SAVIMS
85 St Patrick Road
Houghton | Johannesburg | 9301
South Africa
Website: www.savims.org.za | Email: savims@savims.org.za

Johannesburg, South Africa - 18 August 2024
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Statement on proposed emergency roll-out of vaccine program in Africa for monkeypox.
We are deeply concerned about the recent announcements made by Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya on 13
August 2024 and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on 14 August 2024. It is important to addressthese announcements openly to the public. In his statements, Director General Jean Kaseya declared regardingmonkeypox vaccines, “We have a clear plan to secure more than 10 million doses in Africa, starting with 3 million
doses in 2024.”
We at SAVIMS would like to point out pertinent facts to both institutions and other relevant bodies of interest:
1.

There is no prescribed vaccine with documented level 1 scientific evidence for monkeypox. The current WHO
recommended live virus vaccines, Jynneos and ACAM2000, are (a) intended for smallpox and are thus
experimental for monkeypox; (b) have reported serious adverse effects and (c) contain live viral strains which
may instigate a resurgence of the eradicated smallpox virus.

2.

The potential use of mRNA vaccines. There is no scientific evidence supporting the use of any mRNA vaccine
to prevent or mitigate any infectious disease. The observed data of adverse reactions to experimental mRNA
vaccines far outweighs any benefit.

3.

Informed consent is an ethical concept that is codified in the law and is in daily practice at every health careinstitution. Three fundamental criteria are needed for clinical informed consent: the patient must becompetent, adequately informed, and not coerced. It is not possible for any recipient of these vaccines toreceive a legitimate informed consent based on the current research.

4.

The article by Allan-Blitz et al, “A position statement on Mpox as a Sexually Transmitted Disease,” concluded
that monkeypox is a sexually transmitted disease.” Preventative measures for this scenario shouldnecessitate and provoke relevant clinical and primary health care and education initiatives directed at thehigh-risk group. There is no merit for the recommendation of experimental vaccines to the generalpopulation.

5.

The statistics and analysis, regarding the collated monkeypox data in the DRC and other countries in Africa by
the WHO, warrant further investigation, and must be independently audited. The areas in which the highest
statistics were collated should detail the criteria for testing, the procedures for testing, equipment sensitivity
and specificity, personnel skill, clinical scenarios, and provocation for testing these specific communities.
What tests were done to investigate and exclude other diseases, including communicable diseases?

6.

There have been no autopsy reports published on the deaths related to monkeypox. The lack of formal
documented autopsy, lack of information regarding equipment test sensitivities and specificities, and lack ofinformation on procedures validating random collation of data, further reduces and invalidates theauthenticity of the statistics.

SAVIMS POSITION STATEMENT REGARDING EMERGENCY MONKEYPOX VACCINE ROLLOUT IN AFRICA:
We have reviewed the literature and analysed the data on monkeypox, as well as its etiopathogenesis. Based on ourunderstanding of this disease:

SA Vaccine Injury Medco-Legal Study Group - SAVIMS| E-mail savims@savims.org.za
Directors: Dr H.Edeling (Chair); P van Niekerk (Vice-Chair); E. Oswald, G Kriel; T.Madi; Dr S Schmidt; Dr S Snyman
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SAVIMS85 St Patrick Road
Houghton | Johannesburg | 9301
South Africa
Website: www.savims.org.za | Email: savims@savims.org.za

A. We do not support the Africa CDC and WHO declaration of a global health emergency for monkeypox.
B. It is established that monkeypox is predominantly a self-limiting condition. This does not warrant vaccine
intervention.
C. We strongly object, based on the scientific evidence, to the “emergency” rollout of repurposed smallpox
vaccines or any other proposed monkeypox vaccine to the people of Africa.
D. We question the authenticity of the number of deaths associated with monkeypox, as reported by the Africa
CDC, unless it can be verified through autopsy.
E. We warn members of the public about the inherent risks of taking any vaccine, including those proposed forMpox, of which the effectiveness and safety have not been reliably determined by Level 1 clinical trials. Therecan be no justification for a vaccine with unknown adverse effects.
F. We urge the public to exercise their inherent human rights to refuse to give consent to any medical
intervention that they do not feel comfortable in taking.
We are open to dialogue and discussion with the Africa CDC on the issues raised above and on all matters of healthand well-being concerning the African population.
SAVIMS Board
Contact: Dr Edeling, Chair
For further enquiries eMail: savims@savims.org.za
About SAVIMS: SAVIMS is a voluntary multidisciplinary association under the Common Law, governed by its membersin accordance with its Constitution.
The purpose of SAVIMS is to follow the evidence, in order to gain and communicate knowledge about vaccine injuries.
This knowledge is necessary for treatment and counselling of patients with vaccine injuries; as well as for medico-legal
report writing and provision of evidence in respect of victims of vaccine injury and in other vaccine related disputes.
The objectives of SAVIMS are to promote human health and human rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights of theConstitution of the Republic of South Africa. SAVIMS members undertake to conduct their studies and related activities
to high standards of professional ethics.
Having regard to the emotionally charged and accusatory nature of many communications regarding Covid-19 andvaccine injuries, SAVIMS asserts that: it is apolitical; it is not an activist group; it follows the evidence; it functions as aknowledge factory; and that it encourages critical analysis and open debate, in pursuit of awareness, understanding
and problem solving.
SAVIMS promotes adherence to four foundational pillars of true science, namely: 1 – Reality, 2 – Reason, 3 – OpenMindedness and 4 – Sharing. SAVIMS promotes adherence to professional ethics, based on true science (as above)
applied with 1 – Honesty, 2 – Moral Values, 3 – Respect for Human Rights and 4 – Humility.
Supporting references:
1. Allan-Blitz LT, et al. A Position Statement on Mpox as a Sexually Transmitted Disease. Clin Infect Dis. 2023 Apr
17;76(8):1508-1512
2. Bloch DA. Comparing two diagnostic tests against the same "gold standard" in the same sample. Biometrics.
1997 Mar;53(1):73-85. Erratum in: Biometrics 1998 Mar;54(1):399.
3. Cocanour CS. Informed consent-It's more than a signature on a piece of paper. Am J Surg. 2017
Dec;214(6):993-997.
4. Grady C. Enduring and emerging challenges of informed consent. N Engl J Med. 2015 Feb 26;372(9):855-62.
5. https://africacdc.org/news-item/speech-of-the-director-general-africa-cdc-on-the-declaration-of-mpox-as-apublic-health-emergency-of-continental-security-phecs/
SA Vaccine Injury Medco-Legal Study Group - SAVIMS| E-mail savims@savims.org.za
Directors: Dr H.Edeling (Chair); P van Niekerk (Vice-Chair); E. Oswald, G Kriel; T.Madi; Dr S Schmidt; Dr S Snyman
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SAVIMS85 St Patrick Road
Houghton | Johannesburg | 9301
South Africa
Website: www.savims.org.za | Email: savims@savims.org.za

6.

https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-directorgenerals-opening-remarks-at-the-ihr-emergency-committee-meeting-regardingtheupsurge-of-mpox-2024---14-august-2024
7. https://www.who.int/health-topics/smallpox
8. https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/mpox/interim-considerations/overview.html
9. https://jynneos.com/
10. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.who.int/publication
s/m/item/multi-country-outbreak-of-mpox--external-situation-report-35--12-august2024&ved=2ahUKEwjQhcOSm_mHAxW4Z0EAHZoMCU8QFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3bWm0jV6A2yiqKci32MFe
11. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05988203?term=NCT05988203&rank=1
12. https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?term=mrna%20vaccine
13. Ogoina D, et al. Clinical review of human mpox. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2023 Dec;29(12):1493-1501.
14. Zidan M, et al. What you need to know about statistics, part II: reliability of diagnostic and screening tests.
Pediatr Radiol. 2015 Mar;45(3):317-28.

SA Vaccine Injury Medco-Legal Study Group - SAVIMS| E-mail savims@savims.org.za
Directors: Dr H.Edeling (Chair); P van Niekerk (Vice-Chair); E. Oswald, G Kriel; T.Madi; Dr S Schmidt; Dr S Snyman
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