The 2018 Plotkin Deposition is a 9-hour sworn testimony by Stanley Plotkin in which he made under-oath admissions about fetal tissue use, testing on institutionalized subjects, and gaps in vaccine safety evidence.
A nine-hour deposition of Stanley Plotkin — the "godfather of vaccinology" — conducted by Aaron Siri on January 11, 2018, at the Golden Plough Inn in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Taken in the context of a family law case in which two parents disagreed on whether to vaccinate their child. The deposition, recorded on video and transcribed, is the primary source event for the book VACCINES, AMEN: THE RELIGION OF VACCINES.
Background
In November 2017, Dr. Toni Bark — a physician serving as the expert witness for the mother who wanted the child to remain unvaccinated — contacted Aaron Siri with the opportunity to depose Stanley Plotkin, who had appeared as the expert witness for the father who wanted vaccination. Siri spent six weeks preparing, reviewing primary government and pharma sources on vaccine safety.
After the deposition, opposing counsel filed an "impassioned motion" to have the deposition sealed from the public. Siri's team successfully opposed that motion.
Setting
Date: January 11, 2018
Location: Golden Plough Inn, New Hope, Pennsylvania (near Plotkin's home)
Duration: 9 hours
Format: Questions under oath; court reporter; video recording
Structure of the Deposition (as described in source)
Hours 1–2: Pharma conflicts
Going through Plotkin's financial ties to Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi, and GSK: consulting, board seats, royalties (including the $182M RotaTeq sale). Plotkin acknowledged he did not perceive these as relevant to his opinion.
Remaining hours: Vaccine safety
Pre-Licensure Safety (Recombivax HB — Merck Hep B)
Safety monitored for 5 days after each injection
Trial population: 147 infants and children
No control group
Plotkin did not know these parameters despite being the principal investigator on the children's arm of that trial
Siri later subpoenaed Plotkin for proof of additional safety data; Plotkin moved to quash the subpoena and provided nothing
Pre-Licensure Safety (Engerix-B — GSK Hep B)
Safety monitored for 4 days
Plotkin claimed further data must exist; admitted under pressure: "Yes, that's speculation based on experience"
Subpoena for proof was later filed; Plotkin provided nothing
Post-Licensure Safety (IOM Report)
Plotkin testified Hep B "definitely" doesn't cause encephalitis
Confronted with IOM finding of "inadequate evidence to accept or reject" causation
Admitted his earlier "definitely not" was based on absence of data, not presence of exculpatory data
Admitted he would tell parents DTaP doesn't cause autism without scientific support: "Absolutely"
Key Admissions
Topic
Plotkin's admission
Recombivax HB safety window
5 days; not enough for autoimmune or neurological events
Engerix-B safety window
4 days; claimed more data exists but admitted "that's speculation"
Control group for Hep B trials
None
Extended safety data
Never produced when subpoenaed
IOM on 135 harms
Agreed IOM found insufficient evidence; maintained vaccines don't cause them
DTaP/autism
Would tell parents it doesn't cause autism without proof: "Absolutely"
Pharma payments relevance
"I guess, no, I did not perceive that that was relevant"
Aftermath
Opposing counsel moved to seal the deposition; motion defeated by Siri's team
FOIA requests confirmed FDA held no additional Recombivax HB safety data
Lawsuit against FDA over Engerix-B produced no additional safety data
Subpoena served on Plotkin for safety data; he moved to quash and provided nothing
Video and transcript publicly available
Significance
The deposition confirmed that the safety gaps in childhood vaccines were not only real — they were worse than expected. Vaccinology's safety claims are asserted without evidence, and the field's leading authority was either unaware of or indifferent to the trial design of vaccines he helped develop.
What was the 2018 Plotkin deposition and why does it matter?
The Plotkin Deposition was a 9-hour sworn testimony of Stanley Plotkin — the "godfather of vaccinology" — conducted by Aaron Siri on January 11, 2018, at the Golden Plough Inn in New Hope, Pennsylvania. It established on the record that the hepatitis B vaccine was licensed with 5-day safety monitoring in 147 children with no control group, that Plotkin didn't recall these facts despite being the principal investigator, and that he would tell parents vaccines don't cause autism without scientific proof.
What did Plotkin admit about hepatitis B vaccine safety testing under oath?
Plotkin confirmed Recombivax HB safety was monitored for just 5 days in 147 children with no control group. He acknowledged 5 days is not enough to detect autoimmune or neurological disorders. For Engerix-B (4-day monitoring), he claimed extended data must exist but admitted "that's speculation based on experience." When later subpoenaed for proof, he moved to quash the subpoena and provided nothing. ICAN FOIA confirmed no additional data existed.
Did Plotkin admit he would tell parents vaccines don't cause autism without evidence?
Yes. When asked "you're okay with telling the parent that DTaP/Tdap does not cause autism even though the science isn't there yet?" Plotkin responded "Absolutely." He acknowledged studies could determine whether vaccines cause autism, admitted the IOM found no studies ruling out a DTaP-autism connection, but stated "I do not wait because I have to take into account the health of the child." Siri characterizes this as "it is not a data-supported claim. It is a belief."
Why was the Plotkin deposition almost sealed from the public?
After the 9-hour deposition, opposing counsel filed an "impassioned motion" to have the deposition sealed from the public. Siri's team successfully opposed the motion, allowing the video and transcript to be made publicly available. The deposition was taken in a family law case where two parents disagreed on whether to vaccinate their child — Plotkin appeared as the expert witness favoring vaccination.
What did Plotkin say about his pharmaceutical company payments?
Plotkin acknowledged decades of consulting for Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi, and GSK, including board seats, royalties from the $182 million RotaTeq sale, and no year since 1990 without Sanofi payment. When asked if these financial relationships were relevant to his opinion, he testified: "I guess, no, I did not perceive that that was relevant to my opinion." The first two hours of the deposition documented his extensive pharma financial ties.
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