this is the extract for you which is quoted in the paper. it is not all she talks about as she also refers to the pandemic response.
Why is AEFI or “VACCINE INJURY” relevant to an inquiry into Long COVID and Reinfection? There are several reasons. People who have suffered significant damage to their health from a COVID vaccine are unlikely to be able to safely have further vaccines or booster doses with current vaccines. If vaccination does confer some protection against Long COVID and reinfection, people who are unable to have further vaccinations or boosters become more vulnerable to Long COVID and to the consequences of reinfection including severe illness, complications of COVID, hospitalisation and death. The organisation of which I am a member, OzSAGE, produced a position statement IMPORTANCE OF COVID-19 VACCINATION & DEVELOPMENT OF BETTER SYSTEMS FOR MANAGEMENT OF UNCOMMON SUBSEQUENT ADVERSE EVENTS.xxiii This important document outlines the main issues and areas of the health system in need of attention, including reporting of uncommon adverse events following immunisation, follow up of reports of AEFIs, confusion about the safety of future vaccines for people affected, recognition of the impact of vaccine injury on individuals affected, the importance of research and the need for treatment protocols to be developed. It was the result of eight months of discussions and consultation. The OzSAGE document outlines the scope but not the scale of the problem because we do not know the scale of the problem. This is partly because of under-reporting and underrecognition. This is an issue that I have witnessed first-hand with my wife who suffered a severe neurological reaction to her first Pfizer vaccine within minutes, including burning face and gums, paraesethesiae, and numb hands and feet, while under observation by myself, another doctor and a registered nurse at the time of immunisation. I continue to observe the devastating effects a year and a half later with the addition of fatigue and additional neurological symptoms including nerve pains, altered sense of smell, visual disturbance and musculoskeletal inflammation. The diagnosis and causation has been confirmed by several specialists who have told me that they have seen “a lot” of patients in a similar situation. Jackie asked me to include her story to raise awareness for others. We did a lot of homework before having the vaccine, particularly about choice of vaccine at the time. In asking about adverse side effects, we were told that “the worst thing that could happen would be anaphylaxis” and that severe reactions such as myocarditis and pericarditis were “rare”. I was also diagnosed with a vaccine injury from my second dose of Pfizer vaccine in July 2021, with the diagnosis and causation confirmed by specialist colleagues. I have had CT pulmonary angiogram, ECG, blood tests, cardiac echogram, transthoracic cardiac stress echo, Holter monitor, blood pressure monitoring and autonomic testing. Inquiry into Long COVID and Repeated COVID Infections Submission 510 10 In my case the injury resulted in dysautonomia with intermittent fevers and cardiovascular implications including breathlessness, inappropriate sinus tachycardia and blood pressure fluctuations. These reactions were reported to the TGA at the time, but never followed up. I have spoken with other doctors who have themselves experienced a serious and persistent adverse event including cardiological, rheumatological, autoimmune reactions and neurological consequences. Patients and other members of the community have told me about their stories. They have had to search for answers, find GPs and specialists who are interested and able to help them, spend large amounts of money on medical investigations, isolate from friends and family, reduce work hours, lose work if they are required to attend in person and avoid social and cultural events. Within this group of vaccine injured individuals, there is a diminishing cohort of people who have symptoms following immunisation, many of which are similar to Long COVID (such as fatigue and brain fog), but who have not had a COVID infection. These people would be an important subset or control group for studies looking into the pathophysiology, causes of and treatments for Long COVID. It is possible that there is at least some shared pathophysiology between vaccine injury and Long COVID, possibly due to the effects of spike protein. A group of Greek scientists publish a good summary on the “spike”, which points to a possible mechanism of causality.xxiv Vaccine injury is a subject that few in the medical profession have wanted to talk about. Regulators of the medical profession have censored public discussion about adverse events following immunisation, with threats to doctors not to make any public statements about anything that “might undermine the government’s vaccine rollout” or risk suspension or loss of their registration.xxv “Any promotion of anti-vaccination statements or health advice which contradicts the best available scientific evidence or seeks to actively undermine the national immunisation campaign (including via social media) is not supported by National Boards and may be in breach of the codes of conduct and subject to investigation and possible regulatory action.” -Ahpr
