Kerryn Phelps "Bombshell"

Former AMA President tells of vax injuries

The media are calling it a “bombshell” - but only because most journalists have spent the past 18 months with eyes closed and hands over their ears.

Former Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps has told how she and her partner are suffering ongoing ill health after taking the Covid vaccine.

Wait. What? Is this left wing lesbian Kerryn Phelps?

Don’t tell me she’s actually a right wing cooker? A conspiracy theorist? An anti-vaxxer? A dangerous nut job who has no right to speak?

That’s what many of us were called when we raised concerns about the vaccine, or simply refused to take it over doubts about its safety.

“Bombshell!” screamed Network 10’s The Studio program who featured Phelps yesterday morning.

Of course, those who have been ignored and/or demonised by the media for trying to raise this exact subject will roll their eyes and, rightly, ask: where was the media curiosity 6 months ago, 12 months ago, 18 months ago?

Many will also ask why Phelps didn’t speak out sooner.

Imagine how different life could have been for many people if Phelps, with her considerable power, had spoken out earlier.

Better late that never.

Phelps, a doctor herself, has been a vocal proponent of masks and vaccines.

But in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into long Covid, Phelps wrote that her partner, Jackie Stricker-Phelps, had suffered nerve pain and fatigue since her first Covid vaccination.

Phelps said she herself had experiencing breathlessness and irregular blood pressure since her second shot.

“We obviously did a lot of homework about the vaccines and went along to have the vaccines because we believed that on the balance of risks and benefits that was the best thing to do,” she said.

“Within minutes of having the vaccine, [Jackie] had a quite severe reaction with numbness of the hands and feet, tingling all over her body, her head feeling like it was going to explode [with] pain. And then over the weeks and months following that, the condition continued.”

Phelps said they saw a numerous specialists and “the conclusion was that she had had an injury related to the vaccine”.

“I went back and had the second vaccine thinking that, you know, it is a rare reaction and again on the balance of risks and benefits [it was worth it]. And in my case I developed a reaction where my blood pressure, my pulse rate and my temperature was going up and down all over the place, with some quite distressing symptoms and persisting for quite some time over a period of many months.”

Dr Phelps said she had since been diagnosed with vaccine-related dysautonomia.

“Over the process of the last one-a-half years or so, I have also spoken to a number of colleagues who have had vaccine adverse events themselves, patients who have had vaccine adverse events,” she said.

Phelps admission prompted ABC journalist Eleni Roussos to tweet: 

“I want to say I too have been in a living hell with pericarditis because of the Covid vaccine. Vaccine injuries are real and serious and I sincerely hope more people will speak up.”

In her submission to parliament, Phelps criticised the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for not properly following up reports of vaccine injuries.

And she slammed the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) for threatening doctors who spoke about Covid vaccines injuries.

“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,” she wrote in her parliamentary submission.

The AHPRA warned in March 2021 that anyone who sought to “undermine” the national Covid vaccine rollout could face deregistration or even prosecution.

The regulator said then:

“There is no place for anti-vaccination messages in professional health practice and any promotion of anti-vaccination claims including on social media, and advertising may be subject to regulatory action.

“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. This includes the Medical Board’s code of conduct, Good Medical Practice, which advises doctors to consider the effect of their public comments and actions outside of work, including online, related to medical and clinical issues.

“The position statement warns health practitioners who breach this provision may be subject to investigation and possible regulatory action and advises that health practitioners must also make sure that their social media activity is consistent with the regulatory framework for their profession and does not contradict or counter public health campaigns or messaging, such as the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

“The position statement reminds doctors and other health practitioners that it is an offence under the National Law to advertise a regulated health service (including via social media) in a way that is false, misleading or deceptive. Advertising that includes false, misleading or deceptive claims about COVID-19, including anti-vaccination material, may result in prosecution by Ahpra. Indeed, Ahpra suspended a doctor last year for anti-vaccination claims made on his social media.”

The regulator clarified its position this week, with a spokesperson saying:

“Legitimate discussion and debate, based on science is appropriate and necessary to progress our understanding and knowledge. The [March 9, 2021 position] statement does not prevent practitioners from having these discussions.”

Ha!

Some people have been quick to criticise Phelps for not having spoken out earlier. And fair enough.

Even after suffering vaccine injuries, Phelps kept her experience secret while promoting the vaccine to everyone else.

For instance, in January of this year she wrote in the Guardian newspaper:

“While vaccines were, and remain, an important part of the response, we were warned not to rely on vaccines alone … We learned that two-dose vaccine immunity was only temporary and that a third dose or a “booster” would be needed. Even that is likely to wane within months.”

Still, better late that never.

The Phelps revelations lit up Twitter yesterday and hopefully represent a new and important chapter in the Covid saga where a long over-due, honest discussion about Covid related injuries is permitted in the mainstream media.

And then legal action can begin against those who forced people to take an experimental drug that they not want, while deliberately hiding any evidence of potential harm.