SOME medical experts, scientists and rights groups have sounded warnings to the government to halt its Covid-19 vaccination campaign immediately, citing devastating side-effects among patients.
They accused the government, in court documents, of disregarding the wellbeing of millions of South Africans by driving Covid-19 vaccination programmes, in spite of not properly investigating the efficacy and safety of administered vaccines.
They claimed that authorities had ignored people who suffered debilitating and serious side effects through vaccine injuries, harassed outspoken medics and were engaged in data scrubbing and other irregularities to water down the impact the jabs had on South Africans.
The Covid Care Alliance, Transformative Health Justice (THJ) and Free the Children, three non-profit companies, have filed a case on an urgent basis, in the Pretoria High Court this month.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaala, his department’s acting director, Dr Nicholas Crisp, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and National Treasury have been listed as the respondents.
The applicants said coupled with the findings that have emerged and their “conscience”, in addition to the doctors who have taken their Hippocratic Oath, they could not keep silent on a “life and death” issue like Covid-19 vaccines.
Around February last year, 70 doctors endorsed the THJ’s letter to SAHPRA and the Department of Health, (DoH), outlining their concerns about adverse Covid-19 effects, but was apparently ignored. THJ now has the support of nearly 200 doctors.
Shabnam Mohamed, the founder of THJ, who filed an affidavit on behalf of THJ said they launched an independent Covid-19 shot reporting platform (SA Vaccine Adverse Events Report System, an independent, public interest body) in May 2021, and, via its various electronic platforms, received 1097 reports from families of deceased or people with Covid-19 vaccine injuries.
The platforms essentially gave victims and survivors a voice and enhanced transparency through their questionnaire, Mohamed said.
The survey’s youngest participant was 13 and the oldest 96.
Some of the other findings were 6 244 negative vaccine effects, including 94 deaths, of which, 32% died within 14 days of being jabbed.
Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest adverse effects, Mohamed said it was possibly due to those provinces receiving contaminated/risky vials of vaccine.
Mohamed said they noticed many of the affected people were generally not well-informed about the jab, its effects, and that they could make compensation claims when injured.
She said Dr Jessica Rose, a Canadian researcher and data science expert, who, since 2020, focused on VAERS data, analysed the SA VAERS and noticed “severe underreporting of adverse effects from vaccines”.
Mohamed said the higher prevalence of underreporting was due to illness, lack of awareness, mistrust in government systems, many South Africans were poor, and might not have access to data, electricity and smartphones.
She noticed that July 2021 was the last occasion that the DoH released mortality data to the public.
Usually, vaccine development took about 10 years before it reached the production and distribution stage, but Mohamed said the Covid-19 jabs were in use after 10 months.
“It has come to our attention that four local children, under the age of five, were unlawfully and recklessly injected, and sanctioned and promoted by the respondents.
“It is evident the respondents have no genuine interest in or control over the safety of children or adults regarding the Covid-19 shots.
“Instead of listening to ethical doctors, they listen to their funders.
Mohamed said it seemed like SAHPRA were “covering up such cases” by “fudging” statistical data as their website showed no data for adverse effects in the 0-11 age group.
“Therefore, the respondents cannot be trusted with approving, injecting, monitoring babies, children and adults with the experimental injections,” she said.
Mohamed was wary that some pharmaceutical companies had serious allegations of corrupt practices hanging over their heads.
She suggested a commission of inquiry be convened into issues raised by the applicants.
Stephanus de Wet Oosthuizen, a Tongaat-based general practitioner with 45 years of experience and a member of the Covid Care Alliance, submitted an affidavit.
Oosthuizen said a key objective for the court action was to compel the respondents to conduct a joint, detailed investigation (including the applicants’ nominated experts) into the medical and scientific safety of the Covid-19 vaccines.
He said investigations would give insight into the “rare medical conditions” witnessed by him and various doctors around the country when consulting people vaccinated for Covid-19.
Oosthuizen was puzzled by analysis of blood samples of vaccinated people showing “concerning changes” to its structure, which experts cannot explain, including the presence of “foreign black objects”.
Medical conditions that came upon some “young and healthy” people, and death in some instances, startled Oosthuizen
In praying for an urgent interim order, which would benefit millions of people, Oosthuizen said they hoped it would result in the respondents ceasing and desisting from promoting Covid-19 vaccines as safe and effective and inviting the public to get vaccinated.
They also wanted vaccinations halted, including for children in the 5-11 age group.
He deemed it “unethical” by the respondents to “encourage innocent people to to get the jab, under guise there was government compensation when they got injured”.
Oosthuizen said a contrary court outcome would cause “irreparable harm” and catastrophic implications.
“My colleagues and I believe our Hippocratic Oath and ethical beliefs do not allow us to be silent in the face of obvious danger to people,” he said.
Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to the president, and Yuven Gounden, the SAHPRA’s spokesperson, said they could not comment on a court matter.
Foster Mohale, the DoH’s spokesperson said they would respond legally and clearly state their case.
“Anyone with allegations should simply provide evidence to support that,” said Mohale.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE