An analysis of data & databases available to the Canadian Public
The Vaccine Safety Report is the third VCC report concerned with our Canadian surveillance systems for tracking suspected vaccine related injuries. We have broadened our scope of inquiry in this report to include other vaccine related information that citizens require to make informed decisions regarding vaccination.
We conclude that adverse events are being significantly under reported in Canada at a rate closer to 1% of actual events, than the 10% reporting rate claimed for the Canadian databases. We also compare and contrast certain information from the United Kingdom and Switzerland to Canadian information. We conclude that Canada’s public information related to vaccine safety is barely useful in making informed vaccine decisions, and we offer some solutions for the public and for the medical establishment.
Most Canadians assume a “robust” surveillance system exists in Canada for monitoring adverse reactions/events following vaccination. This surveillance data is used to reassure politicians, the public and health professionals that vaccines are safe. Further, there is an assumption that this information is readily available to the public to assist them in making an informed decision about vaccinations. We find these assumptions to be incorrect.
The data on vaccine-related injuries is largely unavailable for public scrutiny. Additionally, the data tracking and collection of adverse reactions/events following vaccinations in Canada is seriously flawed in both quality and quantity. The fractured reporting systems do not offer the public any understanding of how many total reported incidents are occurring, nor how these reported incidents relate to the actual number of incidents occurring.
This investigative report on Canada’s surveillance of and reporting on suspected vaccine-related injuries includes discussion of information and data that are critical to making informed medical decisions regarding vaccines, yet remain unavailable to Canadians, though not necessarily to citizens of other countries.
The most significant revelations of this report are the following:
- The Canada Vigilance (CV) Database, overseen by MedEffectTM Canada, despite being billed as publicly accessible, is not usable in any meaningful way by the public. The new Vaccine Safety Reviews are too brief to offer meaningful information to the public.
- The Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS) database, overseen by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), is seriously under-reporting adverse events in Canada. Further, reports on the data select only certain information for release to the public.
- Informed consent to vaccination is not achieved due to the current lack of information or quality of information available to Canadians.
Read the full Vaccine Safety Report by VCC Researcher Nelle Maxey in PDF (with hyperlinks) format here.
Vaccine Merry-Go-Round (pdf)
VCC Vaccine Safety Reports
Report on the Canada Vigilance Database- What the Public Sees – by Nelle Maxey – April 2015
Update Report on the Canadian Adverse Events Databases by Nelle Maxey – Summer 2015
Vaccine Safety Report 2 – An analysis of 2015 Adverse Events Data & Databases by Nelle Maxey – November 2016
Vaccine Safety Report 3 – An analysis of 2016 Adverse Events Data & Databases by Nelle Maxey – June 2018
Review of the 2018 CAEFISS Summary Report by Nelle Maxey – October 2018
Vaccine Safety Report 7 – Protecting Vaccines or Protecting Children? By Nelle Maxey – February 2019
Further reading:
Nelle writes to the Canadian Health Minister:
Unexplained Delays in Canadian Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting – From February 2018
“Vaccine Choice Canada is deeply concerned that the public reporting of adverse events by both PHAC and MedEffect™ Canada are for unexplained reasons in hiatus. We appeal to you to look into this matter and explain why this hiatus has occurred as it directly affects the ability of the Canadian public to make informed decisions regarding vaccines.”
