Vaccination committees provide advice to governments on vaccine products and ‘recommend’ the addition of new vaccine products to national vaccination schedules.

These groups wield enormous power.   The members of these groups are part of a process of that can result in mandating of medical interventions for healthy people.  The decisions they make affect not only children and adults in their own countries, but can also impact internationally as the ripple effect of their decisions spreads to other countries.

As the decisions of these vaccination committees also result in massive sales of vaccine products for vaccine manufacturers, it is vital that the process of adding vaccine products to national vaccination schedules is open and transparent, and that any potential ‘conflicts of interest’ are accessible for public perusal.

For example, a register detailing the history of any relationships with the vaccine industry, e.g. directorships, consultancies, research grants, honorariums etc, plus any shareholdings in vaccine companies, must be publicly accessible.  If a member indicates they have no potential conflicts of interest, this must be clearly recorded.

At this time, publicly accessible information on potential conflicts of interest is severely lacking.  This is a matter I am continuing to investigate, see for example my post: UPDATE: Conflicts of interest and ‘the science of immunisation’.

Here are some committees/groups who are influential on vaccination policy:

Australia:

• The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) “provides advice to the Minister for Health on the Immunise Australia Program and other related issues. In addition to technical experts, ATAGI’s membership includes a consumer and general practitioners”.[1]  There is a concerning lack of transparency about this group as membership of ATAGI was not publicly known until 2012.  There are no disclosure statements on the ATAGI webpage, so it is unclear if any members of ATAGI have any potential conflicts of interest.  (I have correspondence with the Australian Federal Health Minister’s office on these matters commencing in November 2011.)  See my email to then Chair of ATAGI, Terry Nolan, (11 March 2013)  challenging the government mandated arbitrary second dose of the live Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR) vaccine; and enquiring about public access to conflict of interest information for ATAGI members.

• The Australian Academy of Science is also influential on vaccination practice in Australia.[2]  As noted on the Australian Government’s Department of Health and Ageing ‘Immunise Australia Program’ website “The Australian Academy of Science has produced ‘The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers’ to explain to the general public the scientific basis of immunisation and address common misconceptions. This easy to understand booklet will reassure people of the safety and effectiveness of immunising themselves and their family.”[3]  The Department of Health and Ageing provided financial support to prepare the publication.[4]  Professor Ian Frazer and Professor Tony Basten are co-chairs of the Working Group for this publication.  The Oversight Committee is chaired by Sir Gus Nossal.[5]  Professor Frazer was a prominent supporter of the then Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek’s announcement in 2012 that HPV vaccination was to be extended to boys.[6]  Professor Frazer’s ‘message of support’ for government funding of the national HPV vaccine program for boys was published on the Immunise Australia Program website.[7]  There was no acknowledgement in Professor Frazer’s ‘message of support’ that, as co-inventor of the technology enabling the HPV vaccines, he receives royalties from their sale in the developed world.[8]  Since December 2012 I have requested access to conflicts of interest disclosure statements for academics associated with ‘The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers’.  Despite assurances that steps were being taken to address this matter, conflict of interest information is still not accessible on the The Science of Immunisation webpage.  See my webpage on The Australian Academy of Science for my record of correspondence on this matter.

United Kingdom:

• The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation “advises UK health departments on immunisation”.[9]

United States:

• The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) “is a group of medical and public health experts that develops recommendations on how to use vaccines to control diseases in the United States. The recommendations stand as public health advice that will lead to a reduction in the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases and an increase in the safe use of vaccines and related biological products”.[10]  See my letter to the US ACIP challenging the US government mandated arbitrary second dose of the live Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR) vaccine

I am persevering in my efforts to seek transparency and accountability for vaccination policy and practice from these committees.

References:  (Links active as at 18 September 2013.)

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[1] Immunisation Advisory Bodies: Immunise Australia Program. Australian Government of Health and Ageing: http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/advisory-bodies

[2] The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers. Australian Academy of Science: http://science.org.au/policy/immunisation.html

[3] Immunise Australia Program. Australian Government of Health and Ageing: http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/

[4] The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers. Australian Academy of Science: http://science.org.au/policy/immunisation.html

[5] Ibid.

[6] “HPV Vaccine Extended for Boys”. The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for Health. Media Release, 12 July 2012: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/mr-yr12-tp-tp059.htm

[7] MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM PROFESSOR IAN FRAZER AC (creator of the HPV vaccine). Funding of national HPV vaccine program for boys. 12 July 2012. Published on the Immunise Australia website: http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/home/$file/Frazer-message-of-support.pdf

[8] An article by Ian Frazer promoting HPV vaccination, published on The Conversation website on 10 July 2012, includes a Disclosure Statement which states: “Ian Frazer as co-inventor of the technology enabling the HPV vaccines receives royalties from their sale in the developed world.” See “Catch cancer? No thanks, I’d rather have a shot!”: http://theconversation.com/catch-cancer-no-thanks-id-rather-have-a-shot-7568  As at 18 September 2013, similar disclosure has not been made on the Australian Academy of Science website http://www.science.org.au/policy/immunisation.html nor in the publication The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers.

[9] Gov.uk. Policy Advisory Group. Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation: https://elizabethhart.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=490&action=edit

[10] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/about.html