|
Tetrahedron Press
Health Science Communications for People Around the World
206 North 4th Avenue, Suite 147 ۰ Sandpoint, ID 83864 ۰ 208-265-2575 ۰ FAX: 208-265-2775
NEWS RELEASE
Release: No. TB-99
Date Mailed: January 10, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jackie Lindenbach—208/265-2575; 800/336-9266
Disease Chief's Response Proves Violations of State Laws
Hilo, HI —A letter written by the Chief of Communicable Diseases for the State of Hawaii has exposed the Department of Health’s  Tuberculosis Control Program as negligent according to critics who say officials are committing public deception and criminal fraud.
The letter, sent by Dr. Glenn W. Wasserman to talk show host Hesh Goldstein of K-108, Honolulu, explains the State’s TB skin testing program as a medical examination given to all school children because of tuberculosis rates that exceed the national average. The problem is, this policy, and official reason, violates state statutes, civil rights, and constitutional freedoms, according to whistleblowers.
In Hawaii, as in most states, exemptions for medical examinations and vaccinations must be given to persons with religious convictions upon written notice. Hawaii’s rule §321-11(22) reserves the right of officials to deny religious exemptions only when “in the opinion of the department, there is danger of an epidemic.”
Under epidemic conditions officials are governed by §321-1(d) that states: “the department, through the director, may take precautionary measures to protect the public . . . provided that the director must find evidence of a health hazard within seventy-two hours of the action taken, or rescind the action.”
“The ‘action taken’ is the wholesale denial of religious exemptions for TB examinations effectively isolating, or ‘quarantining,’ religious persons from schools and workplaces,” explains Dr. Leonard Horowitz, a vaccine risk awareness expert and bestselling author whose daughter, a Hilo High School freshman, was expelled last year for refusing the test.
According to Dr. Wasserman, his department’s policy rests on the fact that “Hawaii continues to report one of the highest state rates for active TB in the United States, at nearly twice the national rate.” Yet, this is insufficient cause to violate state laws according to critics who say no other state denies religious exemptions, even those with equal or higher rates of TB including California, Washington DC, and Maryland.
Most disturbing, even criminal, Wasserman’s stated rationale fails to satisfy four legal requirements provided by Hawaii’s health laws §321-1(d) and §321-11 (22). According to local attorneys, this legislation dictates: 1) “danger of an epidemic” must be more than an official’s subjective opinion; 2) the definition of “epidemic” threat must be fulfilled; 3) a real threat must be accurately and effectively reported to the public within 72-hours of the agency’s action, and
4) without substantial evidence supporting the action, quarantines must be lifted within 72-hours.
“The legal definition of ‘danger from an epidemic’ is not satisfied by Dr. Wasserman’s rationale,” Dr. Horowitz wrote to Lois Hamaguchi, assigned by the Governor’s Office to respond to Goldstein’s concerns. “‘Epidemic’ is defined in the health department’s administrative rules as ‘the occurrence in a community or region [not the nation] of an illness clearly in excess of normal expectancy, as determined by the department.’ Given that the department has recorded stable rates of TB on the Hawaiian Islands for decades, there is no legal or scientific basis for alleging ‘danger from epidemic.’”
The Department of Health’s actions have been “arbitrary and capricious” according to legal complaints filed against the State last year by Hilo attorney Gary Zamber and others that charge officials with violating numerous state statutes, U.S. Constitutional freedoms, and the felony provision §325-37 covering “Fraud, willful misrepresentation; failure to comply; [and] penalties” for “any person who attempts to circumvent or defeat any purpose or provision” including laws guaranteeing religious exemptions for medical examinations and vaccinations. Such criminal actions, according to this law, are punishable by fines.
The saddest thing is that overall public health is being harmed by the many false positive test results generated by this 100 year-old medical examination. For every active case of TB found by this antiquated inoculation, conservatively 500 children are seriously injured. Most injuries result from official follow-up procedures requiring chest x-rays and 9-months of toxic drug therapy for healthy children.
-end –
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS:
For additional interviews on this topic contact Ingri Cassel at Vaccination Liberation Organization at 208-255-2307 vaclib@coldreams.com, Dr. Leonard Horowitz 808-965-2112 tetra@tetrahedron.org, Attorney Gary Zamber in Hawaii at 808-962-0025, Disease Chief Glenn Wasserman at 808-586-4580, and Department of Health spokesperson Janice Okubo at janice.okubo@doh.hawaii.gov.
Posted courtesy of Tetrahedron Publishing Group
206 North 4th Avenue, Suite 147
Sandpoint, Idaho 83864
http://www.tetrahedron.org
Toll free order line: 888-508-4787;
Office telephone: 808-965-2002;
E-mail: tetra@tetrahedron.org
|
