Appeal by Australian hardliner with vaccine damage: 'We are not anti-vaxxers'

by Rachel Clun (Sydney Morning Herald)
Updated on December 20, 2022 – 6:40 p.m. first published at 6:28 p.m.

Former federal MP Dr Kerryn Phelps says she and her partner have suffered vaccine injuries and is calling for testing for long-term COVID and vaccine injuries, as well as more research into the long-term damage of the coronavirus and the side effects of immunisation.

[The Red Team wasn't there]

Hardliner Phelps explained that, until there were vaccines in place to prevent transmission, strong public health messages and measures were needed to protect the vulnerable — including people with existing health conditions and people who would not be able to get the vaccine.

In a contribution to an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into long COVID, Phelps said she and her wife were both injured after receiving COVID vaccinations. She said her wife, Jackie Stricker-Phelps, suffered from long-term symptoms such as persistent nerve pain and fatigue after her first injection, while Phelps herself developed symptoms such as respiratory distress and irregular blood pressure after her second jab.

In an interview, the former president of the Australian Medical Association and doctor said more research is vital to understanding both the disease and vaccine damage as the pandemic continues.

"People who have injuries from vaccines are not anti-vaxxers because they have been vaccinated. They want to protect themselves from the serious consequences of COVID," she said.

[Boiler plate text about The Risks outweigh... blah blah]

The Australian government's Therapeutic Goods Administration website says vaccination against COVID-19 is the most effective way to reduce deaths and serious illnesses from the infection and that the protective benefits of vaccination "far outweigh" the potential risks.

The institute says COVID-19 vaccines, like all drugs, can cause some side effects, including injection site reactions, headache, muscle aches, fever and chills, and monitors and investigates reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination, especially in younger age groups.

[Lots of Long COVID though!]

In the week to Dec. 13, nearly 111,700 COVID cases were reported [working top he those vaccines], an average of nearly 16,000 cases per day. Hospitalizations rose 8.9% in the same week to a seven-day moving average of nearly 3,300.

Phelps said a "significant number" of people were suffering from long-term COVID and it was clear that reinfection was a serious risk factor. In her statement, she pointed to estimates by the World Health Organization that 10 to 20 percent of people who contract COVID have persistent symptoms.

"We are facing a catastrophic toll on disability due to prolonged COVID with broad implications for families, the community, the health system, the workforce, the economy and all levels of government," she said in her statement.

"People suffering from long-term COVID, people who are medically vulnerable despite vaccination, and people who can no longer be vaccinated are carrying an unfair burden of the pandemic because it can spread through the community in the absence of effective public health measures."

Phelps said the current response to the pandemic could include not only vaccines, but also better ventilation in schools, a zero-transmission approach for hospitals, mandatory isolation periods, access to better masks and better public health messaging.

[Long Covid is very bad and so is that other one]

Nearly three years after the first case of COVID was discovered in Australia, Phelps said recognition of long-term COVID is still on the rise and it will also take time to better understand the Vaccine injuries. It noted in its contribution that the symptoms of vaccine injury resemble prolonged COVID, including brain fog and fatigue.

"These people would be an important subgroup or control group for studies on the pathophysiology, causes, and treatments of long-term COVID," she wrote.

In the interview, Phelps said it's vital to figure out how people suffering from the long-term consequences of long-term COVID and vaccine injuries can be treated.

"One of the things we have to do is make sure we get tests, we don't have specific studies, that will say this is the long COVID test, whether this is the vaccine damage test," she said.

More than 64 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country, as of Nov. 16, and since December 2021, people injured by a vaccine can file a claim through the vaccine claims scheme. A Services Australia spokesman said the department has received 3100 applications as of Nov. 23, and 79 applications have been approved for claims totaling $3.9 million.

"The review process can be complex, and applications can also be independently reviewed by medical and other qualified experts," the spokesperson said.

Phelps was number 510 out of 531 in the parliamentary health committee's inquiry into long-term COVID and repeated COVID infections, chaired by Labor Dr. Mike Freelander. Phelps said the study was a "real opportunity" for an informed conversation about plans for the future with the coronavirus.