermonters.
• No Vermonter should be coerced to undergo any medical
practice or procedure – this includes vaccines!
• Using public education or employment to force
corporate/medical politics restricts our liberty.
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
“The philosophical exemption is founded on the belief that parents are ideally suited to determine what is in the
best interests of their children…When parents make a choice that is harmful to their children, the state has an
obligation to intervene.” - Robert Macauley, MD FAAP (Vermont Ethics Network)
http://signon.org/sign/support-freedom-of-health

3. Informed Consent
• You have the right to be given full information
about the benefits and risks of a medical
treatment before agreeing to the treatment.
• You have the right to voluntarily agree or to
refuse to the medical treatment.
• Nuremberg prohibits scientific
experimentation without informed consent.
• United Nations declaration on bioethics
and human rights in 2005.
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2352998/
http://history.nih.gov/research/downloads/nuremberg.pdf
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31058&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

4. Who Cares about Vaccine Choice?
• PARENTS.
 … who fully vaccinate but still want choice.
 … who delay/use an alternative schedule.
 … who do not vaccinate at all due to conscientious, moral,
religious or philosophical reasons, health choice.
 … who have witnessed vaccine reactions in their children.
• ADULTS.
 Health care workers.
 Teachers.
 Elderly.
 Military.
• ALL OTHERS.
 Who believe in true informed consent prior to medical
intervention.
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://www.nvic.org/informed-consent.aspx

5. US Childhood Vaccine Injury Act
– Limited civil lawsuits against vaccine
manufacturers.
– Began in 1988 (DPT, polio, MMR).
– All claims must go through the “vaccine
court.”
– Vaccine Injury Compensation Program:
• Funded via “vaccine excise tax.”
• $2.6 billion paid out for vaccine injuries.
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
Vaccine injury table: http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/vaccinetable.html
Statistics reports: http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/statisticsreports.html#Stats
Search/read claims reports: http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/search_vaccine

6. discontinued
+ (NEW!) in 2013
2 vaccines
IN UTERO
(flu and Tdap)
..and more
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

7. Why provide a warning if the patient or parent cannot say no?
Are Vaccines Perfectly Safe?
“Unavoidably Unsafe”
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/09-152.ZS.html

8. Should We be Concerned?
• Every US manufacturer/supplier of pediatric
vaccines has pled guilty to fraud within the
last 3 years.
– Bribery of doctors
– Lying to the FDA
– Hiding clinical trial data
– Fraudulent marketing
– For products for
which they can be held liable…
http://www.omsj.org/blogs/bribery-big-pharma
http://www.vaxchoicevt.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/pharma-fraud-update8-29-2012.docx
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-03-05/health-drugmakers-fraud-fines/53372792/1 www.VaxChoiceVT.com
Pfizer settlement 2013: “This is yet another example of a drug manufacturer that makes unsubstantiated
claims about drug benefits, despite the danger of such statements to the public. This office is committed to
pursuing companies who violate our consumer protection laws and expose Vermonters to harm,” said
Attorney General Sorrell.

9. What Happened in 2012?
• Effort to remove Vermont’s philosophical vaccine
exemption
– Vermont Dept. of Health Immunization Advisory Committee
– Allopathic Medical Industry Lobbyists
• Pfizer
• Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• Fletcher Allen
• Vermont Medical Society
– Vermont Ethics Network
– Coordinated statewide media/PR campaign starting in 2011
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

10. Act 157 of 2012
• Vaccine Exemptions preserved
– Overwhelming 133-6 house majority vote.
• Grassroots Voices of The People
– This upset George Till (D-Jericho):
• “They were in the building every day, in people’s faces*.”
• Claims that whooping cough outbreak due to exemptions.
• Health Dept. directed to focus on education, using:
– “evidence-based educational material provided by the
department of health regarding immunizations, including
information about the risks of adverse reactions to
immunization”
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
* Slate Health and Medicine Online article - 2/21/2013

11. Vermont’s Whooping Cough Outbreak
"We know there are places around the country
where there are large numbers of people who
aren’t vaccinated. However, we don't think
those exemptors are driving this current wave.”
• - Anne Schuchat, MD (National Center for Immunization and Respiratory
Disease, CDC), 7/19/2012
• See: http://discovermagazine.com/2013/jan-feb/82-whooping-cough-
makes-a-comeback#.UQv6XZjcGGk

12. VT Health Department:

13. Pertussis: One example
• Vermont's vaccination rates have consistently
increased over the years (including in 2011/2012).
• Many other states and countries have also seen a
resurgence of pertussis. Theories/science:
– Vaccine failure
– Emergence/selection of new strains
• The nation's top health authorities have officially
stated that exemptions have played no part
• 90% of Vermont pertussis cases had been vaccinated
– Silent reservoirs of infection
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2863393/.
http://www.ima.org.il/imaj/ar06may-2.pdf
http://blindedbythelightt.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-perfect-storm-how-increase-in.html
http://www.beyondconformity.co.nz/_blog/Hilary's_Desk/post/Whooping_cough_and_chameleons/
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/5/00-0512_article.htm

14. Pertussis Outbreak Data
from VT Health Department
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

15. http://vtdigger.org/2012/10/08/90-
percent-of-whooping-cough-cases-in-
vermont-among-vaccinated-children/
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

16. State Vaccination Exemptions
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
www.NVIC.org and www.NVICadvocacy.org

17. Vermont “Immunization” Regulations
• “Following release by ACIP of a
recommendation related to a new ACIP
vaccine, there will be a two-year phase-in
period before children will be required to
have the vaccine in order to enroll in a child
care facility or school.”
– http://healthvermont.gov/regs/documents/imm_regulations.pdf
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

18. Current VT Vaccination Rates
2010 goal (90%)
2020 goal (95%)
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6133a2.htm?s_cid=mm6133a2_w
92.7% 92.9% 92.7% 95.6% 90.3%
Note the ever-increasing goalpost… is the ultimately goal to get to 100%?

19. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/G/coverage.pdf

20. YELLOW portion of chart
= 38 vaccines by Kindergarten (24 shots)
= exemption form needed if any deviation from “The Schedule”
= 11 diseases by age 2
7/2012
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://healthvermont.gov/hc/imm/documents/vt_schedule_kids.pdf

21. Vermont Vaccine Exemption Form
New (1/2013)
OLD: 1/2011
NEW:
1/2013

22. Should pharma play a role
in policymaking?
• HPV example
– “Merck engaged in direct lobbying to varying
degrees in all of the states we studied. Merck
proactively contacted legislators to discuss
strategies to maximize uptake of Gardasil, either
directly through company employees or by using
local political consultants, prominent physicians,
or public relations firms.”
Click for article: Pharmaceutical Companies' Role in State
Vaccination Policymaking, American Journal of Public Health

23. Implementation of Act 157
–Required parent educational
material emphasizes benefits and
downplays risks
–Heavy-handed language on risks
to others for not vaccinating on
exemption form
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
Form: http://healthvermont.gov/hc/imm/documents/Philexemption_2013.pdf
Education: http://healthvermont.gov/hc/imm/documents/Revisedparenteducation_2013.pdf

24. New Form:
“In signing this form, I acknowledge
that I have reviewed the evidence-
based educational material
provided by the Vermont
Department of Health regarding
immunizations, including:
•The information that failure to
complete the required vaccination
schedule increases risk to the person
and others of contracting, carrying or
spreading a vaccine-preventable
infectious disease; and
•The information that there are
people with special health needs
attending schools and child care
facilities who are unable to be
vaccinated or who are at heightened
risk of contracting a vaccine-
preventable communicable disease
and for whom such a disease could be
life-threatening.
http://healthvermont.gov/hc/imm/docume
nts/Philexemption_2013.pdf

25. http://healthvermont.gov/hc/imm/documents/Revisedparenteducation_2013.pdf
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500690_162-4296175.html
http://www.immunize.org/aboutus/funding.asp
http://www.xconomy.com/national/2011/06/24/mercks-julie-gerberding-former-cdc-director-on-the-future-of-vaccines/
 CDC: “Revolving door” between the agency and pharmaceutical
employment
 IAC: Only purpose is promoting vaccines; accept grants from Pharma
and CDC
 AAP: Takes millions from Pharma in donations and advertising revenue
for journal
 CHOP: Director Paul Offit sits in a $1.5 million dollar research chair,
funded by Merck
Educational Material
“Required Parent Education”
from Vermont Department of Health
“Evidence-Based Immunization Information”
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

26. Keeping Children “Healthy”?
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

27. Slide courtesy of the Center for Personal Rights,
http://www.vaccineepidemic.com/images/ve9-2012rev.pdf
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

28. Millions of Lives Saved in 50 yrs?
http://www.healthsentinel.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2654:united-states-disease-
death-rates&catid=55:united-states-deaths-from-diseases&Itemid=55
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

29. Source: ACIP Minutes, June 25, 2009 (slide credit: Karl Kanthak)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/120430481/CDC-MMRV-Vaccine-Data-Safety-Link-Slides
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

30. Figure 3. Hospitalization rate (%) versus the number of vaccine doses among infants, Vaccine
Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), 1990–2010.
Goldman G , Miller N Hum Exp Toxicol 2012;31:1012-1021
Copyright © by SAGE Publications
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

31. • FDA has approved MANY drugs later determined to be very dangerous
– Vioxx
– Thalidomide
• FDA does not access all trials data; only that selected by the company*
• View product labeling/package inserts with selected data here:
– http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm093
830.htm
• Vaccines are ‘unavoidably unsafe’ (US Supreme Court)
– $2.6 billion paid by US gov’t for injuries
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
“What About Vaccine Safety?
Before a vaccine can be approved for use, it must first be extensively tested, and those results are
then reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Only vaccines that are safe and effective
are recommended for use”
Educational Material
* See: Eliot Spitzer v. GlaxoSmithKline and Undisclosed Clinical Trials Data Regarding Paxil

32. www.VaxChoiceVT.com
“What About Vaccine Safety? Continued…
An analysis of more than 1,000 research articles was published in 2011 by the Institute of
Medicine (IOM). The results revealed that vaccines are not free from side effects or
adverse events, but most are very rare or very mild such as swelling at the injection site,
slight fever and headache. The IOM concluded that: “... few health problems are caused
by or clearly associated with vaccine. Experts found evidence of 14 health outcomes --
including seizures, inflammation of the brain, and fainting -- that can be caused by
certain vaccines, although these outcomes occur rarely.”
Educational Material
• The IOM report stated: “for the majority of
cases {135 (out of 158) vaccine adverse-event
pairs}, the evidence was inadequate to accept
or reject a a causal relationship”

33. Institute of Medicine
Adverse Effects of Vaccines:
Evidence and Causality Consensus Report of August 25, 2011
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13164&page=629
“
“

34. Vaccinated versus
unvaccinated
No study of health outcomes of
vaccinated people versus unvaccinated
has ever been conducted in the U.S. by
CDC or any other agency in the 50 years
or more of an accelerating schedule of
vaccinations. However, a German study
released in September 2011 of about 8000
UNVACCINATED children, newborn to 19
years, show vaccinated children have at
least 2 to 5 times more diseases and
disorders than unvaccinated children.
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://www.vaxchoicevt.com/science/studies-comparing-vaccinated-to-unvaccinated-populations/

35. Vermont VAERS data
Last Five Years
• Actual numbers may be 10-100x Higher
– David Kessler, former Commissioner of the FDA reported in an article in JAMA — June
2,1993, Vol. 269, No.21; "...it is estimated that only between 1-10% of immunization
events are reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System"
• How are these families supported?
• What is the cost?
• Who follows up?
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

36. Vermont VAERS reports, 2011
3 fatalities after vaccination
February, 2011 – Boy, age 5
• Epilepsy and cerebral palsy
• Shots: DTaP, IPV, VZV
• Found dead in bed 20
hours after vaccination
December, 2011 – Girl, age 7
• Healthy
• Shots: Fluzone
• Died 5 days later of
“myocarditis of unknown
etiology”
“Of course, it’s important for parents to
understand the risks and benefits, and I
have absolute respect for their right to
make their own decisions… But I don’t
think that being alarmist contributes to
overall public health. Vaccines have
saved countless lives.”
–Harry Chen,
Vermont Health Commissioner
as quoted by Seven Days Newspaper, 1/11/2012
December, 2011 – Male, age 52
• Medical history unremarkable
except for psychiatric disorder
• Shots: HepA/B combo
(“twinrix”)
• Died 21 days later of liver failure
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

37. • Incomplete, and downplays risks.
• See full Vaccine Excipient & Media Summary at
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/download
s/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf
• Allergic rxns including anaphylaxis and death
• Mercury toxicity
• Aluminum toxicity
• Viral, bacterial DNA and genetically modified DNA
• Antibiotics
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
Educational Material
Dept. of Health: “What is in a Vaccine?... (entire passage)
References:
• http://www.vaccine-tlc.org/docs/Thimerosal%20Material%20Safety%20Data%20Sheet.pdf
• http://lup.sagepub.com/content/21/2/223.short
• http://www.vaccine-tlc.org/aluminum.htm
• http://www.fda.gov/downloads/biologicsbloodvaccines/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guid
ances/vaccines/ucm202439.pdf

38. Allergens
From: Food Allergy Education, MA Citizens for Health Choice
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

39. Slide courtesy of the Center for Personal Rights,
Thimerosal by vaccine: http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm
For more thimerosal info, visit: http://www.safeminds.org/government-affairs/federal-activity-fda.html www.VaxChoiceVT.com

40. David Ayoub
Alzheimer's Cases to Triple by 2050 -
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/778941?nlid=28087_1049&src=wnl_edit_dail www.VaxChoiceVT.com

41. Herd Immunity
• Vaccination does not equal Immunization
• Vaccine-induced vs. Natural immunity
• Measles infection = protective antibodies
• Measles vaccine
– some non-responders
– Immunity wanes
– Mothers have no protective immunity to transfer
to their children
• Shift in disease burden from childhood
http://www.vaxchoicevt.com/2012/04/01/herd-immunity/
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

42. What about those
who cannot be vaccinated?
• Students:
– 43 medical exemptions out of 13,349 students
– Theoretic risk
• Immunocompromised persons
– Would 100% vaccination rate protect them?
– Live vaccine shedding (MMR, VZV, Flumist)
– Common cold?
– Special accommodations if too sick (funding for
homeschooling)
www.VaxChoiceVT.com
http://healthvermont.gov/hc/imm/ImmSurv.aspx

43. “Tightening the Noose” – Why?
• What is driving the effort to force vaccination?
• Strategies to make claiming vaccine exemptions
more difficult include:
– Requirement for employment (teachers, health care
workers)
– Requirement for public assistance/health insurance
– Opposition to parents’ rights to decide for their
children?
• Why bother warning on even small risksof
vaccination if you cannot say NO?
– Informed consent a MUST
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

44. 2013 Vermont Bills
• H.114 / S.103 (Till, Mullin)
– Proposed forced vaccination for pertussis + T + D
• Only comes in combo with tetanus and diphtheria
– Forced vaccination with vaccine known to be failing.
• Removes all “non-medical” vaccine exemptions
from Vermont parents
– No shots no school!
• Requires all adults to be vaccinated in order to
work/volunteer in, or attend, any daycare,
childcare, school or university
– No jabs no job!
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

45. 2013 Vermont Bills
• H.138 / S.102 (Till, Mullin)
– Transfer of power from Legislature to Health
Commissioner/Agency
– Forced Vaccination if rates drop below “90% Trigger”
• Adult employees, Volunteers and Cjildren
• For any ONE vaccine
• School by School
– How do you determine which 10% get to exercise their
rights?
– Unvaccinated already go home during epidemics.
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

46. Nearly 300 Vaccines are in Development*
Photo credit: Alliance for Natural Health
http://www.anh-usa.org/vaccinating-newborns-is-no-longer-enough/
* http://www.phrma.org/media/releases/nearly-300-vaccines-development-prevention-treatment-disease www.VaxChoiceVT.com
2013 U.S. vaccine policy: (click for links)
• Four vaccines (given in two shots) in-utero age 0
• 48 vaccines (given in 34 shots) newborn to age 6
• 19 vaccines (given in 17 shots) for age 7-18
• 14 vaccines (given in 10 shots) for age 19-65+

47. www.VaxChoiceVT.com

48. What YOU Can Do
 Stay Informed. Spread the word.
- Sign petition: http://signon.org/sign/support-freedom-of-health
- Join the coalition on facebook, twitter
- Contact Us: admin@vaxchoicevt.com
 Teachers: contact the NEA
 Educate your legislators!
 They want and need your input.
 They really do not know very much about this issue and some are
easily influenced by lobbyists during their hectic days in
Montpelier.
 Donate your time, talent, or dollars.
 Whatever you can …. This is truly a volunteer effort.
 Sign up to receive timely updates as events unfold.
www.VaxChoiceVT.com

49. Further Reading
• Websites:
– Vermont Coalition for Vaccine Choice: www.VaxChoiceVT.com
– Inside Vaccines: www.InsideVaccines.com
– SafeMinds: www.safeminds.org/
– Vermont Department of Health – Read Full Education Form
http://healthvermont.gov/hc/imm/documents/Revisedparenteducation_2013
.pdf
– CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/index.html
• Videos:
– Dr. Sherri Tenpenny: www.drtenpenny.com/multimedia/
– The Greater Good Movie: www.greatergoodmovie.com
• Books:
– Vaccine Epidemic by Mary Holland and Louise Kuo Habakus
– Vaccine Safety Manual by Neil Miller
– How to Raise a Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor by Robert Mendelsohn,
MD
– A Thoughtful Parent's Guide, by Aviva Jill Romm
– Vaccine Illusion, by Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D
www.VaxChoiceVT.com