A report released by a group of 57 leading scientists, doctors and policy experts questioned the safety and efficacy of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines and demanded for the immediate cancellation of mass vaccinations.
"Despite calls for caution, the risks of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination have been minimized or ignored by health organizations and government authorities," the group wrote. "Returning public health policy to evidence-based medicine, relying on a careful evaluation of the relevant scientific research, is urgent. It is imperative to follow the science."
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assured the public that efforts to speed up vaccine development to address the pandemic have "not sacrificed scientific standards, integrity of the vaccine review process or safety."
But the group of experts wasn't convinced. "We appeal to the need for a pluralistic dialogue in the context of health policies, emphasizing critical questions that require urgent answers if we wish to avoid a global erosion of public confidence in science and public health," the group said.
Mass vaccinations have focused on the elderly from the start, yet they have been excluded in the clinical trials of the vaccine. Pregnant and lactating women, who were excluded in most trials, are also being offered the vaccines under the premise of safety.
The group proposed halting mass vaccination and opening an urgent science-based dialogue on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among scientists, medical doctors, international health agencies, regulatory authorities, governments and vaccine developers.
"This is the only way to bridge the current gap between scientific evidence and public health policy regarding the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. We are convinced that humanity deserves a deeper understanding of the risks than what is currently touted as the official position," the group said.
Vaccine expert called for immediate halt of mass vaccinations months ago
Early this year, vaccine expert Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche published an open letter calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to immediately halt all COVID-19 mass vaccinations. He said that mass vaccinations could lead to the emergence of more dangerous forms of the virus.
Vanden Bossche said that mass vaccination drives are "likely to further enhance adaptive immune escape as none of the current vaccines will prevent replication or transmission of viral variants." (Related: Scientists: Mass vaccinations will not stop COVID-19 transmission, herd immunity not achievable.)
Immune escape is a term used to describe when the host can no longer recognize and counter a pathogen, such as a variant or mutant of SARS-CoV-2.
"The more we use these vaccines for immunizing people in the midst of a pandemic, the more infectious the virus will become," Vanden Bossche wrote. "With increasing infectiousness comes an increased likelihood of viral resistance to the vaccines."
Under this scenario, manufacturers will be forced to refine or improve the vaccines, which will then increase the selection pressure.
Selection pressure is a term used to describe the process that helps an organism or pathogen to evolve in ways that make it better adapted to its changing environment. An antibiotic resistance, which is caused by overuse of antibiotic drugs, is a good example of selection pressure.
The virus will effectively outsmart the highly specific antigen-based vaccines that are being used and tweaked. Vanden Bossche said the multiple emerging, much more infectious viral variants are already examples of immune escape from innate immunity.
He's been right on all accounts so far.
Watch the video below of Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche to learn more about the implications of mass vaccination during a pandemic.
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