Brussels, 15/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - Belgian Green Paul Lannoye MEP hopes to launch a genuine European-wide debate on vaccine policy and promote the freedom of choice of patients in relation to a method of prevention placed into question by certain medical practitioners and scientists, whereas it remains strongly supported by the official doctrine. Mr. Lannoye recalls that the health situation varies little from one country to the next in Europe, whereas certain Member states continue to impose compulsory vaccinations which, in others, have been left up to patient choice. Some studies refer, without for that demonstrating, to possible correlations between vaccines and disturbances to the immune system that can give rise to certain pathologies. Other problems could be linked to the reactions of organisms or certain additives or impurities present in the injectable solution, but little research in currently being conducted on these different problems, stresses the Ecolo MEP, pleading in favour of the creation of a European pharmacy-vigilance centre, especially devoted to vaccines. Lannoye is also concerned at the consequences and annual injections of vaccines against flu, for which he recalls that they have a very relative effect due to the large variety of the viral strains. Finally, he hopes that the WHO and the EU will review the vaccine programmes they are developing for developing countries. While questioning the effectiveness of this policy, he stresses that it is far from resolving the large health problems facing the populations of these countries and should not only service to ease consciences.
A Colloquium organised by the Greens in the European Parliament allowed for an initial confrontation between the defenders of the vaccine and its detractors. Among the former was Doctor Luc Hessel (Aventis Pasteur) who considered the vaccination prevented 3,000,0000 deaths and 800,000 disabilities a year. He regretted that attention should today be focused on secondary effects of vaccines to the risk of seeing a loss of "vaccine vigilance" and the re-emergence of certain diseases. For him, as for Doctor John Clements (WHO), it is primordial to maintain and even extend vaccine cover throughout the world. Several doctors, on the other hand, doubted the effectiveness of vaccines. Thus, Doctor Gerhard Buchwald (Artztlichen Berarter des Schutzverbandes fur Impfgeschadigte) cited an WHO survey in Germany from 1968 to 1979 on the effects of a vaccine campaign by the BCG, which concluded that not only had there been no protector effect but the incidence of tuberculosis increased in the regions concerned. As for the decline of tuberculosis in Germany it is said in fact to coincide with the filtering of drinking water. The French biologist Michel Georget explained that smallpox had not been eradicated by mass vaccination but by those stricken being isolated. He is concerned at three specific dangers linked to vaccines: (1) their potential contamination by viruses, sometimes that cannot be detected (he cited the hepatitus B virus transmitted to thousands of American soldiers when being injected with the vaccine against yellow fever, the SV40 virus transmitted in the 70s by an anti-polio vaccine); (2) the risks of cell deregulation linked to the presence of fragments of DNA in certain re-combined vaccines; (3) the use of toxic additives such as aluminium or mercury. The Belgian Doctor Kris Gaublomme referred to many cases of self-immune diseases that appeared after a vaccine and Doctor Paul Shattuck (director of the research unit on autism at the University of Sunderland in the UK) referred to a "more than likely" link between the MMR vaccine (mumps-measles and rubella) and a spectacular increase in cases of autism in the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom.