A gathering of "vaccine safety stakeholders" ...WHO Global Vaccine Safety Summit

Updated 1/15/20

​Tuning in to The HighWire each week is a good way to stay current on vaccine risk awareness issues. In Episode 145 which aired January 9, 2020, Del Bigtree shared several brief video clips from the 2019 World Health Organization (WHO) Global Vaccine Safety Summit, which took place December 2-3 in Geneva, Switzerland. Watch the clips from the gathering of "vaccine safety stakeholders" below. From what I could tell from these clips and additional coverage on the WHO website, the most important stakeholders of all -- parents who have lost a child to vaccines; victims and families living with vaccine injury; and those being mandated to vaccinate for education, work and other benefits -- were missing from the gathering.

Listen as "experts" discuss lack of vaccine safety science; problems with vaccine adjuvants; herd immunity; growth of the vaccine risk awareness movement; increasing number of healthcare professionals questioning vaccine safety; and more. It's a somewhat different message than the usual "vaccines are safe and effective" rhetoric. Share this information with others, and be a part of the movement to end vaccine ignorance.

Antigens & Adjuvants: The Great Unknown
Prof. Stephen Evans, LSHTM, states an obvious issue regarding the lack of statistical power in safety trials. Dr. Martin Howell Friede, FDA, and Dr. David Kaslow, V.P., PATH, CVIA, W.H.O attempt to answer his question.

Controversy Around Adjuvants in Vaccines
Dr. Martin Howell Friede, Coordinator, Initiative for Vaccine Research (IVR), W.H.O, discusses the required necessity of using adjuvants in vaccine development and their association with adverse reactions.

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Who is Winning the War on Social Media?
Prof. Heidi Larson, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project reveals an Oxford physicist’s diagram showing vaccine hesitant, pro-vax, and neutral communities on social media, and the shocking recruitment pace one is having on the other.

Tyranny of Small Numbers
Dr. David Kaslow, V.P., PATH, CVIA, discusses the conundrum of the “tyranny of small numbers” during small clinical trials for vaccine safety. Dr. Marion Gruber, Director, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA discusses current problems with the length of follow-up and post-marketing studies on vaccine safety.

The Eradication of Herd Immunity
Prof. Heidi Larson, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, describes the "biggest challenge" facing scientists, and the "very fragile state” of “vaccine-induced immunity."

W.H.O Admits it's not Vaccine "Misinformation"
Prof. Heidi Larson, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project admits the biggest problem with vaccine skepticism online is that ‘a lot of it is not misinformation’ and that there is ‘a lot of ambiguity in the safety field.’ ​

Health Professionals are Questioning Vaccine Safety
Prof. Heidi Larson, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project describes a ‘very wobbly health professional front line that is starting to question the safety of vaccines.’

The Next Target Population
Dr. David Kaslow, V.P., PATH, CVIA, discusses the new target population for vaccines, pregnant women.


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FDA Head Acknowledges a Plan for Safety Surveillance
​Dr. Marion Gruber, Director, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA, discusses pharmacological vigilance systems not yet in place, which are essential to “really inform risk management.”

Great Question, Terrible Answer
​Nigerian doctor and Program Manager for NEEICC, Bassey Okposen, asks a very important question regarding the safety science behind the use of different vaccines, adjuvants, and antigens. Dr. Robert Chen, Scientific Director of Brighton Collaboration, tries to “tease” out the answer.

Wake Up Call for Real Safety Science
Prof. Heidi Larson, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project urges the medical community to invest in safety science, and states "you can't repurpose the same old science to make it sound better if you don't have the science that's relevant to the new problem.”
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Is the Term "Anti-Vax" a Slur?
Prof. Heidi Larson, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project urges the healthcare community to stop using the derogatory term ‘anti-vaxxer.’

How Much Training Do Doctors Have On Vaccines
Prof. Heidi Larson, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project reports how little training doctors receive on vaccines at the W.H.O.'s Global Vaccine Safety Summit.
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Safety is the Biggest Issue
Prof. Heidi Larson, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project discusses the biggest issue surrounding growing vaccine hesitancy worldwide.
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W.H.O Chief Scientist Caught Lying to the Public
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the W.H.O., addresses the world in a promotional video where she ensures the robust existence of effective vaccine safety systems and the overall safety of vaccines. Five days later, here is her diametrically different opinion behind closed doors at the Global Vaccine Safety Summit on Dec. 3rd, 2019.

A nine minute compilation of the above videos is available here.

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Full video coverage of the 2019 WHO Global Vaccine Safety Summit, is available on the WHO website. Cllick here to view
​(The above video clips are included in the Tuesday afternoon session)

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The HighWire Episode #145

Segment on the 2019 Global Health Summit begins at approximately
​the 35 minute mark.