UKCVFamily members and trustees were present at day six of hearings for the Covid Inquiry Module 4: Vaccines and Therapeutics, which included testimony from the support group’s founder, Charlet Crichton.
Prior to Ms Crichton, evidence was provided by Dame Kate Bingham, Dr Mary Ramsay, and Susannah Storey.
Kate Bingham notes on “Expectation Management” dated 7th May 2020 were displayed, and we were extremely disappointed that she wasn’t asked to elaborate on the note stating, “Vaccination may cause worse symptoms than the disease itself (ADE, cytokine storms).” It was yet another confirmation from this module that it was known all along, that injuries would occur.
Dr Ramsay described multiple systems that had been set in place in order to identify possible safety signals and deal with concerns about adverse reactions, when our members know from firsthand experience that none of those systems seemed to have worked as intended. We hope that our group’s evidence will prompt the Inquiry to look further into these systems.
Susannah Storey provided general information about the sharing of content concerning side effects and adverse reactions, which she stated was up to social media platforms to decide how to handle. This contradicted previous witnesses comments about DHSC’s role in public messaging.
UKCVFamily founder, Charlet Crichton, was then questioned on the 600-page document she submitted on behalf of over 2000 members. In addition to reiterating statements made last week by other vaccine injury groups, Charlet discussed the multiple chronic conditions that injured members have been left with, the failure of the Yellow Card System to respond to reports, the stigmatisation experienced when living with an adverse reaction, the extremely high rate of suicidal contemplation amongst the vaccine-injured (76%), and the possibility that, had the MHRA notified the public about VITT when they had actually become aware of the life-threatening condition instead of two weeks later, our members’ loved ones may still be with them.
In just 25 minutes, Ms Crichton confidently and compassionately returned the conversation to what Baroness Hallett had declared in her opening statement in July 2022: “Those who have suffered will be at the heart of the Inquiry.”
And Charlet did so whilst dealing with the recent loss of her mother, and managing her own ongoing health issues following her vaccination almost four years ago. We are all incredibly grateful.
Other members of UKCVFamily were featured in the Inquiry's Module 4 Impact Film, including the testimony of the daughter of the late John Cross, a retired pharmacist who spent months in hospital paralysed by Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The film can be viewed below (Please note that this film may be upsetting to watch).
Please support our petition to call for reform of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, so that families like Mr Cross' can be better supported.
UKCVFamily are posting videos and daily updates from the Inquiry on our Twitter account, and our Friends of UKCVFamily Facebook page. To download and read UKCVFamily’s entire first witness statement visit; https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/documents/inq000474462-witness-statement-provided-by-charlet-crichton-on-behalf-of-ukcvfamily-dated-17-10-2024/