Vaccines: Catania prosecutor's office investigates following CODACONS complaint. Procured alarm for the benefit of the pharmaceutical lobby?

Fedaisf editorial staff

February 13, 2017

On unjustified meningitis alarm and procured alarm for the benefit of the pharmaceutical lobby. State police tasked with collecting documentation

Codacons – lunedì, 13 febbraio 2017

The Public Prosecutor of Catania investigates following a Codacons complaint on the meningitis alarm that broke out in Italy in recent weeks. The consumers' association gave the news, which lo last January 14, he had filed a complaint with various Italian prosecutors asking to investigate for procured alarm and abuse of official documents against public and private subjects, including the Ministry of Health and the Higher Institute of Health.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Catania - explains the Codacons - has decided to see clearly the reckless meningitis alarm that has spread in recent weeks, which has led to an abnormal rush of vaccines to the benefit of pharmaceutical companies, asking the State Police to acquire the related documentation.

The request sent to Codacons by the Police Inspectorate reads:

“In relazione all’esposto-denuncia presentato dal Presidente pro-tempore Associazione Codacons-Sicilia presso la Procura della Repubblica di Catania il 14.01.2017 e relativo all’allarme meningite, la Sezione di Polizia Giudiziaria – Aliquota Polizia di Stato è stata delegata all’acquisizione degli articoli menzionati nello scritto ed apparsi sui media, stampa e siti web. Vogliate pertanto riprodurre su supporto informatico (DVD- pen drive) gli articoli in questione, con particolare riguardo a quello relativo all’aumento di richieste di dosi di vaccino”.

In its complaint, Codacons argued that, "although the numbers on the incidence of the disease are fully within the norm, a race for vaccines has been unleashed which not only causes costs to be borne by citizens for tens of millions of euros, but also clear discrimination between users depending on the area of residence. To date, in fact, vaccinations are offered free of charge only in some regions, while in others they are paid entirely by the citizen, giving rise to intolerable and costly disparities in treatment.

Too often atavistic fears are fueled by the media and unfortunately the seriousness lies in the fact that the same health institutions have allowed a real psychosis of an epidemic to be amplified which has never occurred and which will never occur, stalling in the give important information so that the truth could be re-established.

Following the uproar caused by the cases surveyed in various Italian regions, the often unjustified race for the anti-meningitis vaccine has more than doubled the number of doses supplied to the local health authorities on the national territory, registering a +130% last December at least since it would appear to be reported by all the media, press and websites”.

Codacons therefore asked to open an investigation in the light of possible cases of procured alarm and abuse of official documents with consequent possible speculative advantages in favor of pharmaceutical companies.