THERE is a new threat to food safety in the form of injecting mRNA or modRNA (synthetic or ‘modified’ RNA) vaccines into livestock. Merck have developed the mRNA vaccine Sequivity, which has already been licensed for pigs in the USA, and Australia is currently fast-tracking these jabs to prevent several diseases contracted by cattle. Critics say they could make us more susceptible to the diseases they aim to prevent.
There is also the concern that mRNA vaccines could cause prion diseases. Prions attack nerve cells and cause neurodegenerative brain disorders, the most common of which is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), also known as mad cow disease. It killed nearly 200 people in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to corrupted meat and bone meal cattle feed. New cases were still emerging in 2019.
The new vaccines are being developed to immunise cows against foot and mouth disease, lumpy skin disease, which is a viral infection transmitted by blood-feeding insects such as mosquitoes, and other pathogens that can be transferred from animals to people such as avian and swine flu.
Dr Byram Bridle, Associate Professor of Viral Immunology from the Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, a respected agricultural and veterinary public research facility, wrote a damning ten-page analysis of potential harms addressed to Independent MP Andrew Bridgen and the UK Parliament. Dr Bridle has decades of experience in vaccinology and veterinary sciences, and he is just one scientist raising a number of concerns about mRNA vaccines for livestock.
He said: ‘Technological innovations do not automatically translate into good for the world. In my expert opinion, getting people to eat food expressing proteins from pathogens could be a recipe for rendering large numbers of people more susceptible to the very diseases that researchers aim to protect against.’
He is specifically concerned with the biodistribution of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the delivery system used as a vehicle to deliver mRNA and modRNA throughout the body, and subsequent ‘shedding’, which can occur when the vaccinated release or ‘shed’ the components of a vaccine, increasing the risk of infection in others.
Dr Bridle said: ‘These scientific principles mean there is the potential for the transfer of modRNA vaccines, their components, or their derivatives (i.e. target proteins) to people via food products from agricultural animal and plant species. This raises issues related to human and animal health and welfare, as well as regulatory concerns.
‘It is my expert opinion that no modRNA vaccine intended for agricultural applications (nor any for human use, for that matter) should be licensed by any regulatory body. This is for the sake of ensuring the protection of both human and animal health. Overly rapid deployment of this technology anywhere in the world has the potential to cause public health problems elsewhere on the globe. Pathogens do not respect boundaries.’
We saw the harms caused by mRNA covid vaccines which have resulted in death, injury and permanent disability. Hundreds of thousands of people have suffered blood clots, myocarditis, pericarditis and Guillain-Barré syndrome, to name but a few.
Dr Bridle said repeat dosing with the new vaccines can cause toxicity problems: ‘modRNA vaccines failed to meet expectations and failed to come close to meeting the definition of an ideal vaccine which should protect in a single dose,’ he said. ‘They fail to protect against infection and acquisition of disease. Many people around the world have received up to, and beyond, ten doses within a three-year timespan; they don’t come close to being effective with a single dose and multiple doses can cause problems.’
What is wrong with the much-lauded mRNA vaccines and how can they harm when they are supposed to protect?
Dr Bridle said: ‘Consider the following quotation from a journalist who interviewed the Chief Executive Officer of Moderna in 2016: “Delivery – actually getting RNA into cells – has long bedevilled the whole field. On their own, RNA molecules have a hard time reaching their targets. They work better if they’re wrapped up in a delivery mechanism, such as nanoparticles made of lipids. But those nanoparticles can lead to dangerous side effects, especially if a patient has to take repeated doses over months or years. Novartis abandoned the related realm of RNA interference over concerns about toxicity, as did Merck and Roche . . . In effect, the mRNA would turn cells into tiny drug factories. It’s highly risky. Big Pharma companies had tried similar work and abandoned it because it’s exceedingly hard to get RNA into cells without triggering nasty side effects”.’
Four other experts wrote their own open letter to the UK Veterinary Medicines Directive (VMD, a government organisation providing information to vets) in response to the news that mRNA vaccines were to be trialled in animals.
Vet Roger Meacock, from the British practice Natural Healing Solutions, has over 25 years’ experience in veterinary practice; Dr Kevin McCairn, from the Korea Brain Research Institute; Robert Max Thornsberry, Chairman of the Animal Health Committee and President of the board at R-CALF USA who represent cattle and sheep farmers, and mathematician and statistician Dr Siguna Mueller said: ‘When the covid mRNA products were first launched, much was claimed by the manufacturers that was later subsequently proven to be physiologically and scientifically inaccurate.’
Roger Meacock said in the blog and in a message to the People’s Food and Farming Association (PFFA): ‘I tried to get the National Farmers Union (NFU), other farming and meat organisations and the various veterinary associations for cattle, pigs and sheep to support me. None of them were forthcoming because they don’t understand the situation, and neither do the vets at the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) who I assume are their advisers. The BCVA were the only vet association to bother replying, and refused support on the basis they don’t fully understand the science. It would seem wilful ignorance is the name of the game.
‘The risk of course is that mRNA products are introduced into animals in due course (in the UK), although there are currently none licensed, and none undergoing trial according to a FOI reply I received at the start of February this year.
‘If the veterinary profession are set on keeping their heads in the sand, we need to educate the farmers (for food animals), and public (for pets) to be aware of the risk.
‘Farmers will trust their vets and will accept any new jabs if/when they come in. Vets, it seems, are not able to provide full information as to the risks and are likely to recommend whatever the UK Veterinary Medicines Directive (VMD) authorises in their ignorance and trust that the VMD have determined efficacy and safety, which to some degree they have every right to expect. There is even a risk that the WHO [World Health Organization] could mandate such a jab.’
Andrew Bridgen said: ‘Senior veterinary surgeons have raised their concerns about mRNA vaccines being used on animals, especially those farmed for food. The advantage for Big Pharma is that for these recipients they don’t have to pretend to get informed consent.’
The People’s Food and Farming Alliance has asked for an immediate debate in Parliament to discuss concerns. Their spokesperson said: ‘We are incredibly concerned about Dr Bridle’s report, and reports from other experts who have sent us similar information. We would like the government to support a debate in Parliament on the potential impact of this technology on animal and human health.’
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons did not respond.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: ‘There are currently no veterinary vaccines authorised which contain mRNA as the active substance in the UK or the EU. However, current legislation does not preclude manufacturers of mRNA veterinary medicinal products from applying for a marketing authorisation in the future. In anticipation of the development of veterinary vaccines based on mRNA platform technology, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is liaising with other global regulators of veterinary medicines towards developing a national regulatory framework for mRNA veterinary vaccines that will include specific information on data requirements.’
The National Farmers’ Union said: ‘This is a matter for Defra.’