monkey pox
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The South Africa Vaccine Injury Medico-Legal Study-Group this week issued a statement criticizing public health officials for declaring mpox a global health emergency and warning against "experimental" mpox vaccines.

We are deeply concerned about the recent announcements made by Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director General Jean Kaseya on Aug. 13 and World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Aug. 14. It is important to address these announcements openly to the public.

In his statements, Kaseya declared regarding monkeypox vaccines:

"We have a clear plan to secure more than 10 million doses in Africa, starting with 3 million doses in 2024."

We at the South Africa Vaccine Injury Medico-Legal Study-Group (SAVIMS) would like to point out pertinent facts to both institutions and other relevant bodies of interest:

1. There is no prescribed vaccine with documented Level 1 scientific evidence for monkeypox. The current WHO-recommended live virus vaccines, Jynneos and ACAM2000, are:

(a) intended for smallpox and are thus experimental for monkeypox;

(b) have reported serious adverse effects, and;

(c) contain live viral strains which may instigate a resurgence of the eradicated smallpox virus.

2. The potential use of mRNA vaccines. There is no scientific evidence supporting the use of any mRNA vaccine to prevent or mitigate any infectious disease. The observed data of adverse reactions to experimental mRNA vaccines far outweighs any benefit.

3. Informed consent is an ethical concept that is codified in the law and is in daily practice at every healthcare institution. Three fundamental criteria are needed for clinical informed consent: the patient must be competent, adequately informed and not coerced.

It is not possible for any recipient of these vaccines to receive legitimate informed consent based on current research.

4. The article by Allan-Blitz et al., "A position statement on Mpox as a Sexually Transmitted Disease," concluded that monkeypox is a "sexually transmitted disease." Preventative measures for this scenario should necessitate and provoke relevant clinical and primary healthcare and education initiatives directed at the high-risk group.

There is no merit in the recommendation of experimental vaccines to the general population.

5. The statistics and analysis, regarding the collated monkeypox data in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries in Africa by the WHO, warrant further investigation and must be independently audited.

The areas in which the highest statistics were collated should detail the criteria for testing, the procedures for testing, equipment sensitivity and specificity, personnel skill, clinical scenarios, and provocation for testing these specific communities. What tests were done to investigate and exclude other diseases, including communicable diseases?

6. There have been no autopsy reports published on the deaths related to monkeypox. The lack of formal documented autopsy, lack of information regarding equipment test sensitivities and specificities, and lack of information on procedures validating random collation of data, further reduces and invalidates the authenticity of the statistics.

SAVIMS position statement regarding emergency monkeypox vaccine rollout in Africa

We have reviewed the literature and analyzed the data on monkeypox, as well as its etiopathogenesis. Based on our understanding of this disease:

1. We do not support the Africa CDC and WHO declaration of a global health emergency for monkeypox.

2. It is established that monkeypox is predominantly a self-limiting condition. This does not warrant vaccine intervention.

3. We strongly object, based on the scientific evidence, to the "emergency" rollout of repurposed smallpox vaccines or any other proposed monkeypox vaccine to the people of Africa.

4. We question the authenticity of the number of deaths associated with monkeypox, as reported by the Africa CDC unless it can be verified through autopsy.

5. We warn members of the public about the inherent risks of taking any vaccine, including those proposed for mpox, of which the effectiveness and safety have not been reliably determined by Level 1 clinical trials. There can be no justification for a vaccine with unknown adverse effects.

6. We urge the public to exercise their inherent human rights to refuse to give consent to any medical intervention that they do not feel comfortable taking.

We are open to dialogue and discussion with the Africa CDC on the issues raised above and on all matters of health and well-being concerning the African population.

Originally published by SAVIMS.

SAVIMS is a voluntary multidisciplinary association under the Common Law governed by its members in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The purpose of SAVIMS is to follow the evidence to gain and communicate knowledge about vaccine injuries. This knowledge is necessary for the treatment and counseling of patients with vaccine injuries; as well as for medico-legal report writing and provision of evidence in respect of victims of vaccine injury and in other vaccine-related disputes. The objectives of SAVIMS are to promote human health and human rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights of South Africa's Constitution.