Darian Fentos

In most human beings, there is always a 'line in the sand' they are unwilling to cross. In the Covid era, perhaps this line will prove to be the use of experimental vaccines on children. You may be under the impression, due to 24/7 media saturation, that these new vaccines are all fully approved. This is not the case.

In Australia, the Covid-19 vaccines are referred to, 'provisional' by the TGA; in the USA, they are called 'unapproved products' by the FDA; in Canada, they are come under 'interim authorization'; and in the UK, 'temporary authorisation' is the preferred term. Regulatory agencies assure us that they are closely monitoring the population for safety issues as vaccine uptake increases. In other words, they are keeping a close eye on the ongoing experiment. Consider the following example, from the FDA:

“Additional adverse reactions, some of which may be serious, may become apparent with more widespread use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.” (FDA, p. 8)

Let's consider just one of those potential serious adverse events – Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS‐C). Scientists have already expressed deep concerns:

“This kind of inflammatory risk makes vaccine development particularly challenging in the pediatric population. If the vaccine is able to induce this type of antibody response, then it would potentially place otherwise healthy children at risk of severe outcome following vaccination intended to prevent illness from SARS‐CoV‐2. Even in small numbers, this is highly concerning. It thus is critical to have a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology and mechanisms associated with those that develop MIS‐C in order to effectively study vaccines in the pediatric population. Only by rigorously studying the vaccine candidates for links to potential MIS‐C causes can we create the safety profile needed for large scale vaccination of the world’s pediatric population.” (Blumenthal & Burns 2020)

“We need to continue to monitor for MIS-C/A after SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunization as more of the population are vaccinated, especially as vaccines are administered to children who are at higher risk for MIS. CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration co-manage VAERS (the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System), which is being used to monitor for adverse events after COVID-19 vaccines. MIS-C/A is listed as a postvaccination adverse event of special interest (5) and should be reported to VAERS (6).” (Salzman et al. 2021)

Is this your line in the sand, as a parent? Will you offer your child up as part of the ongoing experiment? With all the recent talk of mandatory vaccination for school children, perhaps this is the time for parents to revisit Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights:

“Scientific research should only be carried out with the prior, free, express and informed consent of the person concerned. The information should be adequate, provided in a comprehensible form and should include modalities for withdrawal of consent. Consent may be withdrawn by the person concerned at any time and for any reason without any disadvantage or prejudice. Exceptions to this principle should be made only in accordance with ethical and legal standards adopted by States, consistent with the principles and provisions set out in this Declaration, in particular in Article 27, and international human rights law.”

“In appropriate cases of research carried out on a group of persons or a community, additional agreement of the legal representatives of the group or community concerned may be sought. In no case should a collective community agreement or the consent of a community leader or other authority substitute for an individual’s informed consent.” (UNESCO 2005)

Is your school pressuring you to consent to vaccination of your child, despite the potential risk, and thus forcing you into an ongoing experiment? This is a clear violation of the principles of informed consent to medical experimentation.