Ministry Tells Meningococcal Monsters in The Press

The Ministry of Health's response to a letter to the editor about the experimental MeNZB(tm) vaccine in Wednesday's Press is nothing more than science fiction," says risk & policy analyst Ron Law and writer/researcher Barbara Sumner Burstyn.

Dr O'Hallahan's letter of reply in Christchurch's The Press implies that the MeNZB(tm) vaccine will prevent 3,500 cases, 190 deaths and 600 under 20 year olds being permanently disabled.

Let's do some simple maths.

In 2003 and 2004 there were 9 deaths confirmed as being due to the epidemic strain of bacteria targeted by the MeNZB(tm) vaccine (5 & 4 respectively). Maybe 50% of these were in under 20 year olds making a total of 2-3 per year. Over 10 years that is 20-30 deaths that could, theoretically, be prevented if the vaccine works. To get a figure of 190 deaths Dr O'Hallahan has resorted to plucking figures from somewhere and projecting that over more than 10 years. That is pure science fiction. The maximum confirmed number of deaths in any one year in all age groups due to the epidemic strain of meningococcal disease is 17.

Based on the evidence available to us, none of the five meningococcal deaths so far this year could have been prevented by the current MeNZB(tm) vaccine program.

Dr O'Hallahan's 190 deaths divided by 3,500 cases gives a case fatality rate of 5.4%. The death rate for all types of meningococcal disease for the past three years has been less than half that figure and is falling. The deaths rate for the epidemic strain is approximately 1.5%.

Dr O'Hallahan states that "the vaccine has proved to be effective in clinical trials..." This statement is made knowing that it is totally false and that the trials did not establish either efficacy or effectiveness.

It is sad that the Ministry of Health has to resort to science fiction and scare-mongering to gain public support for an experimental drug masquerading as a panacea.

"This apparent creation of data provides further evidence to support our call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry," says Barbara Sumner Burstyn.

Law and Sumner Burstyn will shortly be releasing further damning evidence regarding unethical issues surrounding the trial and approval processes used to get the MeNZB(tm) vaccine licensed.

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