It is unethical to market pharmaceuticals to children.
Children cannot make informed consent decisions, so it is unethical to market pharmaceuticals to children.
But that is what the Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA is doing. And his target audience is three and a half year olds. While not so subtlety taunting those who are resistant to vaccinating.
The Surgeon General met with Elmo, a three and a half year old monster, to tell him that vaccines are safe. I guess he didn't feel that a three and a half year old would understand what it meant if he said that vaccines were legally classified as "unavoidably unsafe," so that makes it OK to lie to him?
Elmo apparently believes the unethical government propaganda targeted at the the three and a half year old monster, as he shows up to the doctors office to get a shot. Note that neither Elmo or his legal guardians are given the CDC Vaccine Information Sheet that the nurse is required by law to give him or his parents before a vaccine is administered. How will Elmo know that the adverse outcomes of some vaccines include seizures, coma, paralysis, brain damage and death? What about Elmo's right to free, prior and informed consent? Did they even ask his parents any questions to screen for potential vaccine reactions?
No need... "vaccines are safe," right?
One parent whose child has had some very severe adverse reactions was a bit concerned about this turn of events, so she decided to check in on Elmo and this is what she found:
And now here's a baby with a vaccine induced seizure disorder. She had 16 of them that day.
It is unethical to market pharmaceuticals to children.
You can remind the Surgeon General of that inconvenient fact at:
https://www.facebook.com/USSurgeonGeneral
and
https://twitter.com/Surgeon_General
Update:
My comment to Murthy on his hew fb page:
"Elmo has an excuse for believing that vaccines are "safe" and can "keep you healthy." He is only three years old. You on the other hand are a responsible grown up and an MD and THE top public health official and should know that vaccines are legally classified as "unavoidably unsafe" per the US Supreme Court, and can cause serious adverse out comes including seizures, coma, paralysis, brain damage and death in some people.
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-152.pdf
Remove this unethical video. It defines propaganda to children. Three year olds are not able to participate in informed consent in medical decision making and it is UNETHICAL to direct marketing messages to them.
Further, there is an upsetting irony to this particular piece of propaganda. Many vaccine injured teens and adults, with serious brain damage and developmental disabilities, love Elmo. It is a slap in the face to those families. Especially when it ends with taunt at vaccine resistant families, "why doesn't everyone get a vaccination?" as if there was no federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program that has paid out $3 billion in damages to 4000 vaccine injury and death cases.
Vaccine injury families are suffering, few can get proper care for their children, and this rubs salt in the wounds."
Update:
Jeffrey Jaxen furthers the argument with a much less sarcastic piece:
Surgeon General Targets Children, Violates FTC & FDA laws?
Update:
Marco Cáceres remarks on how aggressive and comprehensive this vaccine push is:
Vaccines: It's Elmo's World
Updates;
Video of Elmo's regression has surfaced:
Update:
Murthy's bullshit response to parental complaints, where he doubles down that in his non qualified, false claim that vaccines are "safe."
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Responds To A We The People Petition On Vaccinations
"Hello, I’m Dr. Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General of the United States. I want to thank you for taking time to sign a “We the People” petition on the issue of mandatory vaccines.I understand you are concerned about laws that require individuals to be vaccinated, including those which require children to have certain vaccines as a prerequisite to attending public schools, group activities and daycare. I know that many of you are parents who are concerned about your children’s health and safety.When I started this job, I traveled around the country during the height of a measles outbreak and heard from parents who have deep-seated fears about the potential side-effects of vaccines. I know you want only the best for your children. I do, too. Others of you may have signed this petition because you object to the idea that government should be able to require anyone to get a vaccine. You may ask if government should be able to tell people what to inject in their bodies? That is a reasonable question to ask. I understand your fears and I appreciate your concerns. Safeguarding your rights and upholding the responsibilities of a government that is dedicated to serving its people is one of my greatest privileges and most important duties as your Surgeon General. That is why I want you to know that the evidence on the safety and benefit of vaccines is strongand consistent: Vaccines are safe and effective ways to prevent disease and death. I join healthcare leaders and public health experts from around the world in supporting childhood vaccination programs.Most of us grew up in a time when we didn’t have to live through terrible epidemics that killed millions of children and adults.We can be grateful for that. It was because of vaccines that we have been spared the tragedy of past epidemics.For example, before the development of the measles vaccine, many children contracted measles and died in the United States every year and even more were hospitalized. After the introduction of the vaccine, the number of infections and deaths dropped precipitously. Measles is a highly contagious disease. If you aren’t vaccinated and are exposed, you have a 90 percent chance of getting it.We know that measles spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It spreads so easily that if one person has it, nine out of 10 people close to that person will also become infected unless they are vaccinated or otherwise immune.In fact, you can get measles just by being in the same room as a person who has it – even several hours after that person has left.As a doctor, I know that one of the most important things people can do to protect their children from diseases like measles is to get them vaccinated.And not vaccinating your children doesn’t just affect your own kids. It affects other kids too.Consider this: some people cannot get immunized for medical reasons – for example, due to an allergic reaction or compromised immune system. And a small percentage of people won’t develop immunity even though they receive a vaccine.These children and adults who cannot receive or do not respond to vaccines rely on the rest of us to be vaccinated in order to protect them from exposure to life-threatening illnesses. It’s called “herd immunity” and it’s based on the concept that we are part of a social structure that requires us to take responsibility for one another.That is why getting vaccinated is more than an issue of personal choice or religious preference. It is also a matter of public policy, where one person’s decision affects another person’s health.Our individual liberties to live on our own terms cannot interfere with our social responsibility to protect others from harm.We inhabit this planet with more than 7 billion people. And every day, we have to make accommodations – great and small – to live and work and learn and play in the communities we share.Laws regarding vaccine requirements and exemption policies are determined by your state and local governments.Right now, all states in the U.S. require children to be vaccinated against certain communicable diseases as a condition of school attendance.There are some employers – such as health care facilities and day care centers – that require vaccinations to protect their employees as well as their customers.If you have specific questions about what vaccines to get and why, I encourage you to talk to your doctor.In recent years, there has been some inaccurate information circulating about vaccines – mostly stemming from a British study linking vaccines to autism.Please know that this study and its assertions have been repeatedly and thoroughly debunked. It’s not true and the confusion it has generated has been both dangerous and counterproductive to public health.So let me be absolutely clear: there is no link between the measles vaccine and autism. In closing, I want you to know that it is understandable to have concerns and questions about how to keep your children healthy and safe.For those of you who are parents – as I hope to be someday – you may have questions about which vaccines are being administered at a specific doctor’s visit and how to recognize and manage any potential side effects.I always encourage parents to raise these kinds of questions with their children’s health care providers who are trained and experienced in handling vaccines.When it comes to keeping our nation strong, healthy and secure, we all have a role to play. Vaccinations are one of the great triumphs of science and public policy. Through vaccines, we eliminated the scourges of polio, smallpox and so many childhood diseases that once plagued our nation.The best way to benefit from these advances in medicine is to get the necessary vaccines for you and your family.If you have further questions about this topic, please visit www.vaccines.gov. Thank you again for participating in this “We the People” petition.Our democracy works best when everyone participates in constructive public dialogue."
