For the first time since 2012, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is conducting a review of epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence regarding adverse events associated with vaccines. (The National Academy of Medicine was formerly the Institute of Medicine [IOM].) This review will look at specific adverse events that have been associated with Covid-19 vaccines: “…i.e. Guillain-Barrè Syndrome (GBS), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), transverse myelitis (TM), Bell’s palsy, hearing loss, tinnitus, chronic headaches, infertility, sudden death, myocarditis/pericarditis, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), thromboembolic events (e.g., cerebrovascular accident (CVA), myocardial infarction (MI), pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT)), capillary leak syndrome, and intramuscular administration of vaccines and shoulder injuries.”¹

As attorney Aaron Siri explains in an email to NASEM (written on behalf of Informed Consent Action Network), this review, like the 2012 report, will be used to determine who is eligible for federal compensation for injury.²

It is possible that the number of people with sustained injury is greater than thought; certainly, the number of severe reactions exceeds one in a million. Siri refers to a Mass General Brigham study that reported severe allergic reactions, “consistent with anaphylaxis,” occurred at a rate of 2.47 per 10,000 vaccinations in a cohort of 64,900 employees.³ Yet, CDC says, “[a]naphylaxis after COVID-19 vaccination is rare and has occurred at a rate of approximately 5 cases per one million vaccine doses administered.”⁴ Also, the V-Safe data, a smartphone-based program that CDC set up to track side effects from covid vaccines early on, showed over 7.7% of the approximately 10 million who signed up reported a health event after vaccination that required medical attention, emergency room intervention, and/or hospitalization.⁵

Despite the continual reiteration that covid injections are “safe and effective,” testimony at federal hearings from patients and doctors,^6,7 marked increase in VAERS reports,^8,9 and a significant increase in disabilities and deaths among employed people that started around May 2021^10,11 indicate unaddressed safety issues. And that leaves the untold numbers of injured in a No Man’s Land of pain, isolation, and despair.

In her thought-provoking documentary Anecdotals¸¹² filmmaker Jennifer Sharp reveals the challenges that people injured by the covid injections face. After the first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine, Sharp lost feeling in the left side of her face for a month; 18 months later, she still experienced numbness, “electrical shocks,” and muscle fatigue. Her doctor refused to make a VAERS report or give Sharp an exemption for the second shot—even though the doctor viewed the symptoms as vaccine-induced; she feared losing her medical license or being fired. Sharp made the film “to add nuance so that we might come together in humanity instead of division….”

The injured in the film were not “anti-vax.” Some, like Brianne Dressen and Maddie de Garay, had volunteered to take part in the clinical trials. Several were medical professionals. When they tell people that the condition arose after getting a covid vaccine, they are often disbelieved (the authorities say it’s safe and effective) and/or shamed: it is “ethically and morally irresponsible” to share stories that might keep others from being vaccinated. And they are silenced; their experience is discounted as anecdotal and having no value. After all, millions received the injections without injury.

Although myocarditis is recognized as an adverse reaction, the neurological problems—paresthesia, uncontrollable tremors, extreme pain, severe headaches, tinnitus, seizures, bowel loss, paralysis—have gotten far less attention. Several of the film’s participants sought help only to be told their medical tests were all normal. As a result, these patients are often diagnosed as having conversion disorder: “a mental condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis or other neurological symptoms that cannot be explained by medical evaluation.”

Brianne Dressen told Sharp that she was part of a small National Institutes of Health covid vaccine injury study that started in March 2021.^13,14 NIH researchers diagnosed her symptoms as being related to the AstraZeneca covid vaccine she had received. By Fall, the study had been cancelled. She was given no explanation for the cancellation.

The suffering caused by debilitating symptoms is compounded by the stress of medical expenses, the loss of a beloved vocation, the inability to care for their children, and by rejection from friends and family members. In order to find help and not feel so alone, many shared their experiences on social media only to be censored or shadow banned (limiting the number of people who can see the post or video).

On May 22, 2023, Brianne Dressen, four other people who continue to experience medical injuries, and Ernest Ramirez, the father of a 16-year-old boy who died of cardiac arrest five days after his first Pfizer dose, filed a lawsuit, charging members of the Biden administration and the director and the research manager of Stanford Internet Observatory with using “threats, pressure, inducement, and coercion” to have their stories and efforts to raise money censored by social media groups.^{15, 16}  This First Amendment lawsuit is partly based on legal discovery from a case by Missouri and Louisiana attorneys general Andrew Bailey and Jeff Landry.¹⁷

Imagine if federal agencies had a policy of transparency instead of censorship. What if NIH had continued its research study? What if they had identified why some people experienced severe injury and others didn’t?  Were some batches contaminated?¹⁸ If some vaccines were “hot,” manufacturing protocols could make the product safer. Was there a genetic component?¹⁹ Identifying those with genetic risks would let doctors and patients make informed decisions.

And maybe, by this time, NIH would have a better understanding of these conditions. The federal agencies would let doctors know that covid vaccine injury isn’t “all in the head” and provide possible treatment options.

Instead, public health agencies have doubled down on censorship.

In the meantime, patients can seek support from grassroots organizations like React19, which provides resources for injured patients and the doctors who want to help them. The organization also collaborates with research organizations that aim to learn more about complications from covid injections.
In This Issue

Scott Forsgren, editor and founder of BetterHealthGuy.com, knows what it’s like to suffer with chronic, debilitating illnesses, including Lyme disease, mold illness, and more. His years of investigating various treatments eventually led him back to good health. Now his mission is to help others understand these complex conditions so that they, too, can heal.

In this edition of Townsend e-Letter, we are re-publishing his July 2015 article on Bartonella, a vector-borne bacteria (transmitted by the bites or scratches from infected hosts) that primarily infects the blood vessels, blood components, and the bone marrow. Veterinarians are well acquainted with cat scratch disease, which is one manifestation of this pathogen. Bartonella infection can cause diverse symptoms, puzzling doctors who are unfamiliar it.

This introductory article describes the pathogen’s many physical and psychological symptoms, how to test for it, and treatment options.  For those who want to learn more, Forsgren interviewed the leading expert in the treatment of Bartonella, rheumatologist B. Robert Mozayeni, MD, in May 2023.

References

1. https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/review-of-relevant-literature-regarding-adverse-events-associated-with-vaccines
2. https://icandecide.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Ltr-to-National-Academies-re-AEs-Associated-with-Vaccines-with-appendix_2023_03_28-2.pdf
3. Blumenthal K et al. Acute Allergy  Reaction to mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines. JAMA. 2021 Apr 20;325(15):1562-1565 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2777417
4. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html
5. https://icandecide.org/article/v-safe/
6. https://rumble.com/vokrf7-sen.-johnson-expert-panel-on-federal-vaccine-mandates.html
7. https://rumble.com/v1ze4d0-covid-19-vaccines-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-possible-causes-of-injuri.html
8. https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2023/02/20230215-updated-health-alert.pr.html
9. https://vaersanalysis.info/2022/04/09/vaers-summary-for-covid-19-vaccines-through-4-1-2022/
10. Menge M. Adults Aged 35-55 Died at Twice the Expected Rate, Life Insurance Data Suggests. September 6, 2022. https://www.theepochtimes.com/adults-aged-35-44-died-at-twice-the-expected-rate-last-summer-life-insurance-data-suggests_4711510.html
11. Dowd E. Cause Unknown. Skyhorse Publishing. 2022; p.116-119.
12. https://www.anecdotalsmovie.com/
13. Couzin-Frankel J, Vogel G. In rare cases, coronavirus vaccines may cause Long Covid-like symptoms. Science. January 20, 2022.
14. Hatch H. Utah scientist testifies before FDA panel, asks not to approve COVID-19 vaccine for kids. KUTV. October 27, 2021.
15. Piper G. COVID vaccine injury victims sue Biden officials, alleging they’ve been victimized by censorship. Just the News. May 23, 2023.
16. https://nclalegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Dressen-Complaint-Filed-5.22.23.pdf
17. Ozimek T. Judge Delivers Major Blow to Biden Admin in Social Media Censorship Case. The Epoch Times. July 4, 2023.
18. Schmeling M, Manniche V, Hansen PR. Batch-dependent safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. European Journal of Clinical Investigation. March 30, 2023. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eci.13998
19. Rose J. VAERS adverse event reports made in the context of twins. June 30, 2023. https://jessicar.substack.com/p/vaers-adverse-event-reports-made

Published July 15, 2023