First Teen Vaccination Delivery Program In The Country Funded By Boston Celtics

"The goal of "Team Vaccinates Teens" is for researchers to learn what structures are effective for engaging youth in an extended vaccination program, creating a model that will eventually allow for delivery of an HIV vaccine once one becomes available.......it is expected that HIV vaccine trials will be open to adolescents in approximately two to four years.... Stephen Lewinstein, part-owner of the Boston Celtics said. "With half of all diagnosed AIDS patients today under the age of 25, a safe and effective vaccine is the best way to control the spread of this deadly disease. Through the combined strengths of those involved in the 'Team Vaccinates Teen' program, we will ensure that when a HIV vaccine is approved it will make a significant and direct impact on infection rates in adolescents."

Barbara Loe Fisher Commentary:

The National Vaccine Information Center has been warning the public for more than a decade that the long term strategy of those creating electronic vaccine tracking systems and vaccine mandates for sexually transmitted diseases like hepatitis B are preparing for the eventual mandating of HIV vaccine for all children. Now, the Boston Celtics are partnering with a hospital that wants to enroll teenagers in its HIV vaccine trials tomorrow by creating an infrastructure to deliver HPV vaccine to teenagers today.

States like Michigan are already moving to mandate HPV vaccine, which seeks to prevent infection with a sexually transmitted virus (HPV) that sometimes leads to cervical cancer in women who do not get routine pap smears. Most people clear HPV from the body and there has been a nearly 75 percent drop in cervical cancer cases in the U.S. since the 1950's when pap smears became a routine part of physicals for women. Merck's Gardasil vaccine has not been thoroughly tested for safety (see NVIC's June 27 Gardasil press release at www.nvic.org).

Hepatitis B disease is most prevalent among adult IV drug users and those with multiple sexual partners. When the CDC recommended in 1991 that all 12 hour old infants in the newborn nursery be injected with hepatitis B vaccine, there were only a few hundred cases of hepatitis B reported in children under 14 years old annually. Seven years after hepatitis B vaccination there are no detectable antibodies. Hepatitis B vaccination has been associated with multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other kinds of brain and immune system dysfunction.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated with AIDS is notoriously unstable and can mutate in individuals who become infected. Scientists around the world privately express doubts that an HIV vaccine can be developed that will prevent HIV infection and also be safe for everyone.

The children of America are being set up to become the human guinea pigs for testing an HIV vaccine. Will they and their parents be fully informed about all risks when they are offered up to the scientists? Every teenager who is injected with HIV vaccine will test positive for HIV for the rest of his or her life. And for the rest of their lives they will not know if the part of the HIV organism that was injected into them will cause serious health problems.

HIV vaccination, like hepatitis B vaccination mandated for children in the last decade of the 20th century and like the HPV vaccine on its way to being mandated for children in the first decade of the 21st century, will be mandated for children when it is licensed. And if these children get sick or die after they are vaccinated, their sickness and death will be written off as a "coincidence" by those who have forced them to get vaccinated.

The well meaning Boston Celtics have done America a favor by getting the AIDS vaccine agenda out in the open. Now Americans must decide what they will do.

The right to informed consent to medical interventions that can cause injury or death is a human right. No forced vaccination - not in America.

Medical News Today
10 November 2006

Source: http://medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=56072

Reflecting a long-standing commitment to the youth in New England, The Miriam Hospital and Boston Celtics have teamed up to develop the Boston Celtics "Team Vaccinates Teens" program - the first program in the country that will test and explore vaccine delivery strategies to adolescents.

Highly safe and effective vaccines that can prevent Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and other sexually transmitted diseases are only beneficial if they are successfully dispersed to the critical age group of adolescents. Through a $25,000 grant from The Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, researchers at The Miriam Hospital will collaborate with organizations distributing the HPV vaccine to adolescents at high-risk for contracting the disease. The goal of "Team Vaccinates Teens" is for researchers to learn what structures are effective for engaging youth in an extended vaccination program, creating a model that will eventually allow for delivery of an HIV vaccine once one becomes available.

For more than ten years, The Miriam Hospital has been one of the 30 sites in the world that is researching and testing HIV vaccines for adults in the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN). It is expected that HIV vaccine trials will be open to adolescents in approximately two to four years.

"The goal - which we believe it is achievable - is to license and deliver an effective HIV vaccine within ten years," said Michelle Lally, MD, medical director of the HIV vaccine trials at The Miriam Hospital. "However, if an effective HIV vaccine was approved tomorrow, we would not be able to successfully administer it to the youth in New England without a distribution plan in place. This generous grant allows us to start to test vaccine modalities among adolescents so when anticipated vaccines become available, we can efficiently deliver them to high-risk youth."

"The Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation is proud to collaborate with The Miriam Hospital to create the first program in the nation to test vaccine delivery methods to high-risk youth," said Stephen Lewinstein, part-owner of the Boston Celtics. "With half of all diagnosed AIDS patients today under the age of 25, a safe and effective vaccine is the best way to control the spread of this deadly disease. Through the combined strengths of those involved in the 'Team Vaccinates Teen' program, we will ensure that when a HIV vaccine is approved it will make a significant and direct impact on infection rates in adolescents."

Although participation in adult HIV vaccine trials has increased in recent years, several misconceptions about the trials remain that researchers expect to hinder adolescent participation. Among the most popular inaccuracy is that a potential HIV vaccine can cause a participant to contract the disease, which is impossible. Since the adolescents targeted in "Team Vaccinates Teens" are also potential candidates for future HIV vaccine trials, this program will help researchers move toward implementation of an HIV vaccine program for high-risk youth that minimizes or eliminates barriers to participation.

The Miriam Hospital (http://www.miri amhospital.org/ is a not-for-profit hospital affiliated with Brown Medical School and a founding member of the Lifespan health system. Founded in 1926 by the Miriam Hospital Women's Association, The Miriam offers particular expertise in cardiology; oncology; and HIV/AIDS treatment, research and prevention. Nationally recognized as a top hospital in cardiovascular care, The Miriam is home to the only Women's Cardiac Center in the region and JCAHO certified Primary Stroke Center. The Miriam Hospital has been awarded Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services three times and is committed to excellence in patient care, research and medical education.