Local WA Council Votes to Suspend Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccinations

The local mayor and premier of Western Australia suggested the council should be focussed on local issues.

A medic prepares two vials of COVID-19 vaccines. Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images

Port Hedland Council in Western Australia (WA) has voted for a motion to suspend the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations.

The motion requires the local council to write to the prime minister, local councils across the country, and community health practitioners outlining concerns with the vaccine.

Council documents (pdf) show a copy of a draft letter to the prime minister urging the “immediate suspension of these vaccines.”

They also draw attention to a report by virologist David Speicher alleging DNA contamination in the vaccines.

“Dr. Speicher’s report reveals that the contamination levels in the vaccines exceed Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) limit by up to 145 times, with DNA fragments capable of integrating into human cells,” the letter supported by the council states.

“Alarmingly, the Pfizer vaccines also contain SV40 promoter-sequences, which were not disclosed to regulators, and are known to facilitate genomic integration.”

It also includes a copy of a letter from Liberal turned independent MP Russell Broadbent raising awareness of Speicher’s findings and “adverse health impacts” including cancer.

The motion requires the Council to write to all health practitioners and medical clinics in the Port Hedland local government area.

“This letter will inform all local health practitioners of the report by Dr. Speicher and the findings of the Science Summary attached to Mr. Broadbent’s letter of Sept. 25, 2024,” it states.

“The Council strongly urges practitioners to share this information with patients contemplating receiving any Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. The goal is to ensure patients can provide legally valid informed consent.”

Finally, the motion requires the Council to write to all other councils and shires within Australia, urging them to share information with health practitioners and clinics in their areas.

However, Western Australian Premier Roger Cook accused the Council of going “off the rails” and said it should “stick to its knitting.”

“It should stay focused on the services and people of that community ... it’s another example of that council lacking the focus on the issues which matter to their constituents,” he told the ABC.

Mayor Opposed the Motion Being Debated at All

Councillor Adrian McRae’s resolution received five votes in favour and two against, including the mayor.

Mayor Peter Carter suggested the motion should not have been considered by the Council

“Mate, it shouldn’t even be in there seriously,” he said on 6PR radio.

“It’s not the role of local government, let me tell you right now. This is a role for the state government, the federal government, health department and local government shouldn’t be entertaining this sort of stuff.”

“We live in a democracy, and councillors have a right to put motions forward, and on the night, we had two councillors away, so the motion got up five-two, which was disappointing.”

He continued, “It’s not right, I mean we had about 50 people in the gallery and that doesn’t represent our whole community.”

Carter confirmed the motion asks the Council CEO to write a letter to “every council in Australia, every health professional, every minister about this motion.”

“And look, it got up. I mean it’s disappointing but it’s a democracy we live in but it’s not the role of our council,” he added.

McRae told the meeting that a local funeral director had observed a “sevenfold increase” in funerals since the vaccine rollout.

“They told me that in 2020, at the height of COVID, they were doing, on average, one funeral a week. One,” he said.

“Since the injection rollout they are doing over one funeral a day. It’s almost a sevenfold increase. It’s frightening. And everyone in our government wants to tiptoe around the big fat elephant that sits right in the middle of the room.”

Official Australian Advice on the Vaccine

The latest advice from the federal Health Department recommends a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine for healthy adults.

It still recommends COVID-19 booster vaccination every 12 months for those aged between 18 and 64 who are severely immunocompromised.

Australians over 75 are recommended to take the vaccine every six months, while those between 65 and 74 are eligible for a dose every six months and are recommended to take it every 12 months, whether immunocompromised or not.

“Regular COVID-19 vaccinations (also known as boosters) are the best way to maintain your protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and death from COVID-19,” the health department states.

The government states that the vaccine’s side effects include a sore arm, headache, muscle pain, fever and chills, and fatigue.