World Health Organization vaccine recommendations: scientific flaws, or criminal misconduct?

In the promotion of the hepatitis B vaccination, the WHO has never been more than a screen for an undue commercial promotion, in particular via the Viral Hepatitis Prevention Board (VHPB), created, sponsored and infiltrated by the manufacturers. In Sept 1998, after the dreadful hazards of the campaign had been given their first media coverage in France, the VHPB organized a panel of “experts”, the reassuring conclusions of which were extensively given media coverage as reflecting the WHO’s position: yet some of the participants in this panel had no more “expertise” than that of being employees of the manufacturers, and the vested interests of the rest did not receive any attention.

Even more damning: in an interview published in a widely diffused French journal, Beecham’s business manager claimed with outrageous cynicism “We started increasing the awareness of the European Experts of the World Health Organization (WHO) about Hepatitis B in 1988. From then to 1991, we financed epidemiological studies on the subject to create a scientific consensus about hepatitis being a major public health problem. We were successful because in 1991, WHO published new recommendations about hepatitis B vaccination” (my italics).

It is sad news for people everywhere in the world that the WHO’s experts need manufacturers’ salesmen to become “aware” of significant health problems…

And the lesson deserves to be born in mind when the same experts of the same organisation become "aware" about the potential risks of swine flu...