When it comes to finding a substance that has a history in the East and is available over the counter being touted as a weight loss agent in the West, berberine – a chemical found in a number of plants – is likely to have its supporters. Yet that’s not the same as arguing it is an agent backed by peer reviewed evidence.
Yes, it’s popping up as “natures Ozempic” on social media. There’s a range of websites listing weight loss, lowering of blood sugar levels, reduced cholesterol whilst some cite varied research papers. Companies such as Swisse will sing its praises and even point to “healthy insulin levels” and papers discussing its role in cancer. Nonetheless, it depends where you land when discerning what praises will be sung and what conclusive advice will be published, regardless of findings. In fact the effects of berberine are not well documented or defined.
The most in depth research will stress the need for further research. Larger samples, wider scope within methodology, a focus on specific components of cardiovascular health and even agreed upon amounts and formulations to be studied upon population samples with rigidly controlled age-health profiles. Berberine has been studied far more in Asia than in Western nations, but regrettably the necessary controls are not applied. Various compounds and amounts of berberine applied to subjects with different illnesses and histories cannot provide the statistical certainty one expects, much less serious criteria for falsification and reproduction.
We would possibly have convoluted issues from an ethical standing also. Consider the range of side effects listed in this WebMD article. Even worse is the fact some consumers have fallen dramatically ill within hours of taking berberine purchased online. This is not the norm but these patients find themselves in hospital with pronounced GI purging, dehydration and other complications.
Frustratingly, most punters browsing online have no idea what an AUST L number is, who demands its presence and where to find it. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) lists (L) unregistered medicines (vitamins or wellness products) by number, provided they won’t harm you. They don’t have to work, having not been pre-market evaluated by the TGA, but must have low risk ingredients. Nonetheless, it helps to be aware of how certain products are rated by the TGA, especially when they make grandiose claims. I would also urge you to do some research on the type of side effects and seriousness of prolonged use of berberine. This PDF is a succinct TGA berberine document.
In fact there is really no good science regarding berberine and weight loss. One study found that for individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, subjects who took berberine for three months experienced weight loss. It’s important to note that it interacts with a number of drugs and/or supplements and side effects include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. It reminds me somewhat of St. John’s Wort. Berberine can impact the P450 cytochrome in the liver and have quasi-impacts on other liver enzymes involved in breaking down drugs.
In order to escape the nasty side effect impact on the G.I. system that berberine has, individuals hoping to make a buck in the wellness industry came up with a new method of delivery. Users of social media, particularly Facebook in my case, might have noticed seemingly endless promotion of an amazing weight loss “patch” that “stopped belly fat… amazes experts… burns belly fat… [and] has science stunned”. In fact it was a clever marketing ploy, following an initial TV advertising gig I fortunately missed. Social media permitted rampant boasting about the impact of studies into oral berberine intake, to support offering it in transdermal patch form to avoid stomach acid destruction. This claim alone leaves one skeptical.
First came the ladies patch named “Purisaki”. It was red with a blue border. Amongst ample peacock terminology and reference to “an Australian startup” readers were treated to this compelling paragraph:
In the summer of 2025, a presentation at a major nutrition science conference turned heads. Jessica Taylor and Kate Morrison, the founders of the startup behind Purisaki, presented their revolutionary method for natural weight loss and detoxification.
Weightloss Mag Australia wanted to know all about Jess and Kate’s breakthrough that “is turning heads”. It all started with their own experience. For Jess and Kate is was all about the 8 part formula in their transdermal patch that encouraged detoxification and the burning of fat. They told the Mag:
So together with leading nutrition scientists, we developed a product that combines fat burning and detoxification – completely natural and with no side effects.
Not much later came the men’s patch called LifeGuage which mentioned that “science is stunned by berberine” thanks to Australian startup. This patch was less obvious, being a colour I might call “Anglo-Saxon pink”. We got to read this familiar-sounding paragraph:
In summer 2025, a presentation at a major sports nutrition conference caused a stir. Matt Berger and Tom Hartman, the founders of the start-up behind LifeGauge, presented their method for targeted fat reduction and metabolism activation – specifically designed for men whose bodies stop cooperating after 40.
Weightloss Mag Australia wanted to know all about Matt and Tom’s science-stunning breakthrough. Ironically, it all started with their own experience. For Matt and Tom it was all about the 8 part formula delivered via their transdermal patch. They told the Mag:
Together with nutritional scientists, we developed a method that delivers berberine and other natural active ingredients directly through the skin – bypassing the stomach, straight into the bloodstream.
Now for a product that’s “stunning science” one has a right to expect to see said product being subject to proper scientific studies. And yes, LifeGuage has kindly offered some research into related compounds used in their product. Remember, their transdermal patch is claimed to be extra-effective because delivery bypasses the gut, where other pills or supplements and indeed berberine, are “destroyed in the stomach before they can even work”.
So, one has the right to be disappointed to discover the LifeGuage scientific research page provides no research into transdermal patch application of the Australian startup-driven-science-stunning-weight-zapping-sticker. That’s because there is absolutely no evidence that application of these compounds via this method will improve health, energy, make you feel younger or have a positive impact on weight loss. Indeed, the research presented by LifeGuage all relates to human oral trials, animal studies or in vitro research. So, to repeat, there’s no evidence to support the claims made regarding this transdermal patch technology.
Berberine research looks into berberine itself and how it impacts type 2 diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, cholesterol and the extent of its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. A great deal more research is needed into all of these and other suggested areas, and we must keep in mind that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the TGA and other medicine regulators do not promote its use for management of disease.
The LifeGuage and Purisaki transdermal patch ingredients are identical. Yet the impact is described slightly different for men and women. Remember, men over 40 get a fat gut and feel lethargic. Women just get more unsightly fat and tend to need antioxidant effects. The patches contain berberine, Green Tea extract, African Mango Seed extract, Fucoxanthin extract, punicic acid and vitamins. Promotors claim without linking to any evidence:
Berberine Extract – Kickstarts fat metabolism, keeps blood sugar stable and stops cravings – so the body burns fat instead of storing it. In women: Naturally promotes metabolic function and supports healthy blood sugar levels to curb appetite, stop cravings and reduce fat storage.
Fucoxanthin Extract – Boosts fat burning and specifically targets the stubborn belly fat typical in men over 40. In women: Promotes fat oxidation and energy metabolism and can reduce the accumulation of visceral fat.
Pomegranate Oil (Punicic Acid Extract) – Protects cells, reduces inflammation and improves circulation – for more vitality and a better sense of wellbeing, in men. In women: Eases inflammation through antioxidant protection and improves fat metabolism so more fat is burned.
African Mango Extract – Delivers a genuine feeling of fullness, curbs appetite and prevents the body from building new fat reserves, in men. In women: Regulates leptin levels for a better sense of fullness, curbs appetite and helps reduce the formation of new fat cells.
Vitamin C, B1, B3 – Drive fat metabolism and support L-carnitine production – the substance that converts fat in the muscles into energy. The result: more fat burning, more energy, more performance in everyday life and during exercise, for men. In women: Support fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism and the production of L-carnitine, which is essential for transporting fatty acids into muscle cells for energy, thereby boosting fat burning.
This isn’t a fad – it’s targeted support for men who want to get their body back in shape. If you want to lose the belly fat and feel fitter again, LifeGauge is the way to go (for men).
This isn’t a fad – this is science for effective fat burning. Those who want real results choose Purisaki. The rest can keep hoping for miracles (for women).
A little further down each promotional page we read:
This website is an advertisement and not a news article.
Results may vary. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or health condition. Weight loss occurs as part of a healthy, calorie-reduced diet and exercise programme.
MARKETING DISCLOSURE: This website is a marketplace. As such, you should know that the owner has a financial connection to the products and services advertised on the website. The owner receives payment when a qualified lead is referred, but that is all.
ADVERTISING DISCLOSURE: This website and the products and services referred to on the website are advertising marketplaces. This website is an advertisement and not a news publication. All photos of persons used on this website are models. The owner of this website and of the products and services referred to on this website only provides a service through which consumers can obtain and compare information.
It’s enough to make one wonder exactly what side effects may eventuate if the product was misused.
On Monday 22 January 2024 the unique home for all things COVID conspiracy, Café Locked Out, hosted a video titled The Launch of OpenDAEN, A free database of Adverse Events. Cutting to the chase, OpenDEAN, promoted and launched by Sharon Cousins, purported to be an easy and honest means of access to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Database of Adverse Event Notification.
Like its namesake previously debunked here, OpenVAERS, the Australian analogue of misleading information, OpenDAEN, presents decontextualised data in a manner that seeks to create the illusion COVID-19 vaccines are inherently unsafe. That “vaccine injuries” are rampant. Again like OpenVAERS it presents as conclusive fact, reports of negative health experiences observed in, or claimed by, an individual after that individual received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Like the TGA, OpenDAEN uses the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA), to classify adverse reactions. It provides filtering with the European Medicines Agency, Important Medical Events list and Pfizer’s analysis of post authorisation adverse events. An additional adverse reaction of “serious” has been added to OpenDAEN. Sharon Cousins is an erstwhile insurance executive, now presenting as an “independent researcher” with a penchant for criticising COVID-19 vaccines. Sharon could not share her screen and was directing suspended NSW anaesthetist Paul Oosterhuis, the third member of this Zoom presentation, around the site.
The primary data interrogation categories on the index page of openDAEN are:
Case numbers by Year, Month and Sex
Cases by COVID-19 Vaccine Type
Case Numbers by Reaction term and Age
Case by Frequency of Batch Number
Table of case number, date, vaccine manufacturer, MedDRA reactions, Death, Serious cases and the FOI request number the batch number was confirmed by.
The index page offers the following:
Above: Slideshow: OpenDAEN website
OpenDAEN is called a “free database”. Don’t be fooled. The important elements here are reports and post vaccine, combined with the fact almost all adult Australians have had two COVID-19 vaccines, as have two thirds of 5-15 year olds. Random ill health events can and do frequently occur coincidentally with vaccination. It’s also important to realise that the TGA and health authorities encourage Australians to report these events, so that over time a greater understanding of these vaccines will emerge. OpenDAEN.info provides a description on each page footer:
OpenDAEN.Info is a non-commercial and not-for-profit website for the research, study and review of the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) DAEN (Database of Adverse Event Notifications) system in respect of COVID-19 vaccines. The primary source of data on OpenDAEN is the TGA DAEN system and their published FOIs (Freedom of Information).
Decontextualisation
When taken out of context and denied TGA cautionary disclaimers, the reports become hearsay temporally related to something somebody did. Nothing more. This is decontextualisation. But apparently, we are to assume causation exists. OpenDAEN claims to be able to offer up to date, conclusive data related to adverse events caused by COVID-19 immunisation. These adverse reactions are the subject of reports sent to the TGA DAEN. So, the data themselves have a recognisable source. But can absolute conclusions be made with any real confidence? In reality it takes time for clinically relevant events, specific to any vaccination to be investigated, identified and acted upon. Unless already understood and published on the TGA COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Report (2 November 2023), the quality and quantity of adverse reaction is speculation. To make matters worse, the anti-vaccination lobby has invested an exceptional amount of time spreading disinformation via social media, and one of their primary targets has been the TGA DAEN.
The anti-vaccine lobby want every report to be an absolute reality. They want the figures, diligently and honestly provided to Australia by the TGA, to be accepted without examination as conclusive, in their misguided attempt to wipe out COVID-19 immunisation. We saw this claim time and again in the court affidavits of Peter Fam, Meryl Dorey, Julian Gillespie and Katie Ashby-Koppens; reports presented as if confirmation of death and injury in huge numbers. But correlation is not causation. If you haven’t clicked the link to DAEN by now, let’s see what the TGA, but not OpenDAEN, stress about the contents.
- DAEN SPLASH SCREEN DISCLAIMER –
Okay, so it confirms what I stressed above. But most crucially, you have to tick the teeny weeny little box next to I have read and understand the above, to access the TGA data. The disclaimer can’t be missed. Only willingly ignored. The importance of what this means and the restrictions the disclaimer places ipso facto, on OpenDAEN was studiously avoided during the video on 22 January. In fairness I will note that a small header on the TGA DAEN page was visible, but also ignored. It reads; Inclusion in DAEN – medicines does not mean that the adverse event has been confirmed or that it was caused by a medicine or vaccine. Clicking it – which the presenters also studiously avoided – reveals a little more about the DAEN content. Due to size restrictions of a screenshot, I’ll pop the text in a paragraph, and include some emphasis (mine):
The DAEN – medicines allows you to search adverse event reports for medicines including vaccines received by the TGA. The TGA uses adverse event reports to identify when a safety issue may be present. The DAEN – medicines does not contain all known safety information. An assessment of the safety of a medicine or vaccine cannot be made using the DAEN – medicines alone.
Talk to a health professional before starting, stopping, or changing your prescription medicines.
Anyone can report a suspected adverse event, including members of the public, health professionals and pharmaceutical companies. We encourage reporting even when it is not clear that a medicine or vaccine is the cause. Information from these reports is published in the DAEN – medicines and reflects the observations of the person who reported the event.
People who experienced an adverse event cannot be identified. Maintaining their privacy is of critical importance to the TGA.
The DAEN – medicines is a ‘living’ database that is frequently updated. Information may change if we receive more details on an existing report or if we identify duplicate reports and combine them. Updates may also occur as part of our data quality assurance activities.
In short, the TGA DAEN database is constantly growing, contains information from any member of the public, reflects the observations of that person, provides no information about the safety or lack thereof, of vaccines and does not confirm that an adverse event was caused by a vaccine. It cannot even confirm if the event has actually occurred. I might add, dear reader, given that the anti-vaccine lobby has gone out of its way to submit to the DAEN clearly impossible and even bogus reports, one must remain extra vigilant when assessing or querying these data.
Indeed, Sharon Cousins herself relayed an abuse of the TGA DAEN system at the 8:30 mark of the video. She had queried via FOI why a reported death of a 6 year old boy was no longer available on the DAEN. Sharon noted that within her FOI report FOI 4077 (“Batch numbers of COVID-19 vaccines of reported deaths”), it was revealed the initial report was submitted as a hoax. The relevant section of the report reads:
FOI 4077 also requested information about why case number 724925 no longer appears in the DAEN. This report was rejected following review of further information for the case. The information demonstrated that the report was submitted as a hoax and as such there is no identifiable patient. The report remains in the TGA’s internal database. However, it no longer is included in the DAEN as it has been rejected because it no longer met the minimum criteria for a valid adverse event report.
Sharon Cousins
Sharon also said the TGA reply included, “Normally we wouldn’t answer this”, after insinuating she has a positive relationship with them. However, that comment is clearly not there. One appreciates Sharon sharing this information, but cannot ignore that it took an FOI query of a fatality to uncover the truth. How many other adverse or serious adverse reactions were, or will be, “rejected following review of further information for the case”. Sharon was eager to reassure viewers that OpenDAEN was not misusing the TGA website, but rather making it “more user friendly”. It will be of benefit to TGA staff Sharon opined, and she had sent the site link “to the coroners”, and to State and Territory head pathologists.
Batch Numbers
Throughout, much is made of the section allowing search of batch numbers. We learn that when it comes to accessing batch numbers, the TGA, “Doesn’t have any search engines on it, is a little bit clunky and it times out”. The TGA freely provide data in CSV format on batch release assessment of COVID-19 vaccines. One of two release pathways is taken; either based on overseas certification or based on TGA laboratory assessment. The TGA explain this in detail. So, what could be wrong with smoother navigation of COVID-19 batch numbers as a function of vaccine type, reported adverse reaction and de-identified data? Usually nothing, unless one ignores TGA advice and extrapolates to conclusion, based on other available data.
At the 50:00 minute mark Sharon directs navigation through the number of cases per batch number, highlighting batch number FP1430 – COMIRNATY, (Pfizer), in section 4. OpenDAEN has accessed the batch numbers via FOI, and that’s fine. OpenDAEN reveals inordinately more adverse reactions for male and female associated with this batch number, compared to those next to it. Sharon instructed more data access and directed navigation to the batch number table. She continued:
Look at the dates! Look at all the dates! Within 24 hours of the Pfizer being released on the younger children, the five to elevens… it was all advertised, tenth of January [2022], five to eleven year olds… within 24 hours we have reported cases. Now that for me is causal proximity.
Sharon continued on, directing suspended doctor Oosterhuis to isolate reported – not confirmed – fatalities using that batch number and age group. They isolate two boys. Zeroing in on the symptoms of one boy, Sharon reads, abdominal pain, then dismisses adverse event following immunisation as “a very bland one”, then cardiac arrest. She has Paul Oosterhuis explain eosinophilia and eosinophilia myocarditis. He assumes he is explaining the findings of both of “these boys”. In fact the data reveal clearly it is only one boy. A five year old.
The ten year old “fatality” has only Adverse Event Following Immunisation listed. The “very bland one”, dear reader. Then Sharon warns us “It’s a little bit distressing now, okay. The two boys both had the same batch number”. She gets Oosterhuis to zoom in and suggests, “So, screen print that people if you don’t believe us”. After zooming in on the case numbers Sharon has Oosterhuis zoom in on the batch numbers again, as if she hadn’t made that point enough times already.
Now, I am not a lawyer but I doubt the strength of Sharon’s “causal proximity” claim. There is another factor Sharon told us herself, that must be considered. As she points out, the roll out for Pfizer for 5-11 year olds was 10 January 2022. Thus, the first factor I would investigate would be the sheer number of children being vaccinated, at the time of release. Over 11 weeks, 76.6% of those 2.3 million children were vaccinated. 1,761,800 children had one dose. 1,552,500 (67.5%) had two doses. The vaccine for 5-11 year olds is one third the dose approved for children aged 12 years and over. Cold chain transport and storage is vital to the success of mass mRNA vaccination programmes.
Using OpenDAEN to interrogate vaccine batch numbers of adverse reports about 5-11 year olds, over the first two months of the rollout, we see virtually one result: FP1430. Yet what is more likely? Batch FP1430 is responsible for all adverse reaction reports? Or most 5-11 year olds vaccinated in the initial days, were dosed from batch FP1430? By the end of February other batch numbers begin to appear and gradually attract more reports. By late March, FP1430 is just another batch number. More so, there are over 500 unknown batch numbers for that age group. However, if you present your disinformation just right, some might believe in the deliberate harming of children:
– Facebook comment –
What do the TGA say?
There have been no deaths in children or adolescents determined to be linked to COVID-19 vaccination. More detail on these deaths is available in the safety report published on 15 December 2022… If we identify a new death likely to be related to vaccination, we will publish this information promptly, as we have for all other cases since the start of the vaccine roll-out. [Source – 2 November 2023]
Of the 14 deaths the TGA confirm are linked to vaccination, none are in the 5-11 year age group. Yet Sharon is convinced of her claim, has already convinced others and will convince more, simply because of bias. Her defence, I suspect, will be that she used FOI legislation to access reports on batch numbers and the TGA lacks the smooth batch number access and navigation of OpenDAEN. Yet Sharon made up her mind before she even started looking. In fact, Inclusion in the DAEN does not mean the event has been confirmed or determined as related to a vaccine, is utterly ignored when using OpenDAEN.
The reactions reported in January, are based on MedDRA. Seen clearly in the video, were cough, vomiting, pallor, lethargy, rash, injection site rash, syncope, cold sweat, decreased appetite, anxiety, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, abdominal discomfort, aggravation of existing disease, excessive sweating, hives, muscle stiffness, chest discomfort. The worst on screen were seizure, appendicitis and a seperate loss of consciousness. Searching the batch number/adverse reaction table for 5-11 year olds in my own time, revealed reports of chest pain, syncope, anaphylactic reaction, paraesthesia, ECG ST segment elevation, nystagmus, pneumonia and many others. Some reports were of one reaction and others of multiple. All reports are of conditions children experience everywhere across the globe. Establishing cause or any relationship to COVID-19 vaccines is the role of health authorities.
Elsewhere on OpenDAEN we read that:
Useful search engines, graphs and tables have been developed into a helpful user-friendly database to assist study, research, review and analysis of the Australian Government publicly available data. […] We believe in sharing this information in an open and easy-to-use format (with search engines, tables and graphs etc.) and to help make it quicker for anyone wanting to source data for their own study, research and review.
The Quack Miranda
So, the team want to share information in a fast open and easy way to help with doing your own research. It sounds almost too good to be true. The Disclaimer and Disclosure tell us:
– Source: OpenDAEN –
Okay then. It is up to the user to get further professional information to confirm if the information is “of value to you”. Accuracy of the information cannot be guaranteed which places further responsibility on the user to seek advice before relying upon it. It’s information they might get wrong and as such will not be liable “for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred” by reason of relying on that information.
It is 2024 and world search and data systems can perform enormous and complex requests with astonishing speed and accuracy, yet when Australian governments roll out never before used experimental gene therapies to millions of citizens, Australians are left to report to an antiquated adverse event reporting system (DAENs) still with both feet in last century.
This amounts to a fundamental failure of Pharmacovigilance and the Australian People. Searching through DAENs remains a nightmare for researchers, where one cannot but question the motivations of the TGA and the Australian health departments who feed it Our Information. OpenDAEN greatly assists researchers and students, and data and IT experts desperately needed to review and criticise the current DAEN system which is not fit for purpose.
Hopefully OpenDAEN will motivate Australian governments to take the needed steps towards a national real-time, transparent, and easily accessible adverse event reporting system, for properly protecting the health of Australians and better facilitating valid Informed Consent. The antiquated DAEN system deprives and seemingly hides needed health data necessary for Australians to provide valid Informed Consent.
COVID vaccine injury class action fund raiser, Dr. Melissa McCann writes:
This is amazing and meticulous work by you and your team.
Strong reminders of OpenVAERS and how decontextualised data are used by anti-vaccine activists to mislead, were apparent during the video. Alluding to what is known as the Lazarus Report, after the name of the principle investigator, one commenter offers:
– Facebook comment –
Suggesting that TGA DAEN statistics are only “(10%?)” of “ACTUAL injuries and deaths”, is linked to a bogus belief of widespread underreporting to VAERS in the USA. I addressed this in a post challenging OpenVAERS, writing.
The figure of 1% comes from a report from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc., authored by Ross Lazarus. Data examined are from 1 December 2007 to 30 September 2010. These data include all possible adverse events. Prior evaluation of the reporting rates of various events confirms that minor events are rarely reported and more serious events routinely reported. A 2014 report on surveillance of adverse events following immunisation in NSW, Australia noted that:
Only 11% of the reported adverse events were categorised as serious.
In short, most adverse events such as a sore arm, nausea, swelling, redness, headaches, vomiting and other self correcting issues are indeed underreported, but make up the vast bulk of adverse events following immunisation. Yet since the Lazarus report, anti-vaxxers love to spread tales of widespread death and terrifying injury, then solemnly add “only 1% are ever reported”.
Paul Offit is a strong supporter of VAERS which he refers to as a “hypothesis-generating mechanism”. Reports there of intussusception approximately once per 10,000 doses led to suspension of his own RotaShield vaccine which was ultimately recalled, before returning as a safe product. In fact health authorities want parents or doctors to report minor events as soon as possible. Much can be learned about self limiting reactions, and more concerning to severe reactions can be gauged by pattern changes, properly identified and suspended under section 29D of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.
Perhaps the most damning page on OpenDAEN is the resources page. A curated smattering of COVID-19 vaccine pseudoscience and “vaccine injury” class actions, peppered with all the anti-COVID mandate and health advice groups, it seems designed to lead readers into a field of gaping rabbit holes. Dr. Melissa McCann’s COVID class action vaccine injuries video tops the page. The World Council for Health Spike protein detox guide is there. R.F. Kennedy Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense Australia, The Zelenko Protocol, The Australian Medical Professionals Society, many of whom we’ve met here before, World of Wellness and the National Institute of Integrative Medicine to name a few.
Conclusion
OpenDAEN is not an exciting addition to the TGA DAEN database. It is not a positive, user-friendly addition to TGA staff or to genuine researchers and academics. It is created, managed, supported and provided by and for respectively, members of the anti-vaccine community, convinced that COVID-19 vaccines are the cause of multiple health ailments and death. No professionals were available for its launch. All invitations were ignored. It has no integrity and no academic standing. No coroners or State and Territory head pathologists will care.
Like its namesake in the USA, OpenVAERS, it is designed to allow users to gather misleading collections of coincidental report material and present this as causal COVID-19 vaccine adverse reactions. To be sure, the results it produces, easy to construct as they are, will find their way onto websites, social media and court affidavits. OpenDAEN won’t enjoy the success OpenVAERS did, because now only diehards remain. During the launch of OpeanDAEN, events two years old were focused on, to craft a demonstrably bogus, yet very serious accusation against COVID-19 vaccines.
In June this year we briefly met suspended GP registrar, William Bay, thanks to his attempt to intervene in the Australian Babies Case. He has summarised his reasons for doing so here. Suffice it to say the Australian Vaccination-risks Network were not happy, making me very happy.
Fast forward to the present, and former AVN president Meryl Dorey, who has taken to feverish promotion of cooker-conspiracy theories on Substack, revealed Saturday that the same William Bay had sent her a formal Letter of Concern. It lists numerous comments about him on her Substack site, that he believes are defamatory. Billy wants the article and every comment removed, topped off with a public apology. This is the latest event since Billy, who proudly refers to himself as the Suspended Dr. William Bay, falsely declared his High Court challenge to have the Voice referendum declared unconstitutional, was a success.
This was not the first time Billy, who often proclaims he’s doing God’s work, declared victory in stark dissonance to the facts. He is soundly refuted by AAP FactCheck here. AAP provide insight into how quickly disinformation spreads between cookers. Billy’s proclamation of victory is a great example of how the uncritical acceptance of a claim can influence belief. It also underscores the power of social media, in this regard. Billy gave a performance of confidence and credibility in a Cafe Locked Out interview, citing as proof documents that actually confirmed his failure.
During the interview he referred to a document on his website’s legal docs page headed “Application For A Constitutional Or Other Writ”. Billy directs viewers to his site then says:
I’m looking at it on my computer right now. It’s a miracle, it’s gorgeous, it’s great. It is a stamped document by Justice Jagot of the High Court itself who has declined to rule on the constitutionality of the referendum. So with this case being dismissed from further need for analysis, in legal circles as my lawyer friends will know… if jurisdiction is not proven it is invalid.
The gorgeous and great miracle was the exact document Billy had submitted for filing. The stamp added by Justice Margaret Jagot references High Court Rule 6.07.2, which deals with the management of frivolous or vexatious applications, and includes:
I direct the Registrar to refuse to issue or file this document without the leave of a Justice first had and obtained by the party seeking to issue or file it.
The upper part of the stamped application is below.
Screenshot – Billy Bay’s rejected application
Of course I am not a lawyer, and neither is Billy for that matter, but he has filed documents with the High Court before this. The Notice Of Filing cover page is part of previous documents he has lodged, displayed on his website. This includes file number, title, registry, type of document; in this case Application for constitutional or other writ, filing party and date. Think of it as confirmation that legal proceedings will take place. Plainly absent from his gorgeous miracle, it also clearly states:
Notice of filing page: Important Information
Staying in theme dear reader, I submit that the evidence before you supports the contention that the Suspended Dr. William Bay did know or should have known that his application was unsuccessful, and did know or should have known that the 2023 referendum is not unconstitutional. This conduct is not unusual for Billy who frequently offers baseless beliefs as fact.
Nonetheless, what followed was an old fashioned pile-on by various “freedom fighters” who took three days and more to decide Billy was wrong. Which interestingly, although they’d never admit it, was how long it took for AAP FactCheck to publish their rebuttal. More so, the stamped rejection of Billy’s application was available on 5 September receiving comment on social media by critics of the so-called freedom movement.
Then on 8 September, long time anti-vaxxer, AVN member, self-proclaimed “journalist” and founder of The People’s Revolution, Tristan Van Rye, better known as Triccy Triddy took to Facebook. Triccy lives in that alternate universe where nefarious global conspiracies of momentous proportion are accepted as fact. His tactics deserve proper deconstruction, but for now bear in mind he is driven by base neoconservatism. There is the ever-changing enemy to fear and there is “us”, constantly threatened by the enemy. Triccy’s a true believer and whilst he’s sowing fear, disinformation and social harm, appears genuinely convinced he is doing good.
In this video Triccy does a sound job of pointing out why Billy’s claim that the referendum is unconstitutional, can only be bogus. Chatter in the cookerverse following Billy’s announcement was reinforcing his other claim, that voting is unnecessary. Triccy had spent months sewing disinformation and anxiety about voting “Yes” and understandably couldn’t allow the chance of lost votes to go unchallenged. Other seasoned curators of disinformation felt the same way and rushed to their live streams. Senator Malcolm Roberts (who himself alleged in parliament that the ballot was unconstitutional), AVN president Aneeta Hafemeister, SovCit grifter Mike Palmer, former MMA fighter and Peacemaker founder Nick Patterson and pseudolaw obsessive Derek Balogh, all had a sudden concern for the spread of misinformation.
In the wake of Triccy’s video, Billy sent him a text message. It was reposted on Telegram:
Triccy, I hearby request and direct you to take down that FB live that you just did about me because I consider it defamatory. We have WON in the High Court. I will continue to show and explain that to the people of Australia; until it’s crystal clear for everyone I encourage you to keep an open mind to things, and in the meantime, I would appreciate it to save us all the trouble if you would remove that video please. Dr William Bay
Billy also sent a Letter of Concern to Triccy in response to said defamatory video. Triccy, in a rare moment of near jocularity, burnt it in his favourite faux lounge fire-pit. Billy however, kept up his booming confidence and applied for leave to issue or file the original application. This matter was heard on 15 September and ruled the original application an abuse of process. See p. 5, para 8:
It is not necessary to consider the question of standing, here in the context of a referendum. By r 6.07.1 leave to issue or file should be refused where the document would amount to an abuse of process. The latter term encompasses proceedings which are foredoomed to fail, as the proposed proceedings are.
Ah, foredoomed to failure, dear reader. A weighty yoke for our suspended doctor to bear. By 19 September, Billy had apologised to Triccy and withdrawn “proceedings”. Triccy was not amused, and announced an end to any further cooperation with Billy. He also took issue with a claim Billy made about employment restrictions imposed by AHPRA. We’ll get to that. First, we don’t want to forget that when Billy was gearing up to sue Triccy for defamation, someone else got their bad ass boots on. In fact there was bad assin’ and chin juttin’ aplenty from our Meryl, all with the hope of provoking Billy.
He was easy to provoke and Meryl went in hard. In a piece titled Distinguishing truth from bullsh*t 101, Meryl hit him where it hurt. It began with humour, as Australia’s most pernicious antivax liar laid out the section heading; Unity is vital – but truth is paramount. Oh, how we laughed! But next came mockery with; Billy Bay’s High Court “Victory”. Ah, the sting of those quotation marks. Then Not the first time Billy has done this, opened the way to a recounting of the failure of the Australian Babies Case. But ultimately came the totally bad ass; Will Billy Bay now come after me for telling the truth about his actions?
Having got the desired reaction, Meryl posted an article, referring to him only as “Bully” as she outlined the specifics of Billy’s letter of concern. The subheading; I don’t take well to threats, can only be described as (need I say it?) totally bad ass, and the article swiftly dispenses with any notion that Meryl is concerned. Within, she refers to a comment reply she wrote in response to Billy’s comment requesting her to “stop attacking” him. She raises the same issue Triccy Triddy had done regarding Billy’s claim on Voice of Freedom that AHPRA had prevented him from working in “any job at all”.
This is another jolly example of that area between remote possibility and reality that Billy exploits. Just as he continued to claim victory in the High Court because he had filed for leave to have his (already rejected) application accepted, there is a submission Billy refers to in the hope of convincing his followers. Simply put it is material submitted in reply from Billy to AHPRA, The Medical Board of Australia and QLD State, in the wake of his suspension. It happens to include:
So, he sought an injunction to prevent AHPRA and the Board from further enforcement of their “compliance letter” so that he can work in positions that don’t “require current registration with AHPRA as a condition of employment”. Neither AHPRA nor the Board have the power to enforce conditions outside their purview. Billy has always been free to work in areas where registration with AHPRA is not required.
Prior to this Billy had submitted an Application for Review of the findings of AHPRA and the Board. On page 7 is a request for an injunction to limit enforcement of the “compliance letter”, so that Billy could work in health care roles seperate from those of a GP Registrar.
The “compliance letter” is clear in that Billy is prohibited from working in health care. All health care, and only health care. In fact, the same document includes a November 2022 affidavit from Billy Bay which presents a clear summary of that letter on page 4, item 15:
The evidence that AHPRA ever sought to prevent Billy working “at all” doesn’t exist. Yet Billy chose to zero in on one part of a much larger, failed application to the Supreme Court. From 27:20 to 28:45 in the interview with Carl Lieberman, Billy talks about what he then thought were defamatory comments from Triccy Triddy. It was “a matter of life and death” for him because if his followers don’t trust him, donations would dry up and this was his only income. You can grab the mp3 file here or listen below. The important part is:
Billy: I even filed an application in the Supreme Court to let me work in any job at all and I lost that one…
Carl: Is that any job in health or any job at all?
Billy: At all, at all Sir… at all! It’s an outrage. It’s a disgrace and a disgust and the people of Australia need to know that, to see how unlawful this AHPRA agency is that they think they can regulate me that much. If they can do that to me they can do that to you.
Carl’s face is priceless as he can’t hide his incredulity. He asks Billy about responding to AHPRA under basic trade-law rights, but Billy had already tried “the international covenant on political and civil rights”. And so it came to pass that Triccy and Meryl called foul on this claim of Billy’s. But they were ten and fourteen days late respectively. Where did they get such bad ass information? Could it be that badder asses had earlier sought to hold Billy to account? A quick visit to Billy’s Facebook page gave me an answer of sorts. Some devious character with an obviously fake name had commented under the video, a day after it was posted:
The plot thickens! There’s also some lucky losing cast iron flying pig standing on an old copy of The Skeptic magazine and snooping around X.
@DrBillyBay Can you support your claim of being prevented by AHPRA to work in “any job at all” please? You’re suspended, and AHPRA suspension outcomes are clearly stated on their website. I’m worried you might inadvertently reinforce Triccy’s claim you “spruik misinformation”.
Humour aside, there are serious elements to consider in the wake of Billy’s ultimately harmless threats against seasoned con-artists. It’s breath-taking to witness Meryl Dorey, architect of the 2016 No Jab No Pay High Court scam, levelling accusations of donation fraud against him. NSW Fair Trading found the AVN guilty of breaching the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991, yet decided not to press charges. As for the money Dorey admitted to hoarding, furious AVN donors had to swallow the loss of their $160,000. Yet she recently wrote about Billy:
So Bully is gaining money from our suffering community under false pretences and I exposed that along with several other long-time supporters of health freedom and informed choice.
Meryl exposed nothing others hadn’t revealed two weeks before. Her own false pretences ensured a career sabotaging public health initiatives and scamming donors. Prior to the formation of the unfunded volunteer group, Stop The AVN, her unceasing schemes ran unchecked. COVID was a double-edged sword; bringing more followers to anti-vaccine conspiracies, but ensuring the increasing irrelevance of the Cult of Meryl. Even the AVN court cases failed. The frustration seeps through in this stand-over advice she offered Billy.
Better than you have tried to censor me for nearly 3 decades and they have not been successful. Perhaps it’s time for you to do some deep soul searching Bully and try to work out why you are actually involved with this issue. Because as far as I can see, it doesn’t appear that caring for our community and the lives of the children and adults therein is your main motivator.
Triccy was far more diplomatic in his criticism, stressing that he meant Billy “no harm”. Unlike Dorey, Triccy appears genuinely focused on change rather than profit and ego. That said, his belief that “we are experiencing World War III, which will be known in the future as The War Against the People”, is based on harmful conspiracy theories of shadow governments. Whilst a key aspect of his rhetoric is that “people will forget their differences”, he is quite skilled at ensuring division between what he wants and what most of us identify as progressive thought.
Billy himself has spent over a year filing for court cases, circling social media and attending protests, after he publicly sabotaged his medical career at an AMA conference in July 2022. Like these other two judging him, he spends a great deal of time spreading disinformation to suit his own bizarre ideology. He also scoops up donations from gullible supporters drawn to conspiracies.
Ultimately, trouble in cooker paradise is nothing short of great news. Belief in conspiracy theories and suspicion of vaccines have both increased post COVID. Researchers are refining their understanding of the factors behind distrust of health authorities. Yet the role social media played in warping uncritical minds during lockdown, has today been replaced by quick-changing narratives adapted to suit. Attacking the Voice referendum is a case in point.
For a long time yet, anything that reflects positive social change will be seen by these players as the latest phase of dark conspiracies. I for one wish them all the infighting and trouble they can muster, and may they tear their angry little worlds asunder.
The COVID pandemic gave voice to a number of conspiracy theories that sought to offer an explanation about what was “really” happening. Some of the more bizarre, and yet persistent, conspiracies involve an inexplicable plan of global depopulation. Or as it is often labelled, “culling”.
A decade before the pandemic, anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists had accused Bill Gates of using vaccines in his own quest to depopulate the planet. That was an intentional distortion of a TED talk Gates had given in which he notes that improved public health correlated with decreased population growth. Over time it became a particularly robust piece of misinformation, commonly spread with the unfounded claim that vaccines cause infertility. Claims of vaccine induced depopulation and infertility found new ground during the pandemic. As the pandemic continued a host of conspiracy theories about vaccines were entertained by antivaxxers in a bizarre ebb and flow fashion modulated by social media.
Another identity associated with the depopulation conspiracy theory to be dusted off during the pandemic was psychiatrist, Dr. Rima Laibow. Rima was referenced on social media in 2021, January 2022 and most recently in March 2023. Laibow’s attraction was due to her appearance on the 2009 programmeConspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura. Motivated by H1N1 (“Swineflu”), anti-vaccine conspiracy theory rhetoric, Laibow claimed during an interview that the World Health Organisation had been working since 1974 to orchestrate global depopulation. She claimed the WHO assessed the world overpopulated by 90% and was using vaccines to create “permanent sterility”. That the population had grown from 4 billion to just under 7 billion from 1974 to 2009 was seemingly lost on her.
April 2023 Instagram post from a now deleted account
Her 2009 appearance with Jesse Ventura was being shared on social media along with commentary suggesting that Laibow had “nailed it” and foreseen both mandatory vaccination and “the great culling“. In the histrionics of conspiracy theory echo chambers this was proof that the WHO was using COVID-19 vaccines to create permanent sterility, and that Laibow had “cautioned us against COVID-19”. It must be stressed that mandatory vaccination either for H1N1 or COVID-19 never eventuated. There has been ample controversy regarding vaccine mandates in certain workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in no way have Laibow’s claims been realised.
On 26 April 2022 Health Feedback published a fact check of another of Laibow’s accusations in the video. Namely, the claim that squalene in vaccines caused autoimmune disease and Gulf War Syndrome. Unsurprisingly, the verdict was “inaccurate”. Laibow warned of the horror vaccines would unleash, telling Jesse Ventura, “What that means is a genocidal holocaust. Men and women will sicken and die and those who survive will be infertile”. The YouTube video below contains the circulating clip of Rima Laibow, edited to educate the viewer as to Laibow’s relationship with science, the truth and legislation.
Dr. Rima Laibow
Selling Colloidal Silver
During her interview Laibow dramatically remains on the edge of a tarmac lest she need to suddenly escape from the USA to avoid “compulsory vaccination” for H1N1. She did not feel safe living in the USA and tells Ventura she was leaving as soon as the interview was over. However, it appears she managed to overcome her fear to work as “medical director” and trustee of the company, Natural Solutions Foundation, with a website hosted at drrimatruthreports.com. By 2014 Rima Laibow was selling a “cure” for Ebola. The “cure” was 10 PPM Nano Silver, which was in fact colloidal silver, and packaged as “Dr. Rima Recommends Nano Silver”. In September 2014 the US Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission labelled the company “scammers”. A warning letter to the company informed Laibow and a co-trustee that they were in breach of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
The correspondence includes examples of strikingly inaccurate claims made on the Natural Solutions Foundation website in which nano silver is described as “safe and non toxic… able to kill every pathogen worldwide against which it has been tested”. Health authorities were of course hiding the truth of this cure and the absence of “declassified research” supporting colloidal silver was proof it is effective. Packaged with a CBD organic chocolate bar, nano silver constituted part of a “protection pack”. Other claims included:
Conventional Antibiotics won’t do much against genetically engineered or resistant organisms… But safe, gentle and effective nano silver kills disease organisms in a different way… This is powerful natural protection you need for yourself ad [sic] your family. Choose the Personal Protection Pack or the Family Protection Pack…
It kills only the organisms that cause disease… similar to the lamps in hospitals that kill deadly germs… and also interferes with the metabolism of the disease organisms in such a way that they cannot become resistant to it.
Laibow responded by altering claims made on the company website. The scheme was heavily criticised on the7 On Your Side TV programme “Don’t Get Taken By Ebola Scams”, in which Laibow reportedly argued the scam label was “ridiculous”. Ebola scams were common in the USA at the time, taking the form of bogus charities and cures. Ebola cases and deaths had occurred on US soil and scam artists were taking advantage of fear and uncertainty.
By 2020 of course, the pandemic was upon us. Did Rima Laibow actually turn to reminding us that she had warned of the WHO depopulation-by-sterilisation using vaccines? Did she flee the US in fear of mandatory vaccination? Well no, because Natural Solutions Foundation immediately got to work selling the very same Nano Silver concoction as a treatment for COVID-19. At the same time COVID conspiracy theories were peddled via the long standing Dr. Rima Truth Reports, and went as far as calling face masks “mind control devices”.
Ultimately, the FDA filed a suit on 13 November 2020 that alleged Natural Solutions Foundation, and its trustees Rima Laibow and Ralph Fucetola, had “sold and distributed a nano silver product that the defendants claim will cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent COVID-19.” It further alleged that they had sold misbranded drugs, as labelling for use was insufficient. As such they had violated the FDCA, and on 28 December 2021 were ordered by a District court to stop distributing the colloidal silver. This was the same product used in breach of the same Act as in 2014, albeit now in exploitation of COVID-19.
‘Dr. Rima Recommends’ nano silver label
Fortunately, this time the outcome was more enduring. The defendants agreed to settle the suit and be bound by a Consent Decree of Permanent Injunction [PDF]. The court entered an order that enjoins the defendants from violating the FDCA. They were ordered to recall all nano silver products sold from 22 January 2020 to 27 December 2021, and destroy any such products in their possession. Before distribution of any drugs in future they must notify the FDA in advance, comply with remedial measures and permit an FDA inspection of their facility and procedures. On 8 March 2023 the FDA published an urgent product recall from the company for the nano silver product, issued as part of the consent decree.
These days Dr. Rima Laibow and Ralph Fucetola of Natural Solutions appear on Open Source Truth [archive] and present a weekly podcast titled The Unmasked Crusaders. The Natural Solutions Foundation website is unchanged from a decade ago and the Dr. Rima Truth Reports continue. They do not, thankfully, sell colloidal silver.
The anti-vaccine, anti-mask, anti-science rhetoric however, is undiminished.
During the second and third years of the COVID pandemic, skeptics began to hear more and more of an anti-parasitic drug that had been used frequently for animals and less so for humans.
Ivermectin has been approved by health authorities to treat humans with strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis (river blindness): conditions that are caused by parasitic worms. Also there are topical ivermectin preparations used to manage skin conditions such as rosacea and external parasites such as head lice. Used as prescribed it is quite safe and has improved the lives of countless individuals in developing nations. Yet we weren’t hearing about ivermectin used in this manner. Thanks to disinformation and irresponsible repetition of dubious claims, ivermectin was being promoted as a means to combat COVID-19.
The anti-vaccination movement embraced ivermectin because it resonated with the “my body, my choice” mantra. Right leaning media identities promoted it in much the same illogical way as they had hydroxychloroquine. It had been used safely for decades, they argued, and thus was clearly a sound choice to combat COVID-19 symptoms. Yet hydroxychloroquine, had a pharmaceutical history as an anti-malarial and an agent to manage symptoms of arthritis and autoimmune disease, not in treating COVID-19. Ivermectin similarly, had no clinically proven background in the treatment of COVID-19. The clinical trials had simply not been done.
For skeptics, the issue was and is quite simple. Look toward reputable sources. Seriously examine the arguments in favour of ivermectin. Review the strength of research being cited. Place the issue in context. Keep an eye out for ideology. Check the profiles and backgrounds of key players, and so on. In short: Seek the evidence.
Initially there was the 3 April 2020 media release from Monash University. The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute announced a paper published in the peer reviewed journal Antiviral Research. The title, The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, was tantalising. An informative piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 22 October 2021 cites experienced drug developer Dr. Craig Rayner referring to the impact of the announcement:
“It was incredibly hyped,” Dr Rayner said. “I knew it was going to start a fire.” […]
“It’s not the best thing for Australia to become known for in terms of its contribution to the pandemic,” Dr Rayner said. “But that’s what it is, unfortunately. It has promoted vaccine hesitancy and people are dying because they’re taking a veterinary medicine that has not been proven.”
For those looking to grab the ivermectin ball and run with it, the media release was peppered with big names, other nasty diseases and potentially exciting findings. It has since been modified to include an FDA warning and offer clear disclaimers about ivermectin’s effectiveness. What mattered to those who would go on to push ivermectin as a safe cure for COVID-19, came from just a few paragraphs:
A collaborative study led by the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) with the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), a joint venture of the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world kills the virus within 48 hours.
The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s Dr Kylie Wagstaff, who led the study, said the scientists showed that the drug, Ivermectin, stopped the SARS-CoV-2 virus growing in cell culture within 48 hours.
“We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it,” Dr Wagstaff said.
Ivermectin is an FDA-approved anti-parasitic drug that has also been shown to be effective in vitro against a broad range of viruses including HIV, Dengue, Influenza and Zika virus.
Dr Wagstaff cautioned that the tests conducted in the study were in vitro and that trials needed to be carried out in people.
For those of us even broadly familiar with how drugs are brought to market, it was that final line above that mattered. Early lab results do not equate to clinical trials. Indeed shortly after the announcement, effort and funding across the globe was directed to clinical trials of ivermectin. Yet it would take almost eighteen months before enough studies were done, presenting enough evidence to show that ivermectin does not hold promise as a treatment for COVID-19. Over 2021, the number of news articles heavily critical of the “dubious” apparent “miracle cure” rose steadily such as here, here and here. The BBC published a powerful article on the “false science” backing ivermectin. Flawed data, fake evidence and poorly designed and written research was common.
Australia watched on as Malcolm Roberts, George Christensen, Craig Kelly and Clive Palmer promoted (and still promote) ivermectin. In the absence of evidence ivermectin could not be prescribed for COVID-19. This led to proponents sourcing and ingesting veterinary-grade ivermectin. It soon became clear from social media that many were taking excessive doses very often. On 21 August 2021 the FDA tweeted, “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” That tweet links to accurate FDA information on the dangers of using ivermectin.
Losing In The Lucky Country 