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NEW FLU VACCINE TO USE CANCER-POTENTIAL ABORTED FETAL CELL LINE

“Why would anyone … want to use them … when there are ethical alternatives”

CLEARWATER, FL, August 16, 2002 (LSN.ca) - Children of God for Life, a pro-life group specializing in vaccine information, has discovered plans to use the Crucell, NV aborted fetal cell line PER C6 in a new flu vaccine. The vaccine will be developed by Med-Immune Inc., a pharmaceutical company based in Gaithersburg, MD, for protecting against influenza. Competing flu vaccines such as Fluvirin and Flushield utilize chick embryo - not aborted fetal tissue.

The fetal cell line was created using the retinal tissue from an 18 week gestation aborted baby. According to Dr. Van der Eb from Crucell, , "PER C6 was made just for the pharmaceutical manufacturing of adenovirus vectors." He adds, "I realize that this sounds a bit commercial, but PER C6 were made for that particular purpose."

For years, the pharmaceutical companies have stated that the existing fetal cell lines used in many of today's vaccines would be sufficient since the cell lines were supposed to be immortal. However, that is not the case and the newest PER C6 cell line does possess the potential of immortality, but only because it introduces the possibility of carcinogenics into the cell line. According to the FDA report:

"Since cell lines such as 293 and PER.C6 express the Ad5, vectors of this type are thought to have significant potential for vaccine development because of their demonstrated ability to generate cell-mediated immune responses to HIV. However, a feature of regulatory importance associated with Ad5-transformed cells is their capacity to form tumors in immuno-deficient animals such as nude mice. Factors that could influence the risk associated with the use of Designer Cell Substrates include (1) the known mechanism of cell transformation leading to the development of tumorigenic cells; (2) residual cell substrate DNA; and (3) the presence of adventitious agents, especially oncogenic viruses."

"Not only are the new vaccines under development an affront to those who oppose abortion and fetal tissue research, they are also potentially deadly," said Children of God for Life Director, Debi Vinnedge. "Why would anyone who learns the truth about these vaccines want to use them especially when there are ethical alternatives on the market right now?"

Letters are once again being sent to the Department of Health & Human Services, the CDC and FDA to protest this latest development. Addresses are as follows:

Dr. Julie Gerberding Centers for Disease Control 1600 Clifton RD NE MS D66 Atlanta, GA 30333

The Honorable Tommy Thompson Department of Health & Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Room 615-F Washington, D.C. 20201

Dr. Bernard Schwetz, Commissioner Federal Food and Drug Administration 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20895 David M. Mott,

Chief Executive Officer MedImmune, Inc. 35 W. Watkins Mill Rd. Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Read Med-Immune/Crucell Press Release:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020529/lnw004_2.html

Read the FDA Report on PER C6:
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/01/briefing/3750b1_01.htm

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