The Corruption of the State-corporate Nexus By Mrs Vera West

     I came across one of the few academic criticisms of the repression of debate around the whole vaccine issues:
  https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/888

“Critical criminology repeatedly has drawn attention to the state-corporate nexus as a site of corruption and other forms of criminality, a scenario exacerbated by the intensification of neoliberalism in areas such as health. The state-pharmaceutical relationship, which increasingly influences health policy, is no exception. That is especially so when pharmaceutical products such as vaccines, a burgeoning sector of the industry, are mandated in direct violation of the principle of informed consent. Such policies have provoked suspicion and dissent as critics question the integrity of the state-pharma alliance and its impact on vaccine safety. However, rather than encouraging open debate, draconian modes of governance have been implemented to repress and silence any form of criticism, thereby protecting the activities of the state and pharmaceutical industry from independent scrutiny. The article examines this relationship in the context of recent legislation in Australia to intensify its mandatory regime around vaccines. It argues that attempts to undermine freedom of speech, and to systematically excoriate those who criticise or dissent from mandatory vaccine programs, function as a corrupting process and, by extension, serve to provoke the notion that corruption does indeed exist within the state-pharma alliance.”

     Here is a sample from the article:

“The  pharmaceutical  industry  (pharmaindustry)  is  no  stranger  to corruption.  Bribery, compromised drug quality, conflict of interest, fraud and price‐fixing constitute part of a litany of its illegal practices and unethical behaviour, making it, historically, one of the most frequent corporate violators of the law, alongside the oil and auto industries (Braithwaite 1984;Clinard and  Yeager  1980; Dukes,  Braithwaite and Moloney 2014).  Recent  scandals,  in  which pharmaceutical giants such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Merck, have faced fines running into millions of US dollars for serious lawbreaking, are indicative of the level of harm their behaviour poses, and the pattern of recidivism that has branded the industry ‘recalcitrant’ and willing to employ ‘illegal inducements as a core business strategy for selling its prescription drugs’ (Kelton 2013).”

     I, for one, am nervous letting such folk stab a needle in my arm, or butt, and pump me full of their brew. Who knows what is in it? I don’t that that is what is relevant. Let’s use the feminist line here; my body, my choice!