After recording 500 cases of paralysis and 53 deaths from the 1976 Swine Flu Epidemic vaccine, that vaccine was pulled off the market.

Dr. Ben Edwards.  Trained as a family physician.  Did my undergrad at Baylor, UT Houston Medical School, and then Waco for Family Practice Residency Training, where I was chief resident.  I spent the first 7 years in private practice at Garza County Health Clinic in Post Texas as the only physician in the County.  For the last seven, eight years I've had my own practice with Veritas Medical in Lubbock, Abilene, and San Angelo.  Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

I'd like to begin with a reminder to everyone about the definition of evidence-based medicine that Sackett-Straus et al laid out back in 2000.  stated that the elements of evidence-based practice are: 

1) the integration of best-researched evidence with clinical expertise and patient values.  Patient values trump clinical expertise, and clinical expertise trumps scientific evidence. 

I'm also concerned that the forced and coerced COVID19 vaccination would, in my opinion, be a violation of the Nuremberg Code [who in our legal system would dare prosecute any violation of the NC?], the UN International Covenant on civil and political rights, Article 7, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3, and UNESCO's Article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights.  In addition, I have some concerns similar to what Senator Hall already mentioned.  According to the CDC's Vaccination Adverse Events Reporting System, which I have some updated numbers from last night when I downloaded these:

4178 deaths are now being reported on VAERS.  To give some context over the past 20 years, all vaccinations combined, there was a reported 4,182 deaths over the past 20 years.

In the past 4 months, we are now sitting on 4,178 deaths associated with the COVID vaccine reported to VAERS.  This includes a 15-year-old boy in Colorado, two sixteen-year-old girls in Wisconsin, a 17-year-old girl in Wisconsin, and a 17-year-old boy from New Hampshire all healthy.

Evidence is pretty clear that VAERS grossly underestimates the adverse events that are reported.  A study commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2010 and carried out by Harvard University, concluded that only about 1% of adverse reactions were ever reported to VAERS.  A similar study in 2015 by Shimabukuro et al came to a similar conclusion.  A 1995 report by the CDC also found that certain adverse reactions to vaccines are reported about 1% of the time.  Even vaccine manufacturers themselves have estimated a 50-fold under-reporting of adverse reactions.  So I have grave concern about under-reporting about these adverse reactions to VAERS and even at that, we're over 4,000 now in deaths.  To give you some context, as Senator Hall already mentioned the 1976 Swine Flu Epidemic, after recording 500 cases of paralysis and 53 deaths, the vaccine was pulled off the market.  Personally, I've received numerous reports from family members of my patients, close friends of my patients that within hours to days of receiving the vaccine, they've suffered from a stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, blood clots, sudden death, and as far as these family members knew none of these were reported by the medical staff as being associated with the vaccine.  So my concern is that indeed there is vast under-reporting.  Lastly, I would say of Harvey Rich's data that 53% of Texans have natural immunity   Studies have shown a 2-to-3-fold increased risk of adverse reaction to this vaccine if you've already had COVID.  Natural immunity confers a more robust immunity than vaccine immunity could, but vaccinating someone whose already robustly immune increases their risk of adverse reaction 2-to-3 fold.  Two different studies show that.  

And probably the last thing that I would have to say is I am very much a proponent of preserving the individual doctor-patient relationship.  It's a sacred relationship and I believe nothing should come between that and ultimately it's up to the patient to decide how they want to treat their body.  And on a personal note, I believe that God gave us an amazing robust immune system and I don't think that you can improve on God.  No one, not everyone obviously has to agree with that but for those who do and choose to rely on that natural immunity, I think we need to uphold that right to do so without any adverse outcomes on their livelihood.  Thank you for the opportunity to speak.  Happy to answer questions.  

QUESTION #1: Do people with natural immunity to COVID need a vaccine, and is there any increase risk of the natural immune system individuals having an adverse reaction to the vaccine? 

ANSWER:  Natural immunity is more robust than vaccine immunity.  There's a study from the original SARS back in 2002, the people that survived that first SARS, they've looked at them 17 years later and they showed robust immunity still to SARS COV-1 . . . 17 years later.  Historically, we've already, we've always known that natural immunity tends to last a lifetime.  In other words, the measles natural immunity will last a lifetime.  So, no, I don't believe there's any need to vaccinate someone who's already acquired natural immunity.  And we need to remember that natural immunity is more than just antibodies.  You have T-cells, Natural Killer cells, you've got the innate immune response.  You've got a robust immune system, not just antibodies.  And to the second part, reiterating that if you've already had COVID naturally, and some of these will be asymptomatic people and some people won't have a positive antibody test because their T-cells were strong enough that they didn't need to mount an antibody response so you can't catch all these guys with an antibody screen.  But if you had natural immunity, as over 50% of Texans have, then you're at a two-to-three-fold increased risk of an adverse reaction if you get vaccinated.  

QUESTION #2: Can people do anything about their immune system? 

ANSWER:  Absolutely.  Thank you for asking, Senator Hall.  I transitioned from Conventional Family Practice Medicine to Integrative Medicine, integrating our God-given natural ability for the body to fix itself and it's clear in the literature that if we steward this God-given design through nutrition, proper nutrition, hydration, sunlight, most importantly peace, not fear.  Fear has overcome this nation, the spirit of fear that I don't submit to has overcome this nation in my opinion, and if that's influencing policy decisions, I don't want to have to be subjected to those policies.  So, yes, there's much that you can do to improve your immune system.  And it sounds too simple but it's true--eat God food, not man food.  Exercise, get some sunlight, move around a little bit, and most importantly be at peace.  Your immune system will do what it's designed to do.  Thank you.