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NEWS: Stephen Pincock Australia lags behind in attempts to improve health of indigenous people BMJ 2007; 334: 765 [Full text]

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The Attempts May Be Feeble

Dr. Herbert H. Nehrlich   (18 April 2007)

The Attempts May Be Feeble 18 April 2007
Dr. Herbert H. Nehrlich, Private Practice Bribie Island, Australia 4507 Send response to journal: Re: The Attempts May Be Feeble	This proves, once again, that we don't learn from history. An Australian physician, Dr. Archie Kalokerinos, who vaccinated large numbers of children including Aboriginal children began to notice that, in the Aboriginal community, many severe side effects and deaths occurred. He was convinced that these kids die as a direct result of the vaccinations. Malnourished and sick children fared worst after tetanus, diphtheria, polio, smallpox and pertussis vaccination. Being a follower of Linus Pauling, Kalokerinos decided to use megadoses of Vitamin C before vaccination. It paid off and the number of adverse outcomes including deaths plummeted. The doctor's treatment had made a huge impact but it failed to impress those in the decision making offices. His duties in the Aboriginal community were taken over by other physicians and the practice of Vitamin C administration was discontinued immediately. The dying resumed. In a book published in 1974 (1) he describes the unexpected hostility of policymakers. Aboriginal children in his day were pursued, even hunted down and forcibly vaccinated; some were caught several times and received multiple doses as a result. When I think back to the time when Aboriginal Asbestos mining workers were told that they were immune to mesothelioma in contrast to the white man and need no masks for protection (4), I also think back to the fifties when it was "not really" a crime to maim or kill a black fellow. Today, black communities are cesspools of poverty, disease and alcoholism; life expectancy is 20 years lower than the national average (3) and welfare cheques are cashed in the convenience of the local "Bottle Shop". (2) No, Aboriginal children are no longer removed by force to be raised as servants in white families (2) but deaths in custody and substandard medical treatment are with us and seemingly here to stay. The author uses the term "attempts" in connection with alleged efforts to improve the lot of the black fellow. I find these attempts to be very feeble indeed. Ref.:(1) Every Second Child, Kalokerinos A. 1974 (2) www.socialist-alliance.org/page.php?page=182 (3) www.erc.org.au/issues/text/mr00.htm (4) personal communication with Dr. Archie Kalokerinos (of Biological Therapies. A Division of Orthomolecular Medisearch Laboratories Pty Ltd. A.C.N.) and Dr. Lendon Smith (Portland Oregon).1986/87 Competing interests: None declared