My letter to Oprah
08May. 09
It would be downright hypocritical and shameful of me not to take my own advice when I’ve asked you all to do something. So, as an example of what a polite message might look like, here is what I have just sent to the people at Oprah:
To Oprah, the producers of The Oprah Winfrey Show, and whoever else may read this email,
First, I will point out the obvious: Oprah Winfrey is an incredibly influential person; possibly the most influential woman in the world today. The reasons for this are many and varied, though one major contributing factor is certainly her hard earned wealth — that is not to say that she is influential because she is rich, rather she is influential because she cannot be bought. When Oprah endorses something, she does so because she truly believes in it, and this integrity is to be commended.
However, it is for this same reason that I am dismayed and depressed at the recent news regarding Jenny McCarthy being signed to a multi-platform deal, including a syndicated talk show. Jenny McCarthy is currently the highest profile spokesperson for the anti-vaccine movement in the USA, and perhaps worldwide. This movement, based on a foundation of propaganda (false claims include the idea that vaccines contain ‘toxins’ and cause autism) is the primary contributor to the return of many vaccine preventable illnesses. Make no mistake: McCarthy and the movement she represents have a body count attached to their name. See: http://www.jennymccarthybodycount.com/Jenny_McCarthy_Body_Count/Home.html
Oprah has taken people to task before for misleading her. I hope that she may do the same in this situation, for the health of the public — especially children who are too young to be vaccinated, and who rely on ‘herd immunity’ to protect them from deadly illnesses.Sincerely,
Richard Hughes
Again, this is the site to go to. Please, take a couple of minutes out of your day to write in, and spread to word to other people in your life. The only way we can possibly be heard is if we take the time to make noise, and this is as good a reason to make noise as I can think of. Jenny McCarthy has a body count already — we do not want her to have a broader platform from which to broadcast her anti-scientific and dangerous message!
Tags: jenny mccarthy, letter, oprah, request, Richard Hughes
June 18th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
@Vaccine Damaged I’m very sorry to read of your adverse reaction to the vaccine, but I hope your reaction has not convinced you to try and stop vaccinations for the rest of the community?
Your reaction is rather rare, unfortunate for you and very debilitating I’m sure, and you have my sympathies. But I ask you this question, which I hope you can answer honestly : If the doctor had said that 1 in 100,000 people get a severe reaction, which may cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; would you still have got the vaccination? Knowing the odds are extremely unlikely and knowing this was the only way you could get the job?
I also ask; did you drive to the doctors for the vaccination knowing that road accidents cause 5.6 deaths per 100,000 people in Australia each year?
There are risks in everything in life, but there things in place to provide the best level of safety and care to the whole community as best we can. Seatbelts in cars and vaccinations against various diseases are just two of many examples.
June 20th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Yeah Yeah Statistics. From my experience they are somewhat lazy when it comes to vaccinations.
You know I had to inform the TGA myself. None of the doctors reported it.
Most studies eg WHO say vaccines do not cause CFS. Only monitor people over 1 week and report short term tiredness.
Look all I’m saying is that vaccines are not as safe as studies suggest blah blah blah… I’m not going to argue.…. Unless you have spent many many hours looking at both sides of the coin and the edge too. I’ve spoken to many nurses & doctors that have spent much time on the subject. There are reasons to vaccinate and to not vaccinate. People Should Know Both of these… I REPEAT WHAT EVERYONE OF THESE PEOPLE KNOW — VACCINES ARE NOT AS SAFE AS YOU THINK. I’m not telling you not to vaccinate. But maybe people at low risk can get HepB Varicella at age 10. You watch what happens.
I’m not the only person this has happened.……I’ve spoken to 2 other nurses heard about 2 others with CFS from vaccination and one with MS. Look I know I’m pushing sh*t uphill but for Gods sake we need a vaccine damage compensation scheme. My Life is now over.…. I’m not depressed I’m just angry.
According to statistics 43% of men after there married wonder about finding another male for an affair.
Who cares
June 21st, 2009 at 9:45 am
Vaccine Damaged,
I’m sorry to hear that you are suffering from CFS, I appreciate it can be a debilitating condition. However, it is crucial that we understand what caused your CFS. At this stage, it is not possible to be certain that the vaccination caused your condition. Was it simply the trigger for it? Or was it the cause? You cannot know this, and there is a huge difference between the two (trigger implying that perhaps another type of stress to your system may also have brought on your CFS).
It concerns me greatly that people are happy to blame vaccines on just about anything that goes wrong with them, when they cannot know if this blame is justified or not. Your ‘guesswork’ and therefore unsubstantiated fearmongering has the potential for wreaking CERTAIN harm in the populace by lowering immunity rates, and increasing the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases.
You seek an answer for your problems. Please wait until you are absolutely certain of the answer, backed up by valid science, before you join the delusional, sociopathic, antivax campaign that has already had a deadly effect in Australia.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Yeah.. I have CFS with cognitive problems so I will post not here again after this. Too much work.
From my post above.
I’ve been seeing a specialist. He states in one of his letters “In brief although the literature is unclear about the specific magnitude of risk associated with immunisation, it is clear from both clinical practice and various reports in the literature that fatigue states may be apparently triggered by immunisation and sustained for months or even years.”
Read this again.
“In brief although the literature is unclear about the specific magnitude of risk associated with immunisation..“
THIS STATEMENT IS IMPORTANT!
Do you understand how to research using your brain. Do you know how to critically analyse data or do you just read something and believe it is true.
This not a do or don’t do issue. Don’t be so narrow minded. Look at the supposed other side.
See this link
http://www.cfids.org/archives/2001rr/2001-rr1-article03.asp
You can look for the reference articles yourself, yes?
You do understand don’t you. I’m saying vaccine reactions are more common than most studies suggest.
Check the merk manual for vaccine reactions. You notice that there are many side effects and some are neurological in nature.
Quote Fuzztwin
— — — — — — — — –
“Vaccines are blamed for any reaction“
— — — — — — — — —
Don’t be so arrogant.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Quote Fuzztwin
However, it is crucial that we understand what caused your CFS. At this stage, it is not possible to be certain that the vaccination caused your condition. Was it simply the trigger for it? Or was it the cause? You cannot know this, and there is a huge difference between the two (trigger implying that perhaps another type of stress to your system may also have brought on your CFS).
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
“Fatigue states may be apparently triggered by immunisation”
CFS is a condition/syndrome not a disease.… because the mechanism is unknown he is referring to it as a “Fatigue state”. Hence the word trigger. Understand?
I had no previous problems that made me susceptible to CFS. I was a member of the average public. No tests, clinical history explains why I now developed CFS.
And yes the vaccine caused my CFS. 10 – 15 minutes after vaccination I began to feel tired and dizzy. One hour later I was immobile and almost non-responsive. This persisted for months without much improvement. Intramuscular injections take time to be transported through the tissue, depending on the compound. 10 – 15 minutes is about right.
In such a short period of time some component of the vaccine directly affected my body. What happens that fast? Go on speculate, I’m interested in your opinion.
Look everyone knows people have reactions to vaccines from mild to death.
I’m saying it is more common than you think. I’ll ask you to understand one other thing from my own personal experience. Doctor’s are reluctant to make any statement about vaccine side effects… at least officially.
Good bye and I hope you take the time to review research critically and I’m not talking about bias. You could spend a lifetime searching through research or learning through practical experience. Why not both.? because research is easier to find.
July 1st, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Vaccine Damaged,
Nothing you have stated above, in my opinion, justifies a fear-mongering campaign against vaccination.
Yes, things TRIGGER CFS, therefore one can speculate that if you were unfortunate to suffer a bout of glandular fever in the future it may also have triggered CFS in you. To suggest that people don’t get vaccinated in the incredibly unlikely event that it may trigger CFS is ridiculous, especially AFAIK, we are unable to identify those who are susceptible to CFS.
There is no grand conspiracy here. If a problem exists, the stats will show it. Doctors are not monsters with Big Pharma implants.