The Story of Dr. SH Lee: Gardasil Whistleblower
My first go-round with post-secondary education at the age of 32 landed me at the local technical college in a two year diploma program in Biotechnology. It was, at that time, a blossoming field with endless possibilities in many areas of science. The science of genetic manipulation, in particular had interested me because I had seen in my minds eye, potential to solve many of the worlds problems. Recombining genes from different species of animals and plants could allow researchers to better understand the methods of gene expression and why certain diseases seem to occur in certain individuals, and not others. It was an exciting time!
After graduation, I worked for several companies on contract basis, doing work mostly with plants. In my last job, I was responsible for developing a protocol for inoculating parts of plant tissue with a bacteria that contained foreign DNA. The plants themselves came from somewhere in South America and were a staple food of the peoples there. These two plants, when altered to express the proteins we were working on, would later be used as edible vaccines. After a Jerry McGuire kind of breakdown, I realized what this work was actually going to accomplish, and I didn't like it one bit. Once patented, these two indigenous plants would no longer be free for the people to plant and grow as a food source and this would cause starvation and poverty. Not the idealistic picture I had painted for myself when I began my education.
Soon after, I began to look into the realm of science and grew increasingly disappointed. No more so, than in the area of pharmaceutical and vaccine development. As I looked deeper into the machinery that is disparagingly called BIG PHARMA, I realized that corporations that make drugs cause more harm than good. That is not to say that all drugs that pharmaceutical companies manufacture are bad for people (I have a few family members still around today because of them), but I do mean that the behaviors and business practices adopted by drug companies do harm people. This article from New Scientist is just one of many that illustrate my point:
Drug giant Merck accused of deaths cover-up
- 21:00 15 April 2008 by Jim Giles New Scientist
It is perhaps the biggest drug scandal of recent years. Before Merck withdrew Vioxx in 2004, the popular painkiller was linked to heart attacks in tens of thousands of people. Now researchers have alleged that Merck knew of the dangers years earlier, but tweaked statistics and hid data so that regulators remained in the dark.
Vioxx was a blockbuster drug for Merck in the 5 years it was on the market, generating billions of dollars in revenue. After it was linked to heart attacks and strokes, the firm pulled its product, and earlier this year Merck agreed to provide almost US$5 billion in compensation to those claiming to have been harmed.
But an analysis of documents released during the litigation process that led to that settlement, carried out by Richard Kronmal, a statistician at the University of Washington, Seattle, who acted as an expert witness in the Merck lawsuits, suggests that company scientists were aware of the problems well before 2004.
Read the full article here: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13685-drug-giant-merck-accused-of-deaths-coverup.html
What prompts me to write this piece?
The recent letter I received from my daughters school that intimates that I am somehow a bad parent for not vaccinating them against Gardasil (and at least 6 other diseases).
(And the knowledge that this vaccine is somehow different).
HPV is, after-all, a virus that causes CANCER! Chicken pox, mumps and measels are one thing (btw, I had all of those childhood diseases and survived), but we are talking about a virus, that experts claim, causes the most prevalent and ever increasing disease of our time. What is also being missed here is that the same techniques that are used to produce other vaccines are thought to be equivalent to Gardasil(TM). The truth is that Gardasil(TM) is a recombinant vaccine, manufactured using technology that incorporates the viral DNA into a yeast cell's DNA so as to express the protein coat of the original virus. This protein is called a Virus-Like Protein (VLP) which is supposed to contain none of the original HPV DNA. Under the original FDA and PHAC approval statements and vaccine insert information, no mention is made of this DNA. However, on Oct 21, 2011 the FDA issued a statement saying that the DNA was expected to be in the final product as it was used to manufacture the vaccine. To date, the FDA and PHAC have refused to answer questions why this information remained unpublished for 5 years.
So, are critics of this vaccine simply hysterical (pun intended) conspiracy theorists?
The parents of vaccine injured and dead children don't think so and they ask others to walk a mile in their shoes. Here are the facts:
Since the Vioxx scandal, Merck has been in the news with allegations that the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine (Gardasil) is causing people to become very sick and even die.
Christina Tarsell:
Christina Tarsell, 21, died 18 days after recieving the last of three Gardasil shots. Her mother, Emily Tarsell, believes the vaccine against some strains of the human papilloma virus was responsible for her daughter's death. (courtesy of SaneVax.org)
Annabelle Morin:
Christina Tarsell, 21, died 18 days after recieving the last of three Gardasil shots. Her mother, Emily Tarsell, believes the vaccine against some strains of the human papilloma virus was responsible for her daughter's death. (courtesy of SaneVax.org)
Annabelle Morin:
Annabelle’s life had but one guiding principle, “All that is necessary to acheive, is to believe.” Annabelle believed she would become a veterinary surgeon.
9 December 2008, 15 days after her second shot of Gardasil, that dream ended. Annabelle went to take a bath less than 10 feet from where her family was sitting. 30 minutes later, she was found dead. No cry, no unusual sound, she left the world in silence. (courtesy of HolyHormones.com)
9 December 2008, 15 days after her second shot of Gardasil, that dream ended. Annabelle went to take a bath less than 10 feet from where her family was sitting. 30 minutes later, she was found dead. No cry, no unusual sound, she left the world in silence. (courtesy of HolyHormones.com)
Death toll linked to Gardasil vaccine rises
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=68454
HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) & Cervical Cancer Vaccine: Merck’s Gardasil®
In fact, I decided to visit the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System and find out exactly where the numbers stand to date. Here's what I discovered:
|
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death | 98.80% | ||||||
| Life Threatening | 12.89% | ||||||
| Permanent Disability | 5.10% | ||||||
| Hospitalized | 23.09% | ||||||
| Hospitalized, Prolonged | 5.55% | ||||||
| Emergency Room | 21.89% | ||||||
| Not Serious | 0.45% | ||||||
| Total | 167.77% |
The above graph shows 667 Deaths reported this year in all of the United States due to vaccination with Gardasil. For me one death is too many. The questions beg to be asked: Does anyone care that this is happening? Does Merck?
The answer is that there are scientists out there that do care and are conducting their own studies into vaccines, their adjuvants and their safety! Luckily, one such watchdog named SANEVAX, in the US exists. SANEVAX has recently pressed the FDA to review its approval of Gardasil amid much resistance by Merck who seeks to destroy doctors critical of their products "where they live"http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/merckdestroydoccritics/
Clearly, this seems to be the case of a Dr. SH Lee (Pathologist at Milford Hospital), who has been investigating concerns of conatminated vaccine based on wrongful death and injury complaints made to SaneVax.
Today, I received the following e-mail from a colleague:
Dear all,
I just learned that Dr. SH Lee has been denied access to his lab - got a call from his attorney who is filing an injunction to demand access because there is no evidence to support the alleged claims against him. The law firm asked if we could arrange for people and/or media to gather in front of his lab and demand he be allowed to return to his work. If you have any ideas that may help, please let me know.
As you know, Dr Lee leads the lab that found HPV DNA contamination in Gardasil.
The powers at be have been trying for a long time to stop his research.
http://healthimpactnews.com/2011/sane-vax-inc-discovers-potential-bio-hazard-contaminant-in-merck%E2%80%99s-gardasil%E2%84%A2-hpv-4-vaccine/
For those of you who may not be familiar with Dr Lee's work, he is a Pathologist at Milford Hospital, who developed cutting-edge DNA sequencing methods for molecular diagnostic purposes (among which is also a sensitive DNA diagnostic test for early Lyme detection
http://ajcp.ascpjournals.org/content/133/4/569.abstract)
Some other of Dr Lee's publications:
1. Lee, S. H., Vigliotti, V.S., Vigliotti, J.S. and Pappu, S. Routine human papillomavirus genotyping by DNA sequencing in community hospital laboratories.Infect Agent Cancer 2007; 2:11.
2. Lee S.H., Vigliotti V.S., Pappu S. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among women in a representative rural and suburban population of the United States. Inter J Gyn Ob. 2009; 105:210-214.
3. Lee, S.H., Vigliotti, V.S., and Pappu, S. Molecular tests for human papillomavirus (HPV), Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in liquid-based cytology specimen. BMC Women’s Health 2009; 9:8.
4. Lee, S. H., Vigliotti, V.S., Vigliotti, J.S. and Pappu, S. Validation of human papillomavirus genotyping by signature DNA sequence analysis. BMC Clin Pathol 2009; 9:3.
5. Lee, S.H., Vigliotti, V.S., and Pappu, S. Signature sequence validation of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) in clinical specimens. J Clin Path.2010;63:235-239.
6. Lee, S.H. Guidelines for the use of molecular tests for the detection and genotyping of human papilloma virus from clinical specimens. In seriesMethods in Molecular Biology, volume Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. C. MacKenzie and B. Henrich, Vol. Eds. Series Ed. J. Walker. Humana Press. In Press 2011.
Bottom line, this is another attempt by the medical establishment to destroy a whistle-blower.Someone replied:
He is fortunate he was not shot in the parking lot.Then, later I received the following updates:
Norma from Sanevax has been speaking with Lee's lawyers to find out what info can be released and what not. They are planning on having something on the website by tonight. Will keep you updated.
Anyhow, this was the latest from Norma:
We bought some time by suggesting the email/phone campaign - waiting on the attorneys to send a proposed script to make it easy for everyone. They are also sending copies of all the complaints they are going to file and we have permission to use any information they send unless specifically instructed to not disclose something in particular.
I will get an email out to the SaneVax Board of Directors (have spoken with all but one, so far and everyone agrees to do whatever we can to help Dr. Lee.) This will immediately be followed by emails from all of us to every contact we have throughout the world so they can start the email campaign.
While this is going on, we will need to plan and coordinate the media coverage and press conference if possible. Some initial feelers have been sent out and things are in motion on several fronts.....waiting for more details to get one single message out to all this evening.***********************************************************************
Dear all,
We just received advice from Dr Lee’s legal team.
As you are all aware, Dr. Lee has been helping get the truth out about HPV vaccines
He has donated his laboratory facilities, time and effort to confirm the rHPV DNA contamination in Gardasil.
Due to bogus claims, the hospital he had partnered with to build a world class diagnostic genotyping lab was denying his access to the equipment he purchased and the laboratory he established. He told us to keep the information confidential as he was sure it would only take a few months to resolve the problem and that it was only a minor inconvenience meant to punish him for not following the medical 'party line.'
The situation has not been resolved and Dr Lee’s legal team have now decided to take the matter to higher authorities by filing complaints with the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the State's Attorney General. They initially asked if it would be possible to organize a rally on the steps of Dr. Lee's laboratory protesting his lack of access and demanding that Dr. Lee be allowed to continue his work.
A suggestion was made that an email/phone campaign may be a faster and more efficient way to handle the initial confrontation. This would be followed with press releases and/or a media campaign to draw further attention to Dr. Lee's plight.
To give you the background, I will forward a copy of the email received from Dr. Lee's legal team. It includes a complete copy of the complaint to both organizations along with a tentative script for people who wish to help put some pressure on the authorities to solve this problem in a fair and equitable manner.
The attorney representing Dr. Lee has over 20 years experience handling this type of PR nightmare. His legal team wishes to pursue a class action suit against Merck for violation of patients' right to informed consent. Their strategy is in place and they have plans to partner with a high powered firm in Washington DC that is not afraid to take on the "Big Boys," and is familiar with all of the political ramifications to a case of this magnitude. The case will be on a contingency basis - so will cost victims nothing.
I hope some of you will join this effort of defending scientific freedom.Q: I wonder if his (the doctor who made the "shot in the parking lot" comment) comments reflect any personal intimidation tactics. Would he be willing to elaborate on his comments? ie. is there a history of scientists being threatened if they do not perform their research as 'prescribed'.
A: Oh boy ! I could give you some examples. Another gentlemen on that list had a very prominent position at his university until he proposed to do a study comparing outcomes between vaccinated vs non vaccinated. Then after when he received the funding for the study (from a private donor of course) he got fired.
What can we rightfully conclude from this information? That people who've done nothing wrong have nothing to hide and the guilty will try to hide everything. Even if that means preventing research that could save lives from continuing. But then again, that really doesn't come as a surprise to anyone these days, does it?
