Category: health

what our compromised DOH officials are not telling us: that papaya leaf extract can #BeatDengue

read Papaya Extract to Treat Dengue: A Novel Therapeutic Option? authored in may 2014 by N. Sarala and SS Paknikar of the Department of Pharmacology, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical Colledge, Sri Devarag Urs Academy of Higher Education and Research, Tamaka, Kolar, Kamataka, India.

read  Carica papaya Leaves Juice Significantly Accelerates the Rate of Increase in Platelet Count among Patients with Dengue Fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website also back in may 2014.

and read Papaya leaves can beat dengue published in a Sri Lanka news website April 26, 2016 (some 3 weeks after DOH’s garin launched the dengvaxia mass vaccination program).  a rare interview with Dr. Sanath Hettige, the Sri Lankan general physician who first pronounced papaya leaf extract as effective therapy vs. dengue in a paper published in 2008 in the Sri Lankan Journal of Family Physicians.

I used to observe monkeys eating papaya leaves. I conducted research on papaya leaves and found that papaya leaves had been used by aborigines to treat malaria. At the time there were no suggestions that papaya leaves were a remedy for dengue, but as monkeys consumed it, we knew it wasn’t toxic. Four of my employees and myself consumed papaya leaves and another five did not. Then we took blood tests and found that the platelet count, white blood cells count (WBC) and the red blood cell count (RBC) of even healthy individuals had increased. Meanwhile, my clerk contracted dengue when his platelet count dropped to 70 000. As one who had participated in papaya leaves trial before [he] insisted in taking papaya leaf syrup. Within 2 days his platelet count increased dramatically and the fever receded. He recovered without been admission to a hospital

Some three wheel drivers of the Watthegedara area close to my clinic my clerk was friendly with also took papaya leaf syrup when they contracted dengue and were cured, proving the efficacy of papaya leaves in treating dengue. It was then that I decided to conduct scientific research on the papaya leaf treatment. 12 patients who came to my clinic voluntarily agreed to take papaya leaves and then take blood tests when it was found that their platelet count and WBC counts had increased with improvement of their overall medical condition. So, papaya leaves not only increase the platelet count but helps to increase WBC counts and reduce fever and the duration of the illness simultaneously. This is where a lot of people misunderstood my first article. There is no isolated increase of the platelet count; we monitor the improvement through the platelet count alone.

Q  And then?

When you conduct research, there are 3 stages: First you conduct experiments using rats, then the experiment is done on human beings followed by a control experiment where we give the syrup to some and not give it to others in the experiment. The rat experiment was done in other countries after my human experiment. In late 2009 I wanted to conduct a randomised control clinical experiment. I needed approval from ethical clearance committees such as the unit at the Sri Lanka Medical Association to conduct the control trial. If they approve it, they have to take the responsibility in case something happens to the patient. In 2009 the ethical clearance unit at the Sri Lanka Medical Association did not permit me to conduct the experiment because they were not convinced [of its safety and efficacy]. They wanted me to bring evidence from Ayurveda literature and show that papaya leaves has been prescribed as a remedy.

A control experiment was conducted in Malaysia before I got the opportunity. In 2013 I applied again highlighting that Malaysia had conducted the experiment. Thereafter, the ethical clearance committee of the Sri Jayawardene University approved my application.

If the platelet count increases despite the fact that the patient’s condition(fever etc) was not improving, it becomes a complication to the physician. This is where my control experiment played a major role as it was able to clear the previous misconception that papaya leaves only increases the platelet count. As part of the experiment we reached patients who had not yet reached the critical stage warded at the Kalubowila Hospital. We divided them into two groups and checked them to ascertain how many had reached the critical phase and how many had not in the two groups. We examined the thorax of all the patients daily and found that only two patients from the treated group had fluid in their lungs compared to ten in the untreated group. We also saw that the duration of fever was reduced by 50% and the hospital stay reduced by one day. It was not only the platelet count increase we observed but also in a reduction in the conversion of dengue patients to the dengue hemorrhagic stage. The results of this study will be published soon.

Q Are there any side effects in this treatment?

The syrup (papaya leaf extract) can also be taken in the form of a capsule which contains only pure papaya leaf extract. There are no side effects. The only problem is the bitter taste in the syrup. However, patients must take the medicine in the first spike of fever, and they must take it regularly to obtain optimum results.

Q  Why are doctors reluctant to use the papaya leaf medicine on dengue patients?

The papaya leaf syrup is a herbal medicine and therefore not categorized as an allopathic drug (as in western/modern medicine) and doctors usually refrain from using herbal medicine on patients. However, this is the first time in Sri Lanka a herbal medicine which is not allopathic was used in a clinical trial in a tertiary care hospital for a potentially serious illness. Clinical trials are rarely conducted in herbal medicine.

Q  What was the response from the international community?

After my research was published in Lankapuwath, it received international acclaim even from BBC and CNN. BBC correspondent Chris Howell visited my lab and did a documentary. As a result the research results spread and people from around the world started using it as a remedy. In many countries it was found to be effective and as consequently there was research conducted in India, Pakistan, Malaysia and even in the University of Florida. We have more than 20 research projects conducted worldwide with regard to this subject. Articles on the preparation of the papaya leaf medicine and its effectiveness have been discussed in length in the British Medical Journal.

The institute of medical research Malaysia encourages and recommends the use of papaya leaf syrup. They even have a video on their website, where they present how the juice is prepared. It should also be noted that this is the first time in the world history that a herbal medicine is being promoted by the government Medical Research Institute.

Q  What advice would you give dengue patients?

Dengue is  potentially a serious illness. You must consult your doctor immediately if there are signs of fever, headache and body pain, you can request for an NS1 antigen test. Through this test you can diagnose dengue on the very first day of the illness. If results are positive you can take papaya leaf syrup, in addition to usual dengue management. Papaya leaf syrup should be taken as early as possible, preferably at the first spike of fever and continued until the patient has recovered fully. Papaya leaf is only a supportive treatment and is mandatory  that you take advice and treatment from an allopathic doctor or from a government hospital. You should not take any type of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, mefenamic acid or diclofinac sodium for fever or body pain.

nakakapagpatanong.  bakit walang pinoy doctors na klaseng Dr. Sanath Hettige?  lahat ba sila ay nasa bulsa na ng big pharma?  o colonial mentality pa ba rin iyan:  iniismiran ang mga  halamang gamot, tiklop-tuhod sa branded western medicines.

imposibleng hindi nagbabasa ng medical / health journals ang ating health professionals, in  and out of government.  imposibleng walang natitisod sa numerous papers published in international medical and health journals re the papaya leaf exract as mabisang panlaban sa dengue fever.

i imagine that there must be a huge pharma lobby against any acknowledgement of the papaya leaf extract, especially from those engaged in the expensive race to come up with a safe and efficacious dengue vaccine.  because, you know, there would be no patenting the papaya leaf extract, we have papaya trees everywhere, no money in it for big pharma when the extract can be prepared at home with a mortar-and-pestle or juicer or blender.

imagine if our DOH officials were not compromised and were to share the information instead, and even collaborate, with small-and-medium entrepreneurs across the archipelago.  like sri lanka, we would have capsules and tabs and syrups and mosquito sprays available in health centers and town boticas.  what a boon that would be, especially in this post-dengvaxia times.

EXTRACTING / PREPARING KATAS NG DAHON NG PAPAYA IN YOUR KUSINA

get your hands on fresh leaves, sariwang dahon — piliin yung “healthy and mature” although may nagsasabing mabisa rin yung murà, na madilaw-dilaw pa ang itsura.

kung may time at internet, i-google  ang “dengue, papaya leaf extract” — basically the process involves reducing papaya leaves to mush and then making pigâ to get the katas.    nagkakaiba-iba lang sa pagpapa-inom nito at sa “dosage.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=3nVQL9t7kns

ang mahalaga:  PAPAYA LEAF EXTRACT IS SAFE.  WALANG UNWELCOME SIDE EFFECTS, DENGUE FEVER OR NOT.

A.  hugasang mabuti sa tubig-gripo (running water) ang mga dahon.  tadtarin ang dahon (chop into small pieces).  ilagay ang 50 grams o 1/4 cup ng tadtad na dahon sa dikdikan (mortar and pestle); dagdagan ng 50 cc. ng pinakuluan at pinalamig na tubig (mga 3.3 measuring spoons) at 25 gms. na asukal (mga 6 na kutsarita).  dikdikin nang 15 to 30 minutes hanggang maging sapal (pulp) ang mixture.  pigain nang kamay at ipunin ang katas sa isang malinis na lalagyan.  uminom ng 30 cc (2 tablespoons) tatlong beses isang araw for adults, 5-10 cc (1 to 2 teaspoons) for children tatlong beses isang araw, until recovery o hanggang mawala ang lagnat.  dahil mapait ang lasa, puwedeng uminom ng malamig na tubig, pakonti-konti, pagkainom ng katas ng dahon ng papaya. puwede ring i-store ang katas sa refrigerator ng 24 hours.

B.  use 10 fresh papaya leaves — isang dahon ay tinatayang magbibigay ng isang kutsarang leaf juice.  hugasan. tanggalin ang mga ugat ng dahon bago tadtarin.   ilagay sa blender ang tadtad na dahon, dagdagan ng sapat na tubig to make a liquid paste (malapot na likido).  salain ang likido at itapon ang sapal.  uminom ng 2 kutsara ng leaf juice tuwing tatlong (3) oras over 2-3 days, or for one week, if symptoms persist.

C.  piliin ang ilang dahong di gaanong malaki (medium-size).  tanggalin ang gitnang ugat.  tadtarin ang mga dahon. ilagay sa kaserola na may 2 liters of water (mga 8 and 1/2 cups).  pag kumukulo na ay hinaan ang apoy, pero patulogy ang mahinang kulo (simmer) hanggang mangalahati ang likido.  salain ito at ilagay sa mga boteng maytakip.  dagdagan ng asukal kung ibig.  uminon ng kalahating baso tuwing anim (6) na oras.  puwedeng i-store hanggang limang araw, pero mas sariwa, mas mabuti.

D.  puwede ring gumamit ng juicer.  hugasan muna ang mga dahon.  itabi sa fridge ang juice. inumin sa loob ng apat o limang araw.

E.  puwede ring gumamit ng blender.  tadtarin ang sampung dahon at ilagay sa blender with a cup (isang tasa) ng drinking water.  blend.  salain ang juice sa pamamagitan ng cheese cloth o katsa.  uminom ng isang kutsara one to two times daily.

kung wala kayong puno ng papaya sa bakuran, alamin kung saan, sino ang mayroon, yung fruit-bearing o namumunga.  check out your neighborhood, now na.  and spread the word.  #BeatDengue

dengue, dengvaxia, #DengGate

ke naturukan (ka o) ang anak mo o hindi ng dengvaxia, kailangang mag-ingat, at maging mapag-bantay at alerto sa kalagayan ng ating paligid, gayon din sa mga senyales ng dengue.

MAG-INGAT SA LAMOK.  hindi lahat ng lamok ay nagdadala ng dengue virus pero mahirap sabihin kung alin, samakatuwid, matakot sa lahat ng lamok, ke sa araw o sa gabi nangangagat.

tiyakin na sa paligid ng bahay ay WALANG MGA GAMIT NA WALANG TAKIP — LATA, BOTE, MASETERA, GULONG, BARADONG ALULOD atbp. — KUNG SAAN MAY NAIIPONG TUBIG-ULAN NANG MATAGALAN (stagnant water)  sapagkat diyan mismo namumugad at nanganganak ang mga lamok na may dalang dengue.

4 years old ang panganay ko (in 1977) nang umuwi ito galing pre-school na may sinat.  lagnat-laki lang sana, dasal ko.  baka tempra lang ok na.  on the second, third day of fever (38+) dinala ko na siya sa pediatrician na nag-prescribe lang ng mas malakas na anti-lagnat (di ko na maalala ang name, gifaril yata).  over the next day, tumataas pa rin ang lagnat, tumapak na sa 39+, isinusuka ang gamot, at bahagya ko nang mapainom ng tubig o mapakain, kaya’t itinakbo na namin sa ospital.

isang tingin ng ER residents sa inner fold ng braso niya, kung saan meron na palang red rashes — gangga-tuldok ng karayom bawat isa — alam na nila.  H-fever pa ang tawag sa dengue noon.  agad siyang kinabitan ng suwero, kinunan ng dugo, at agad rin nalamang bagsak na ang bilang ng kanyang blood platelets — ito yung sangkap ng dugo na tinatawag ring “blood clot cell” — pag bumagsak ito dahil sa dengue virus, naaapekto ang mga daluyan ng dugo, una na ang maliliit na capillaries, at nagli-leak ang dugo.  mga tatlo o apat na bag of blood platelets ang naisalin bago nag-normal ang kanyang platelet count.

so, talaga, feel ko ang mga nanggagalaiting ama’t ina ng mga batang naturukan ng dengvaxia.

DENGVAXIA #DengGate

i must confess, rj nieto aka thinking pinoy who has been blogging about #DengGate is a facebook friend, mula pa nuong may 13 (day 4 since the may 9 2016 elections).  i had just posted here excerpts from teddy locsin’s Elections over, but not the count — right smack nuong nagkakainitan sa bilangan:  duterte was very out front but the vp race was still up for grabs (in a manner of speaking), and there was a hue and cry over dubious smartmatic antics.  teddy boy, already pro-duterte, was saying, let’s wait for the official count; if you think there were any peculiarities or irregularities in the counting, then file a protest with comelec.

the comment thread is mostly my exchange with boom buencamino who agreed with teddy boy, but when i brought up  smartmatic’s antics he shared a couple of links, one on the ñ, and one to thinking pinoy‘s BBM vs. Leni: Forget Math, Hash Code is the Smoking Gun.

which is to say that i didn’t think twice about accepting nieto’s friend request.  TP was still in pa neutral-objective mode, i thought, even if barely, but he seemed to be well-informed and it didn’t hurt to keep abreast of whatever he was sharing.

soon after i clicked confirm, he sent a me a private message:

I am a big fan. ThinkingPinoy here.

me: thanks! but are you sure you’re not mistaking me for my daughter katrina?

Ohhh. I thought you’re katrina.  Yeah, I am her fan. We do not agree on a million issues, but I admire her…

a lot of water under the bridge later, and TP is now duterte’s Big Blogger, with an ear behind certain closed doors and enviable access, it would seem, to every nook niche and cranny, including the cordon-sanitaired, and you wonder who his major sponsor/s is / are (alanpeter, is datyu? bonggo, is datyu?) and while na-hide ko na siya from my newsfeed — na-turn off ako when he became brazenly, arrogantly, pro-duterte and nawala na yung attempt, kahit kuno, at objectivity — now and then i still visit his wall and blog, especially since he started blogging about dengvaxia #DengGate.

feb 7 he posted DOH and Sanofi’s Secret: Dengvaxia ®) may cause multiple organ failure.  feb 9 he posted this on his fb wall:

THE DENGVAXIA SCANDAL IN TEN SIMPLE STEPS

Let me explain part of the Dengvaxia Scandal in very simple and concise terms.

1. In December 2015, Sanofi Pasteur submitted a registration application to the Food and Drug Administration Philippines, where it said right then and there that Dengvaxia may cause, among others, nerve damage, multi-organ failure, worsened dengue symptoms. Sanofi also said in the application that Dengvaxia has limited efficacy, and provides waning protection over time.

2. Common sense dictates that long-term trials should have been done to reasonably confirm or debunk those risks BEFORE mass vaccination. None were conducted. Worse, FDA DID NOT include nerve damage (neurotrophism) and multi-organ failure (viscerotropism) in the list of side effects on Dengvaxia’s product label, so the public had no way of knowing about them.

3. Instead of conducting a long-term trial, say, through a limited mass-market release, Department of Health (Philippines) Sec. Dr. Janette Loreto-Garin decided to inject it to ONE MILLION kids, with her succeeding to inject close to 500,000 before she stepped down. She was actually already actively working on buying it WAY BEFORE it was approved by the FDA.

4. Garin and co. were able to bypass the limited long-term trial requirement because DoH Usec Kenneth Hartigan-Go made long-term post-marketing trials OPTIONAL when he was still FDA head. Hartigan-Go was part of the Zuellig network before and after his government stint. Zuellig Pharma Philippines is Dengvaxia’s exclusive distributor in the country. According to a leaked email, Hartigan-Go even offered to modify government regulations to ease Dengvaxia’s entry into the country.

5. Despite full knowledge and admission of the potential serious side effects of Dengvaxia, neither DoH nor Sanofi informed parents about this prior to inoculation.

6. Phase 3 trials ended in September 2017 and Sanofi CONFIRMED ONE of the suspected side effects: that Dengvaxia worsens Dengue symptoms for recipients who’ve never had dengue. They announced this through the 29 November 2017 Sanofi Press Release.

7. Parent of kids who died after receiving Dengvaxia started to reach out to the Public Attorney’s Office PAO, so PAO chief Atty. Persida Acosta started investigating.

8. PAO’s Forensics head Doctor-Attorney Erwin Erfe, with the help of Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center pathologists, conducted autopsies and tissue tests on the victims. Aside from discovering possible signs of severe dengue, they also discovered possible signs of viscerotropism or multi-organ failure.

9. In short, PAO and Co. appear to be confirming NOT ONLY ONE BUT TWO of the side effects. That is, it appears that PAO may have accidentally discovered Dengvaxia may indeed cause multi-organ failure, aside from worsening dengue symptoms, something that’s OVER AND ABOVE what’s stated in Sanofi’s press release.

10. And what has Sanofi done about it so far? They went on a media blitz to discredit PAO, with Zuellig Family Foundation trustee and former DoH Sec Esperanza Cabral as their head cheerleader, and with a large number of doctors from the Philippine General Hospital — who are indebted to Sanofi or Zuellig in one way or another — as her back-up dancers.

And that’s the simple version of the Dengvaxia Scandal.

i leave it to DOH apologists, garin cohorts in particular, to dispute or belie any of nieto’s sequence of events.  regrettably, TP doesn’t cover two important points (off the top of my head):

one, palusot ni garin.  when pressed about why she went ahead with the mass vaccination program despite warnings by experts re sero-negatives, garin claimed with a straight face na, batay sa DOH studies, karamihan (90%) ng pilipino ay tinamaan na ng dengue at least once.  isa lang daw sa sampu (1 out of 10) ang hindi pa nagkaka-dengue.  samakatuwid, sa estima at expert opinion nila sa DOH, mas maraming pilipino, 9 out of 10, ang mabebenepisyuhan ng dengvaxia kaysa masasaktan.

ang problema, walang naniwala sa statistics na iyan, at nang hingian sila ng kopya ng DOH studies ay wala namang maipakita si garin at kanyang mga alipores.  sabi naman ng kabilang kampo, mas malamang na 50 % lang kasi ang nagka-dengue na, pero duda pa rin ako.  puwedeng ngang 50 % pero sa mga lugar lang na madalas tamaan at mataas ang incidence ng dengue, at hindi sa buong kapuluan at hindi buong taon; may pagka-seasonal ang dengue, correct me if i’m wrong.

sagot ng DOH, maaaring nagka-dengue ka na, pero mild lang, hindi mo alam na dengue na pala iyon.  ang problema, wala naman talagang monitoring system ang DOH, therefore, wala naman talagang datos.  based pala on non-existent studies.  figments of the compromised doctor’s imagination, LOL.

two, dedma kay ubial at duque.   TP unabashedly ignores what happened when duterte took over, how sec ubial wanted to stop the mass inoculation but certain HOR and Commission on Appointments members prevailed upon her to continue the program, or else.

as i said in an earlier post, the dengvaxia fiasco squarely straddles two administrations, and it would seem that, as usual, DOH’s compromised docs and peeps are circling the wagons, this time with old-hand sec duque in the lead, kind of.  alas.

and so like TP, i’m with PAO on this, and awaiting anxiously the official results of the autopsies.

dengvaxia fiasco: a curious conspiracy

curious because it straddles two administrations, aquino’s and duterte’s.  former president aquino’s DOH sec janette garin started it rolling in april 2016 (though she alleges that it was secretary enrique ona (whom she replaced) who first pushed for the use of dengvaxia.  president duterte’s first DOH sec paulyn ubial tried to stop it but she was overruled by the 17th congress, it would seem.  read A huge conspiracy by jojo robles; though known to be a ka-DDS, he does not hesitate to call out both houses of the 17th congress for refusing to heed warnings by medical professioonals.

When the current Congress opened in the middle of last year, a two-term lawmaker from Quezon province, Rep. Angelina Tan, who was also chairman of the House committee on health, started an investigation into the P3.5-billion “midnight” anti-dengue immunization program of the Aquino administration using the Dengvaxia vaccine. By February of this year, the committee of Tan, a rural doctor by profession, had completed a draft report on its probe, which contained damning findings and recommended the suspension of the program.

According to the Tan committee, the Department of Health found that 997 children vaccinated with Dengvaxia, a product of French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur, suffered “adverse effects” after being inoculated with the first of the three-dose vaccine. Fully 30 of these cases required hospitalization, the committee report said, and two of the 30 children died.

… what the House leadership of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez actually did was to stymie the Tan committee and bury its draft report. The two committees were unable to form a consensus, thereby effectively “killing” the Tan panel’s explosive findings.

Instead of suspending the implementation of the Dengvaxia program, the House even convinced Health Secretary-designate Paulyn Ubial to expand it to the Central Visayas region. Under the Aquino administration, the program had only targeted children in public schools in three regions—Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog—for inclusion in the program.

During the confirmation and budget hearings attended by Ubial, she was repeatedly pressured to widen the scope of the vaccination program, which the health secretary initially resisted on medical grounds. At the same time, a vocal anti-Ubial faction rose in the House, led by Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque (who is now spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte), among others, which Ubial decided would only stop opposing her appointment if she agreed to continue and expand the Dengvaxia immunization campaign; ironically, Ubial’s appointment was rejected by the Commission on Appointments despite her expansion of the vaccination scheme.

It is worth noting that a similar investigation started by Senator Richard Gordon on the Dengvaxia immunization program in the Senate in December last year also went nowhere. Gordon, in an interview this week, allegedly cited a lack of public interest in the case and the refusal of DoH officials led by Ubial to cooperate in the Senate probe.

read Roque hits DOH flip-flopping on dengue vaccines back in dec 2016.  read also Health professionals umalmang huwag ‘i-hostage’ ang DOH budget back in october 2016, this one naming cebu rep gwen garcia, yes, she who today assiduously argues for cj sereno’s impeachment, as leader of the pro-dengvaxia pack.

Sa ginanap na DOH budget hearing noong Setyembre, sinabi raw ng ilang mga mambabatas sa pangunguna ni Cebu Congresswoman Gwen Garcia, na hindi ipapasa ang DOH budget kung hindi isasama ang alokasyon para sa implementasyon ng mas malawakang dengue vaccine program.

Nauna nang sinabi ng DOH na itutuloy na lamang ang 2nd at 3rd doses ng vaccine para sa halos 500,000 na batang nabigyan na ng unang dose pero hindi na ito dadagdagan pa ng iba pang batch ng mga batang tuturukan ng bakuna hanggat hindi nasisiguro ng ahensya na ligtas ito.

Ito ang naging desisyon ng DOH batay na rin sa rekomedasyon ng panel of experts na kanilang binuo. Naniniwala kasi ang mga ekperto na posibleng may long-term at short-term side effects ang bakuna kaya’t kailangan pa nito nang mas masusing pag-aaral.

Iginigiit naman ng mga mambabatas, kailangan ng kanilang constituents ang vaccine.

looking forward to senate hearing tomorrow.  meron daw surprise witness from DOH.    it would be good to hear from dr. ona, too, and from spokesman harry and rep gwen na rin, please.

The Dengue Vaccine Fiasco… Papaya Leaf Juice, Anyone?

A CASE FOR ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES  

Dr. Godofredo U. Stuart

The Dengvaxia vaccine is “the biggest government funded clinical-trial-masked-as-a-public-health-program scam of an experimental drug in the history of the DOH.”

It’s a damning charge made by Dr. Susan Pineda-Mercado, former DOH undersecretary and international public health expert. it is an indictment of our health care system—the politics, the lobbying, the sway of big pharma, the conflicts of interests, and possible complicity of many in fast-tracking and green-lighting the processes of exemption, procurement and purchase of the vaccine.

Rep. Estrelita Suansing supports the charge with comments that were no less forgiving: that approval and P3B budget allocation for the vaccine purchase seemed hasty and impulsive. . . that the fund source might not have undergone Congressional scrutiny . .that the purchase was not included in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2015. Others in the medical community concurred the vaccine program had misplaced priorities, procedural lapses, and conflicts of interest.

Even after the approval was criticized as hasty and impulsive, there were signs early on that the vaccine was laden with problems. The public health community has been outraged for a year, said Dr.Mercado. Why did it take so long to take it down? Why did it have to wait for Sanofi’s confessional?

Read on…