Last week, an animal vaccine was voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer following eight reports of adverse events and one death in vaccinated dogs.
Vet and Queensland president of the Australian Veterinary Association Ben Brightman reportedly said of the recall,
“With these reports of these illnesses after the vaccine, they’re just being cautious,” and, “We still don’t have evidence that the vaccine has caused these. But there is just that sort of time correlation with it.”
In response to the news, Covid vaccine injured scientist and founder of injured support non-profit COVERSE Rado Faletic posted to X, “Why are our drug safety agencies treating us worse than dogs?”
As it stands, there are nearly 140,000 adverse events and over 1,000 deaths reported in relation to Covid vaccines in the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) pharmacovigilance database, the DAEN.
These products remain either provisionally or fully approved, even AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria, which is responsible for 13 of the 14 deaths that the TGA admits are “likely to be related” to Covid vaccination.
Nor have any of the manufacturers taken it upon themselves to officially recall their products following reported deaths. Of all the Covid vaccines, AstraZeneca’s is the only one no longer available in Australia in any form (others have been superseded by new versions targeted at evolving strains).
However, a TGA spokesperson advised earlier this year that the reason Vaxzevria is no longer available is simply because the product expired, and AstraZeneca opted not to make any more. AstraZeneca did not respond to request for comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, the TGA maintains that despite over 1,000 reported deaths, “The protective benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks.”
Aside from the questionable accuracy of this statement, it appears we have a distinct lack of humanity in the Australian bureaucracy responsible for vaccine safety.
A professional development scheme requiring TGA bureaucrats to attend a Forest of the Fallen at least annually would likely be most beneficial, both for the bureaucrats and the public who bear the consequences of their decision making.
The Forest is a roving pop-up vigil honouring the injured and the deceased by displaying their picture and story on placards. Passers-by can wander through the Forest reading stories, free to engage with the volunteers who put it up, or to move through in silence.
Putting faces to the numbers in the DAEN database may assist TGA representatives in at least maintaining the appearance of caring about injured Australians as much as vets and drug manufacturers care about the wellbeing of Australian dogs.
Rebekah Barnett reports from Western Australia. Follow her work on Substack at Dystopian Down Under.
