How neutral is the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO)?
As parents disagreed about the vaccination or non-vaccination of their child, a ruling by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court ruled
in favor of the parent who relied on the STIKO recommendation.
The vaccination recommendations issued by STIKO are considered binding by governments, authorities
and courts and are implemented without question.
It is doubtful whether this commission is neutral in its assessment, as it is
intertwined with the pharmaceutical industry.
For example, STIKO Chairman Prof. H. J. Schmitt works very closely with various
manufacturers such as GlaxoSmithKline on vaccine studies.
He also received a prize of 10,000 euros from pharmaceutical giant Sanofi for "promoting the idea of vaccination".
The pharmacy-critical "Arznei-Telegramm" wrote of an "unacceptable lack of transparency" and listed in detail benefits that
other STIKO members had received from vaccine manufacturers.
Professor Ulrich Heininger, Deputy STIKO Chairman, admitted: "Almost all of us in the STIKO
have contacts with the pharmaceutical industry".
He also confirmed that there is no data to scientifically prove the effectiveness of vaccinations.
With such statements, can one expect such a pharma-friendly institution to take a
neutral stance on the necessity of vaccinations?