The ‘International Chiropractors Association’ (ICA) has just issued a statement entitled “International Chiropractors Association Affirms Policy on Health Freedom“. On the background of the fact that US President Biden, issued a series of Executive Orders related to mandating federal employees and federal contractors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the ICA try to explain their position regarding vaccinations. Here are a few passages from this statement:
…In a world of public health that promotes evidence-based decision making, we see the importance of natural immunity being ignored and replaced with a totalitarian approach of compulsory vaccination. At a time when the Surgeon General says misinformation has become an urgent threat to public health, misinformation is now being used in an attempt to discredit the chiropractic profession, the International Chiropractors Association, and all chiropractic patients who desire to focus on improving health naturally. After enduring 18 months of shutdowns, lockdowns, flattening the curve, masking, limitations of speech on social media; and a cancel culture environment that threatens the basic freedoms our country was founded upon in 1776, ICA will not compromise on the importance of protecting health freedom…
The ICA Policy on Immunization and Vaccination has remained unchanged for almost 50 years and clearly states:
“The International Chiropractors Association recognizes that the use of vaccines is not without risk and questions the wisdom of mass vaccination programs. Chiropractic principles favor the enhancement of natural immunity over artificial immunization.
The ICA supports each individual’s right to select his or her own health care and to be made aware of the possible adverse effects of vaccines upon a human body. In accordance with such principles and based upon the individual’s right to freedom of choice, the ICA is opposed to compulsory programs which infringe upon such rights.
The International Chiropractors Association is supportive of a conscience clause or waiver in compulsory vaccination laws, providing an elective course of action for all regarding immunization, thereby allowing patients freedom of choice in matters affecting their bodies and health.”
The International Chiropractors Association maintains that all healthcare interventions, including the chiropractic adjustment, are associated with some level of risk and that every individual is entitled to be informed of those risks, no matter how insignificant. All individuals must retain the freedom to accept or reject any healthcare product, procedure, or medication including vaccinations. The International Chiropractors Association therefore strongly opposes the use of medical mandates that violate personal sovereignty, violate the principles of informed consent, and constrain the rights of patients to make their own health care choices…
The ICA encourages the recognition that natural efforts to enhance the innate immune system ability to adapt to novel viruses are grounded in science and rejects the notion that the patients’ freedom to rely on naturally acquired immunity is not based upon unscientific beliefs.
The ICA rejects the premise that the chiropractic profession’s long history of promoting health freedom and supporting conscientious exemptions is based upon unscientific or non-mainstream beliefs…
I find this statement clear as mud and have the following questions:
- Do the ICA recommend vaccinations?
- In particular, do they encourage their members to get vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccines?
- Do they advise to recommend COVID-19 vaccinations to their patients?
- Or do they think that natural immunity is preferable and advise their members and patients accordingly?
- Do they believe that spinal manipulation enhances natural immunity?
- Do they think that spinal manipulations are an effective alternative to COVID-19 vaccinations?
- Do they believe that scientific evidence trumps dogma or vice versa?
- Which of the two should, according to their conviction, must influence the decision-making processes in healthcare?
- If the ICA object to misinformation about COVID, why do they not stop their members from promoting it?
- What makes them think that information about the possible adverse effects of vaccines upon a human body is unavailable?
- If the ICA recognizes the risks of spinal manipulation, why do they not inform the public about them regularly and objectively?
- If the ICA knows about the importance of informed consent, why do not all of their members adhere to it?
- And finally, why do the ICA insist on the term ‘international’ in the name of their organization, if they purely deal with the US situation?
I do not expect the ICA to give me the answers to these questions. But perhaps their Wiki page goes some way towards answering some of them: “… The ICA supports the efforts of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC).[13] The NVIC is known for promoting false and misleading information about vaccines, in particular the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism.
The ICA’s annual conferences have featured anti-vaccination propaganda. In 2018 Guest Speaker Beau Pierce (Pierce co-produced a series entitled Vaccines Revealed) hosted a session entitled Vaccines Revealed.,[14] and Jeff Hays, known for producing the anti-Vaccine propaganda Vaccines Revealed, was invited to host a session the 2017 ICA Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics Annual Conference. In 2016 the widely discredited anti-vaccination propaganda film VAXXED was shown at a conference sponsored by the ICA’s Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics …”
SAY NO MORE!
33 Responses to The International Chiropractors Association’s Statement on Vaccination
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Prof. Ernst wrote: “…why do the ICA insist on the term ‘international’ in the name of their organization, if they purely deal with the US situation?”
It’s worth remembering that the ICA have representatives in Canada, Australia, The Bahamas, China, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, The Republic of Korea, and Portugal:
Ref. https://www.chiropractic.org/about-us/representative-assembly/
As for the UK, the situation isn’t too good here either. Given that the Royal College of Chiropractors has a ‘Public Health Society’ https://rcc-uk.org/rcc-public-health-society/ and a ‘Pregnancy and Paediatrics Faculty’ https://rcc-uk.org/paediatrics-faculty/ I don’t see any mention of it being pro-vaccination on its website. (I’m prepared to be corrected about this if any chiropractor would care to point out where its vaccination stance is on show.)
The most transparent mention of a pro-vaccination stance from chiropractors in the UK was back in 2014 when the then Anglo European College of Chiropractors declared: “we endorse and recommend the NHS vaccination programme”. This is the archived link to the relevant page: https://tinyurl.com/2evnrbkv
However, that page has since been removed and replaced by this statement (tucked away in item 8):
“The chiropractic programs below support the World Health Organization’s vision and mission in immunization and vaccines – 2015-2030”
Ref. https://www.aecc.ac.uk/media/4251/educational-statements-with-immunisation-word-version.pdf
The link to the statement can be sourced by carefully scrolling down to ‘DOWNLOAD ICEC STATEMENT’ here:
https://www.aecc.ac.uk/study/our-courses/postgraduate-courses/msc-chiropractic-graduate-entry/
However, missing from the statement are the UK McTimoney Chiropractic College programs, Teeside University’s Chiropractic program, and London South Bank University Chiropractic program. It’s also notable that out of the 14 global chiropractic educational establishments named in the statement, only one is from the USA despite it having c. 19 programs.
The ICA Policy on Immunization and Vaccination has remained unchanged for almost 50 years
I may be being cynical but by about 50 years ago were not major scourges such as smallpox, polio and measles under control by vaccines so one could be a bit cavalier about vaccines? I doubt many people would have appreciated this policy during the polio epidemics of the 1950’s.
No, those diseases were not under control by vaccines. You have had that idea planted into your head. Go and look at the history and the graphs. Public health measures such as ventilation, food, sanitation, heating, refrigeration and much more, had already reduced these diseases substantially, they were already on a downward trajectory.
Indeed they were on a slow downward trajectory, Mandy, for the reasons you say. A trajectory which steepened rapidly to nearly zero in every disease following the introduction of the vaccine. Look at the figures for incidence, not mortality. Ask yourself why tuberculosis is now not routinely vaccinated against in most western countries. And try to apply a little critical thought.
Nothing to see here, it’s only a vocal minority.
The vaccine mandate in the USA only applies to federal workers. They are employees and yes their boss can set the rules, within the law of course.
Those in the private sector who are with a company over 100 employees have a choice…get vaccinated or get weekly testing. This will probably end up in the Supreme Court.
which seems to indicate that many US chiros could not care less about the best interest of their patients.
The primary focus of the ICA statement is the mandate.
From what I’ve read the federal government has the authority to issue such a mandate to its employees.
If the ICA doesn’t like it, well, I can’t see that little fringe group changing it.
little?
How many members have they?
They won’t release their numbers but estimates are around 1/5 of ACA membership, so around 3,000 belong to the ICA. About 3% of all chiropractors.
I consider that a little fringe group.
@DC: If only there was a not-so-silent majority to loudly, publicly, eagerly correct them every time they spout crap, y’all might not look so bad as a whole.
(A complaint I’m also happy to direct at mainstream medicine, where acts of inept and crooked physicians are all too often quietly swept under the rug.)
Someone told me they are primarily US and only around 150 members in total. This was after there was a blood letting of their board a few years back.
“International” in their title gives the vitalistic ICA the idea that they can interfere in local chiro national legislation/regulation and the critics licence to equate them as the whole profession.
They tried interfering in Australian regulations decades ago and got shown the door.
@DC
Not exactly
The executive order also applies to Corporations that have contracts with the Federal Government…. which makes the scope much bigger.
Just as a simple example, that takes it to all the major airlines.
Beyond that, even if not mandated to all corporations, the Federal government can favor those corporations that do as they are asked. Alot of Corporate ass-kissing going on right now with the government.
Kind of. There are some contractors that this will not fall upon. And I think it’s for any new or renewed contracts after Oct 15th….but I haven’t looked into all the details.
This will most likely be challenged in court.
@DC
Perhaps not all contractors, I dunno.
That said, individual States are also joining the party with mandating vaccines to all State employees. This creates an even larger population of people effected.
@Listener/Bart
Well within the legal purview of Federal Govt. Nothing new here.
This ain’t breaking news. What do you expect in a capitalist country? It has always been this way regardless of who is running the federal govt.
I wish Feds have the legal capability to mandate vaccines for all freedumb loving anti-vaxxer anti-masker bi-pedal disease vectors. But that is not going to happen because this is USA and individual freedumb reigns supreme regardless of the cost to society.
Talker: this is USA and individual freedumb reigns supreme regardless of the cost to society.
Well, the Federal government could use the Supreme Court ruling in Buck v. Bell and force sterilization on anti-Vaxxers as they could be deemed mentally unfit to procreate. Would that make you happy?
Oh, and please list the countries that are currently forcing all of its citizens to be vaccinated against COVID 19. Thanks.
DC says…
I never said any of the above. Are you sure you are not projecting an extreme scenario that you want to see happen on to me DC?
DC says…
Indonesia: https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/asia-minute/2021-02-17/asia-minute-vaccines-become-mandatory-in-indonesia
If vaccines are more widely available and citizens are reluctant to get vaccinated (as in USA) then more countries would probably have similar mandates.
So one country? And which goes against the World Health Organization recommendation of not having mandatory vaccinations? Uh, OK.
You asked for data and I provided it. I guess you don’t like the fact that you actually had your question answered with factual information. Also, has it actually dawned on you that not all countries have the same access to vaccines? so what good would a mandate do if you cant get your hands on vaccines? Moreover, if the people in your country are sensible enough to get vaccinated on their own, there is no point in mandating vaccines.
You have yet to provide evidence of this claim.
Talker: I never said any of the above. Are you sure you are not projecting an extreme scenario that you want to see happen on to me DC?
I didn’t say you said the above. But the question is, how far are you willing to let the government go to stop the anti-vaxxers?
DC Says..
Honestly, I am baffled at your question. How would sterilizing anti-vaxxers mitigate the pandemic that is happening now?
I just read that Italy is imposing vaccine mandates onpublic servants and workers. This will be interesting. The Covidiots are forcing their own fears upon us. More and more countries are being forced to act.
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/24/1040550745/italys-new-covid-vaccine-mandate-is-one-of-the-strictest-in-the-world?t=1634339687171
Bjorn: I just read that Italy is imposing vaccine mandates onpublic servants and workers.
Well, kind of…more like: proof that one probably isn’t an active carrier
“It’s a digital or paper certificate of at least one COVID-19 vaccine, a negative test or recovery from the virus.”
Bjorn: The Covidiots are forcing their own fears upon us.
Is it really due to fear? Is referring to them as idiots really going to help achieve the goal?
“ A framework developed from research done in high-income countries, called ‘the 5C model of the drivers of vaccine hesitancy’, provides five main individual person–level determinants for vaccine hesitancy: confidence, complacency, convenience (or constraints), risk calculation, and collective responsibility7,8.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01459-7
Perhaps the real question is: why are they hesitant to believe scientists, politicians and the media? But that may lead to dealing with the root problem; much easier to address the symptoms by mandates.
@DC
Yes, fear of vaccine.
My personal preference is to refer to them as idiots, because despite overwhelming evidence that vaccines work (by preventing serious illness and death) covidiots don’t want to get vaccinated. If they want to suffer disease and death because someone called them an idiot for refusing vaccine, then that is their prerogative and that also makes them uber-idiots.
There are several factors at least in USA: willful ignorance and apathy prevalent in large parts of the country, lack of critical thinking skills (due to lack of quality education) that lead them to believe in misinformation prevalent on social media and/or fed to them by dangerous demagogues, utter contempt towards the government they themselves elected, unreasonable suspicion toward those who are more educated, idiotic belief that their individual freedom trumps everything, including their own health and safety and that of the society they are a part of and the list goes on.
Pandemic is not going to wait until we try and address the above systemic issues which may take decades. So, yeah vaccine mandates are a speedy solution to an urgent existential problem that we are facing at the moment.
Bjorn
“It’s a digital or paper certificate of at least one COVID-19 vaccine, a negative test or recovery from the virus”
That’s not all that bad, I could agree that they are at least giving some space to those who want to avoid being jabbed.
The only issue with producing evidence of recovering from the virus is most would not have any documentation. I recovered from the covid virus, but I was rejected from visiting my MD, as most in office visits were shut down. Unless a patient was turning blue, they were not allowed to set foot anywhere near a medical office or hospital. So how many previously infected and recovered have documentation ? …. only the most severe.
How about an antibody test, that would seem to make some sense.
How about a PCR test combined with an antibody test, that would prove both immunity, and that the person is not currently infected.
I wouldn’t be willing to provide all that to go and eat some place. But some anti-vaxers might be willing to go to that extreme for some venues…. like flying on a plane.
@Talker
“Well within the legal purview of Federal Govt. Nothing new here.”
Actually, it was never intended that the any US government have the right to force any citizen to forego any medical procedure. In fact, medical records are to be kept private from government. This will likely be tested in the courts as DC indicated. Not saying it will be upheld, the courts are joined to the government the same as the corporations.
“This ain’t breaking news. What do you expect in a capitalist country? It has always been this way regardless of who is running the federal govt.”
What would I expect ? Big business has always been able to flex it’s power in DC via lobbyist. However, in the last fifteen years it gone to another level. We’re not talking only about influence. We are talking about power that allows the other hand to accomplish what the one hand cannot alone…. both ways.
This Capitalism today has changed. This Capitalism has degraded into Corporatism… also known as crony capitalism.
{ corporatism;
Political / Economic system in which power is exercised through large organizations (businesses, trade unions, their associated lobbying efforts, etc.) working in concert or conflict with each other; usually with the goal of influencing or subsuming the direction of the state and generally only to benefit their own socioeconomic agendas at the expense of the will of the people, and to the detriment of the common good.The influence of large business corporations in politics.control of a state or organization by large interest groups }
Sorry, but it hasn’t always been as it is now. Not to the degree that we see today, not even close.
The mandate forces exactly NOONE to get a shot BTW–it just says that you cannot work here if you do not have the vaccination. There are also legitimate health-related exemptions. So-called “sincerely held beliefs” may end up in the courts which the fundamentalist Papists who now dominate the Court may well uphold–ack!
@Talker
Spot on reply up there–I would add that calling someone a Covidiot in a comment post hardly equals doing same in person. Comments are general discussion, not personal attack. I have more patience in person, especially if it is someone I know. I have been able to actually persuade a couple of people to get the damn shot.
What is their basis for claiming that the importance of natural immunity is being ignored? Who’s ignoring it?
good point