Pregnant workers told take COVID jab, while Pfizer data release shows death risk to babies
Pregnant workers told take COVID jab, while Pfizer data release shows death risk to babies
[WATCH] Pregnant staff told "take vax or lose job" in leaked QLD Health video from September 2021
FAST FACTS
Court-ordered release of Pfizer COVID vaccine data reveals risk of stillbirth, neonatal death and clots in babies
Pfizer insisted confidential data provided to US FDA to obtain provisional license should not be made public for 75 years
Latest documents released list 1,291 different adverse events in mums and infants
Bombshell internal video of Gold Coast Health and Hospital bosses shows executives downplaying safety fears of pregnant workers
Staff told pregnancy not an exemption.
Employee undergoing IVF told getting jabbed "might even be better" for her when compared with getting COVID.
[UPDATED] Originally published March 9, 2022
Four of Gold Coast Health’s top bureaucrats were on camera giving potentially harmful advice to pregnant staff members about the safety of the Pfizer vaccine in September 2021.
The video appeared on social media just days after Pfizer was forced to release a 55,000 page set of documents including a 38-page report listing 1,291 different adverse events following vaccination including neonatal death.
Staff told “pregnancy not an exemption”
Employee undergoing IVF told vaccine "might even be better" for her when compared with getting COVID
Latest documents released list 1,291 different adverse events in mums and infants
Pfizer COVID vaccine data reveals risk of stillbirth, neonatal death and clots in babies
In the video chief executive of the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS), Ron Calvert, and three of his most senior executives downplayed staff's concerns over the safety of the vaccines despite a series of questions from pregnant staff who were concerned they could not obtain an exemption until after the birth.
The list of effects on babies included nearly 60 different types of herpes affecting eyes and genitalia.
Other Adverse Reactions
Clots
Foetal Distress Syndrome
Epileptic seizures
Pneumonia
Low birth weight
Blood disorders (leukopenia, neutropenia and lymphocytopenia)
Frequent chronic bacterial infections of the skin, lungs, throat known as granulocytopenia
Brain infections (Meningoencephalitis herpes)
Autoimmune disorders (Myasthenia gravis neonatal), and, congenital heart disorders (Neonatal lupus erythematosus)
Page 12 of the Pfizer report reveals that out of 270 vaccinated pregnant mothers being monitored, 23 suffered spontaneous abortions and 75 reported serious clinical events including 2 stillbirths and one neonatal death.
Foetal growth restriction and premature births were also noted as serious events in Pfizer's data.
GCHHS CEO Mr Calvert, who obtained a degree in zoology from a British university in 1982, is seen on video chairing a panel fielding explosive medical-related questions from anxious health workers, while flanked by Jeremy Wellwood the executive director of medical services, Paula Duffy the executive director of integrated and ambulatory care services, and HR director Grant Brown.
In one exchange, an employee undergoing fertility treatment asked if she could receive an exemption from taking the vaccine until her treatment is completed.
Mr Wellwood insisted she was not entitled to an exemption and tells her to talk to one of his “experts”.
"You might find that this is in fact much better for you to be vaccinated than run the risk of getting Covid," Mr Wellwood said.
Another employee asked, "If I'm forced to have the vaccine while pregnant when I don't want to, and something happens to my baby because of it, what rights do I have and is anyone liable for this as it wasn't a free choice? An employee asked.
Mr Wellwood refused to address the liability question, instead justifying the Queensland Health mandate, claiming it was based on "clear medical advice" from the TGA and ATAGI both of which he said had "absolutely recommended" it for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
He added: "But... it is a choice and of course it always will be, but it is also clear, given that clear medical advice we have, that it won't be a category of medical exemption.
"It won't make you exempt from the requirement under Queensland Health, but of course it is a choice."
Ms Duffy is also heard to say on video: "Can I just add the most common side-effects are the very local side-effects. It is highly unlikely people will get a severe reaction.
"It does happen but it's very unlikely," Ms Duffy said.
Another employee told the panel that "[Federal Health Minister] Greg Hunt was on public record stating “the COVID-19 vaccine is experimental”. He then asked, “What's the approved legal status of the vaccine and is the vaccine experimental?"
"The vaccine is not experimental,” Mr Wellwood said.
”As Paula said, these vaccines have literally been given to billions of people around the world.
"We have many strong regulatory processes in Australia, the TGA, we've got the technical advisory group that advises the government. This is no longer experimental, it's licensed, it's approved for use, there's probably not much more I can say."
A number of questions were raised about the ethics of Queensland Health deploying power disparities to coerce staff into taking the vaccines, but were dismissed by the panel.
One Gold Coast Health worker asked: "I firmly believe I will be exposed to an unreasonable level of harm for which no suitable remedy, compensation or indemnification exists. Will Queensland Health accept responsibility if I'm injured from a vaccine I don't want to take and feel I'm being forced into?"
Mr Wellwood again refused to address the issue directly, saying only: "I think if you really choose not to have the vaccine for whatever reason, it needs to be your personal choice. Did you [Grant Brown] have anything you wanted to add to that?"
Mr Brown also refused to address the questioner's point head-on: "I think it's the same as some of the other previous responses. It is personal choice for those individuals. And if they choose to wait. Sorry, if they choose not to have a vaccination, that is their choice."
Queensland Health employees were also referred to a fact sheet produced by Clinical Excellence Queensland, titled "COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy" purportedly to support employees with pregnancy-related concerns about taking the vaccine.
The QLD Health document states: "Real-world evidence has shown that Pfizer Comirnaty and Moderna Spikevax are safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding" and goes on to say that AstraZeneca can also be considered by pregnant women.
Clinical Excellence Queensland was previously headed up by Dr John Wakefield, the outgoing director-general of Queensland Health, whose departure was announced in an email to staff by Health Minister Yvette D'Ath late on Friday 4 March.
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