Episodes
Tuesday Jan 20, 2015
Episode 45: Wayne Rohde and the US 'Vaccine Court' - 01.20.15
Tuesday Jan 20, 2015
Tuesday Jan 20, 2015
David speaks with Wayne Rohde about “The Vaccine Court”, the title of his 2014 book, and the common name for the pseudo-legal tribunal of the US National Vaccine Injury Program. The Vaccine Court began in October 1988 as a way to transfer responsibility for compensation to the US government, away from pharmaceutical companies. This followed massive compensation award to victims of the DPT vaccine, and also the mid-1970s Swine Flu vaccination program. The Vaccine Court is funded by a small fee attached to each vaccine sold.
Wayne describes many of the problems with the Vaccine Court, including a cap on compensation, the lack of publicity (even though it’s mandated by legislation) and the relatively short time period after vaccination during which a petition can be made. Perhaps the major problem is the gradual removal of conditions from the list of side effects associated with each vaccine, which forces people, often parents, into a more legalistic process, involving lawyers and high costs.
Over the years compensation has become more and more difficult to obtain. This leaves parents, in particular, forced to try to manage the 24-hour care for seriously injured children on their own, worrying about the future of their child when they pass on. Wayne Rohde speaks personally about this, being the father of a vaccine-injured son, who is now 17 years old. They realized that the problem was vaccine induced too late to get compensation, so the costs of daily assistance with their son is borne completely by them.
Tuesday Jan 13, 2015
Lisa Bloomquist on Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics - 01.13.15
Tuesday Jan 13, 2015
Tuesday Jan 13, 2015
Lisa Bloomquist is someone who believes she was injured by fluoroquinolone antibiotics, of which the most famous one is Cipro. She struggled to recognize the strange but serious symptoms this formerly very active woman had. She reached out to others having similar problems, and she did a lot of scientific research as well. One she started to reclaim her health she began collating the stories of many other people, and trying to raise awareness of the problems these antibiotics can cause.
Lisa believes that there are poorly studied interactions between the medications and other drugs. Because the drug is so tightly bound by the body, the side effects can occur quite some time after the antibiotics are taken.
Lisa and David talk about what the fluoroquinolone antibiotics are, why they were designed, how they work, what side effects there are, and why she chose to focus on her own health rather than suing the drug company (hint: it probably wouldn’t have been possible anyway).
For more information please see the websites http://fqwallofpain.com, http://floxiehope.com and http://saferpills.org
Wednesday Jan 07, 2015
Jim West on Ultrasound and West Nile Virus - 01.06.14
Wednesday Jan 07, 2015
Wednesday Jan 07, 2015
Jim West is a New York based activist who has critically studied a number of medical issues, including environmental causes for Polio and West Nile Virus. More recently, for a book he is writing, he has investigated whether ultrasound is safe and effective, and has concluded that there is evidence that neither are true, the 5 MHz vibrations, far outside the range of normal sounds, are associated with neurological deficits, such as autism. It is also unnecessary for most women, as problems can be diagnosed in other ways, and he believes it should be reserved for times when it is the only diagnostic tool available. David and Jim also talk about the 1999 West Nile Virus epidemic in North America, which he associated with the use of MTBE a gasoline “oxygenator” which, at that time, constituted up to 15% of the fuel purchased, depending on the time of the year. The disease hit birds near highways, and already sick old people, at a time of the year when the temperature made air quality worst.
For more information consult Jim’s website: http://harvoa.org