November 23, 2001

The federal government via the Centers for Disease Control is asking states to draft legislation that would circumvent the Constitution in the event of a communicable disease.  For example, in California Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Sun Valley, is reported to be drafting legislation that would implement forced quarantine, confiscation of property and control and closure of pharmacies and health facilities, upon order of politicians who control state health departments, not local health authorities.  All that is needed is for the governor of a state to declare a state of public health emergency for these laws to be put into force.  There would be no time for the citizenry to check on the validity of a state of emergency. 

The public should be informed of the following:

1.   There has been a communicable viral disease in the US since the 1980s for which there is no vaccine and only recently has any effective drug therapy been available, yet there was never a call for quarantine, confiscation of property, etc.  That disease is AIDS.

2.   Smallpox has been eradicated from the earth since 1977.  But the Federal government ordered smallpox vaccine in April of 2001, long before there was any overt terrorist attack upon the US.

3.   The entire world stock of smallpox virus is in the control of Russia and the United States, which means there is greater likelihood of it being used by politicians to exert control over a population than from any so-called terrorist sources.  Any bioterrorist is likely to infect himself, and the disease may encircle the earth and infect the terrorists’ homeland, so it is not a targeted biological weapon.

4.   The report of 30% mortality rates and widespread cross-infection is only a worst-case scenario.  Steven Milloy at www.junkscience.com reports that the idea that one infected person with smallpox will infect 10 others is simply overstated.  Most smallpox outbreaks have been small and in one study of 161 persons, 12 whom had face-to-face contact with a smallpox-infected person, none acquired the disease.

5.   Since 1949 there hasn’t been a single case of smallpox in the US but the disease hadn’t been totally eradicated from the planet till 1977.  Vaccination rates were not 100%, so what kept Americans from coming down with smallpox in an era when there were many immigrants entering the US from foreign lands where smallpox was rampant at the time?  The answer may lie in the fact we are a well fed population and our foods are fortified with vitamins, a practice that began in the 1940s.  The medical literature indicates nutrients such as selenium, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin E may thwart viral infection and boost the immune system better than vaccines.

6.   A simple case of chicken pox in its early stages can be mistaken for smallpox even by the best experts, and an undue panic set off in the population at large.  There is no current treatment for smallpox, but if exposed individuals are vaccinated within 4 days they can avoid the disease.  Public health authorities could force the population to roll up their sleeves and get inoculated in a 4-day period over a mistaken case of the chicken pox.

7.   The World Health Organization advises against smallpox vaccination because of the horrible side effects.  More people may die of the vaccine than the disease.  Should the entire population be inoculated (the federal government has ordered enough vaccine for 300 million people), then an estimated 300 would die, thousands would experience brain inflammation (encephalitis), most children would experience fever over 102 degrees, and 30 percent of the population would experience swelling of their lymph glands.  A large percentage of the population has compromised immune systems and cannot safely be vaccinated (those with organ transplants, eczema, diabetics, the elderly, small children, patients undergoing chemotherapy, etc.). 

8.   The prospect of politicians being put in control of quarantine camps smacks of concentration camps.  Most likely vaccination confirmation cards would be required for employment and travel, which would smack of a national ID card.  In the past, people with confirmed communicable disease were confined to their homes, not to quarantine camps.

Current health laws are adequate and local health authorities prevent the misuse of authority by federal and state politicians.  Any legislation should be rejected.

Bill Sardi

President

Knowledge of Health, Inc.

San Dimas, California