COVID-19 Vaccine Conversations: Safety, Recovery and Advocacy - Legal, Medical and Nutritional Pathways

JOIN US: COVID-19 Vaccine Conversations: Safety, Recovery and Advocacy - Legal, Medical and Nutritional Pathways - Webinar Online Event Thursday 31st October 2024 @ 7:00pm (AEDT) / 8:00am (GMT) 

Hosted by WCH Australia and WCH Nursing with special guests AMPS this live webinar will open up the conversation about the latest updates on safety, recovery and advocacy surrounding the Covid-19 Vaccines. 

Lucinda van Buuren - Registered Nurse / WCH AUS / WCH Oceania / WCH Nursing - Introduction 

Katie Ashby-Koppens - Lawyer / WCH AUS - Update following the recent Landmark decision of Port Hedland Council in WA and the DNA Contamination of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. 

Dr Chris Neil - Cardiologist and AMPS President - Cardiac Events following Covid-19 Vaccines

Dr David Rabbolini - Haematologist / WCH AUS - Blood disorders and clots following Covid-19 Vaccines

Dr Melissa McCann - GP / WCH AUS - Update on the Class Action lawsuit representing Vaccine Injured and Bereaved Families 

Kara Thomas - AMPS Secretary - Introduces AMPS - Australian Medical Professionals Society

Professor Ian Brighthope - Professor Nutritional and Environmental Medicine / WCH AUS - Healing, Recovery and Health after Covid-19 Vaccines

Michelle Bradshaw - Therapist / WCH AUS - Connecting and Volunteering with WCH Australia 

Speaker Bios:

Lucinda van Buuren - Registered Nurse and WCH AUS / WCH Oceania / WCH Nursing 

Lucinda has been a Registered Nurse for twenty six years, with the majority of those years as an Instrument / Circulating Nurse in the operating theatre. Mediating, empowering and advocating for peers and patient’s alike comes naturally to Lucinda. Lucinda’s personal experiences in life led her to embark on qualifications as a Values Based Life Coach and Mindfulness / Meditation Teacher.

Katie Ashby-Koppens - Lawyer / WCH AUS

Katie has been a civil litigator for over 20 years, first in New Zealand and then in Australia. As a generalist civil litigator at first Katie cut her teeth in employment, medico-legal, regulatory dispute work before specialising in class actions and large matters.

In mid 2021, Katie became concerned with what she saw as significant breaches to fundamental human rights and the failure to uphold corner stone principles of the law and joined Voices For Freedom New Zealand, a grass roots organisation that assisted thousands of people who were mandated out of work and suffering other human rights violations, as their head of legal.

Katie has been involved in many of the cases around mandates in New Zealand and the mRNA Covid19 products on both sides of the Tasman.  Katie was legal case manager on the kids’ case in New Zealand, which is when she met Julian Gillespie and Peter Fam (through mutual experts). 

More recently Katie is the solicitor on the record for the GMO case against Pfizer and Moderna in Australia.

AMPS - Australian Medical Professionals Society 

AMPS is committed to ethical evidence based medicine, truth and transparency in research and policy development, and medical autonomy for the health and safety of Australians. 

Dr Chris Neil - Cardiologist / President AMPS

Dr Christopher Neil has practiced medicine for 20 years, specialising in cardiology since 2008. Completing his PhD in Adelaide and undertaking post-doctoral research and a fellowship in the UK , he has been committed to clinical excellence in the care of patients with heart failure.

Returning to a specialist consultant post in his hometown of Melbourne, in 2013, he focused on developing improved systems of care for heart failure patients, whilst continuing to research in hospitals, mentor physicians in training and supervise PhD students.

His passion, however, has always been for his patients and when he saw their health impacted and their rights infringed, he stood against what he saw as unethical and unjustifiable mandates, resulting in his termination in October 2021. He was a co-founder of AMPS in 2021 and continues as the current President.

Dr David Rabbolini - Haematologist / WCH AUS 

Dr David Rabbolini is a haematologist who specialises in conditions related to bleeding and blood clotting.

David has trained and practiced in tertiary centres of excellence in Australia and the UK (Oxford), as well as in rural and regional centres in South Africa and Australia. Having obtained his PhD (Sydney) exploring rare bleeding disorders and through his continued involvement in clinical and translational research, David continues to play an active role in the development of his field.

David believes that optimal health can be achieved through simple measures that include diet, exercise, and spiritual practice. In the setting of illness he believes in the importance of an individualised and integrated approach that considers the benefits and combination of allopathic, natural and traditional medicinals.

David does his best to guide his practice in accordance with the ethical pillars, non-maleficence (do no harm), beneficence (doing good), autonomy (the individual right to choose freely) and justice (fairness). He supports those working towards a free and fairer world.

Dr Melissa McCann - GP / WCH AUS

Dr Melissa McCann is a general practitioner based in the Whitsundays with a special interest in Covid 19 vaccine injuries. Her advocacy work for vaccine injured and bereaved persons has culminated in the instigation of a class action recently filed in April 2023 in the Federal Court.

Dr McCann started as a Pharmacist working on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, before commencing postgraduate medical education in Western Australia. Since completing her medical training, Dr McCann has worked in Albany and Nicol Bay Hospitals in WA, as well as the remote clinic of Onslow in WA via light aeroplane access. She then relocated to the Sunshine Coast in QLD with her husband and three children.  Dr McCann completed her General Practice fellowship training in Gympie QLD, and finally relocated to the Whitsundays. Dr McCann has built a reputation as a caring and competent general practitioner in each Practice she has worked.

Kara Thomas - Secretary AMPS

Kara Thomas is the Secretary of the Australian Medical Professionals' Society (AMPS), and President of the Nurses Professional Association of Australia, professional medical/nursing associations dedicated to protecting and promoting the interests of medical professionals in Australia.  With a background in perioperative nursing and a Master's in Community and International Development, Kara is responsible for much of the organisation's research, writing, campaigns, open letters, and event/conference planning.

Professor Ian Brighthope - Professor Nutritional and Environmental Medicine / WCH AUS

Professor Ian Brighthope graduated in Agricultural Science in 1965 and then in 1974 graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. The Brighthope Clinics and Biocentres were developed in the 1970’s - specialising in Nutritional Medicine, Environmental Medicine, intravenous therapies including chelation therapy and herbal medicine.  

As founding president of Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) and president for over 26 years, Professor Brighthope pioneered the first post-graduate medical course in nutrition and its related fellowship in Australia.  He is now the official ambassador of ACNEM.

Professor Brighthope has acted as an advocate for doctors practicing Integrative Medicine for over 35 years. In 2001 to 2003, he was President of the Complementary Healthcare Council of Australia, the peak industry body for Complementary Medicines.  He delivered the Telstra National Press Club address in September 2002 on complementary medicines and sustainable health in an ageing population.  Professor Brighthope is now the official ambassador to the peak body Complementary Medicines Australia (CMA)

In 2016, Professor Brighthope was given the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Indian Nutritional Medicine Association (INMA) and in 2017, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship in nutritional and environmental medicine of that Association (FINEM).  He introduced the importance of medicinal cannabis to INMA.

His interest in medicinal cannabis dates back to the early 1980’s when he observed his hospital patients detoxing from alcohol, benzos, heroine and other hard drugs doing better when they remained on cannabis to relieve anxiety and pain. In 2017, he initiated the establishment and content of Australia’s first RACGP Category 1 CPD points course in medicinal cannabis. This course was a joint effort of NIIM, ACNEM and NICM.

Professor Brighthope’s lifelong ambition is to help change the way medicine and healthcare is practiced for the benefit of the public and to see nutrition, nutritional and environmental medicine and herbal medicine become the building blocks and keystones to world health and peace.

Michelle Bradshaw - Therapist / WCH AUS

Michelle Bradshaw comes from a background in Planning and Project Management. In 2011, Michelle retrained as a Yoga Therapist specialising in Mental Health, studying with Heather Mason at the Minded Institute in London and has subsequently taken on roles in Clinical Supervision and External Examiner on the 550 hour Professional Diploma in Yoga Therapy. Michelle runs a clinical practice utilising Mind Yoga, Somatic Therapy & Integrative Coaching for a range of mental health conditions including anxiety, panic disorder, depression, burnout, ADHD, Trauma, and PTSD.