Doctor Addresses Hamilton County Commission Regarding “Unavoidably Unsafe” Medical Decisions

Image Credit: HamiltonCountyTN / YouTube

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

Doctor Keith Dressler addressed the Hamilton County Commission on choice in healthcare decisions on Wednesday night.

“I’m here to speak to everyone today about health care choice in Hamilton County,” Dressler stated before likening cigarettes to certain medical choices.

“This pack of cigarettes… they’re unavoidably unsafe. Why are they unsafe? Because they contain toxins and poisons and a percentage of people will develop health issues who smoke them and a percentage of people will not. But we are given a choice whether we want to smoke or not,” said Dressler.

“In 1986, the Reagan administration gave vaccine manufacturers total immunity from liability for any harm done by the vaccines. I don’t know how many of you guys are aware of it. I sure was not until COVID. Why was the immunity given to the vaccine manufacturers? Because the vaccine manufacturers told the Reagan administration that all vaccines were “unavoidably unsafe.” Why were they unavoidably unsafe? Because the vaccines contain toxins and poisons,” Dressler said.

Dressler went on to say that when he was a child, there were only three vaccines on the childhood vaccination schedule, compared to today, “there are around 90.”

“I do not think anyone in their right mind would think that 90 vaccines deemed unavoidably unsafe by the manufacturers themselves should be required to attend Hamilton County schools, work for Hamilton County, or whatever,” said Dressler. “It should be a choice, just like the cigarettes are a choice.” 

It’s been over 30 years since the enactment of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) which removed liability for pharmaceutical companies that produce vaccines. The Act also shields doctors and other administrators of vaccines from civil liability in the case of malpractice such as a vaccine being given incorrectly leading to injury.

In the 1970s and beginning of the 80s, lawsuits in the U.S. for vaccine injuries dragged on for years as parents fought with wealthy pharmaceutical companies, often spending tens of thousands of dollars in an effort to provide support for their children. At that time, only DPT, oral polio and MMR vaccines were required for school attendance.

Most of these cases ended up being settled before getting in front of a jury with the condition that the settlement be sealed from public view.

The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was developed through a series of federal bills between 1983 and 1986 and was touted as a “non-adversarial” process through which parents would be able to avoid lengthy, expensive, and stressful lawsuits. In this “administrative” alternative, Congress promised that their “safety net” would provide those children injured by vaccines compensation in a much simpler fashion.

Instead, federal agencies and the U.S. Court of Claims has turned the process of seeking help into something that very much imitates the courts but without the benefit of a jury.

A 2014 Government Accountability Report found that VICP cases are far from being the simple alternative to lawsuits as was promised. These cases are dragged out for many years, all while the families involved suffer and their children lack resources.

In that report, more than 9,800 claims filed with VICP since 1999 had been pending for multiple years. More than 1,000 of those claims were approaching the 15-year mark of being adjudicated. The average time to adjudicate claims is 3.5 years. Eighty percent of claims from 2006 to 2014 were wrapped up through negotiated settlements.

Although there is a billion dollar surplus in the VICP Trust Fund, paid for with taxpayer dollars, getting access to the money earmarked for financial support of casualties of federal and state vaccine laws remains difficult.

All vaccine reactions are supposed to be reported to the federal vaccine adverse events reporting system (VAERS), but most medical workers who administer vaccines neglect to report serious health problems, hospitalizations, injuries and deaths following vaccination despite being mandated to do so. There are no legal sanctions for those who administer vaccines to obey the safety provisions outlined in the 1986 law.

A 2011 Supreme Court ruling further removed incentives for vaccine manufacturers to improve the safety of their products. Despite the pleas from parent and consumer groups for the justices to keep some legal accountability for pharmaceutical companies who manufacture vaccines, the majority of the court in a 6-2 decision sided with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and medical trade groups.

In Tennessee, both medical and religious exemptions can be used in lieu of vaccination for entry into preschools, K-12 schools and at the university level.

Watch Dr. Dressler’s presentation below:

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.