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In the Weekend Australian (12-13 July, 2008), two articles were published regarding vaccination. Both of them were incredibly biased towards the medical model - neither of them included any real information about the risks and ineffectiveness of vaccines (though one of them did give a very small mention to the AVN). Below are links to the 2 pieces that you can read for yourself.
First article:
Parents' fear of measles
Adam Cresswell, Health editor | July 12, 2008
Second article
Spurning vaccination
OPINION: Peter Curson | July 12, 2008
The AVN's President, Meryl Dorey, has written a reply to the Australian Newspaper
(below) which has not yet been accepted for publication;
Your
article, 'Parents fear of needles brings back measles' (July 12-13,
2008), infers that unvaccinated people are responsible for a five times
increase in the incidence of measles this year - an assumption which is
not borne out by the government's own statistics.
The Australian childhood measles vaccination rate has consistently
exceeded 90% for the last decade with slight fluctuations, depending on
the cohort. In fact, the rate has been so consistent, it would be
difficult to link it with changes in yearly disease notifications.
The USA, one of the countries cited as having "the worst measles
outbreak since 1997", has a vaccination rate of 98% and Australia
experienced its worst epidemic in recent memory between 1993 and 1994
-during and immediately following a large national measles vaccination
campaign.
Vaccination coverage rates and disease notification statistics can be
confusing and contradictory and deserve better scrutiny than the
superficial analysis offered. Notifications of diseases and vaccine
side effects are notoriously under-reported. At the same time, medical
research proves that 97.5% of doctor diagnosed measles (as opposed to
laboratory diagnoses) are wrong. For this reason, an analysis of deaths
from measles can be much more informative.
The CDI (Communicable Diseases Intelligence) Bulletin shows that the
number of deaths from measles in Australia has generally halved every
decade since the 1920s - a figure unaffected by the introduction of the
measles vaccine in 1970. This is consistent with almost every other
disease, including those for which we have no vaccine like Scarlet
Fever. These declines are attributable to improving hygiene and
nutrition.
In addition, vaccines HAVE been associated with autism, ADHD,
behavioural disorders, asthma, diabetes, eczema, epilepsy and cancer.
In addition, the introduction of animal viruses via contaminated
vaccines is of grave concern. Some vaccines administered to children
still contain mercury - a toxin whose partial removal was the result of
lobbying by 'pro choice' groups such as the Australian Vaccination
Network (AVN).
Australia is unique in being the only country in the world with a
computerised database (the ACIR) that could be cross referenced with
Medicare to compare the overall health of vaccinated and unvaccinated
children. This could reveal incredibly important information that
doesn't come from drug companies. The AVN has requested such a study
from the former Liberal Minister for Health but this request was
declined.
The fact remains that vaccines are not independently tested or studied
in Australia; that reactions are grossly under-reported; and most
information about vaccine safety and effectiveness comes from companies
with a vested financial interest in them. As parents, we must insist on
accurate unbiased information before we agree to having our children
injected with such questionable shots.
Meryl Dorey,
President
Australian Vaccination Network
Enabling Australians to make informed health choices
The AVN has requested that all
like-minded individuals put pressure on the Weekend Australian to print
letters on the other side and to also do a true investigative piece
showing both sides of this vexed issue. Below is a sampling of the
letters which have been submitted so far. All names have been deleted
to protect the privacy of the writers. Please look through these
letters and if you haven't done so already, send off your own email to
the paper at your earliest convenience. Send a copy by email to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
for her records.
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing in regards to information reported in your article
“'Parents fear of needles brings back measles' (July 12-13, 2008). It
is comforting as a parent to know when these diseases are becoming more
prominent so I can keep an eye on my child a bit closer. However, I
did find your article lacking in the basic information of what the
symptoms actually are and what percentage of cases eventuate to the
stage of being life threatening. As a parent, I don’t like to see my
child unwell, but I also don’t like panicking and rushing to the
emergency room when watching and waiting would have been sufficient.
Childhood illnesses are in fact a part of childhood. There is no way to
completely avoid all infections and it would be counterproductive for
the children’s immune system to try to do so. Instead of providing us
parents with the information and ability to monitor our children’s
health, the article provided information that read more like the stock
market section in the Financial Times.
If the writer found it
necessary to quote the data used in the article to make a point, then I
think there should be other information included as well. Information
such as the actual percentage of cases that are occurring in fully
vaccinated children as well as unvaccinated children, and the
percentage of cases that progress to the stage of being life
threatening. Most diseases, measles included, are self limiting and
only progress to being life threatening in rare cases. Scaring people
by only providing part of the research in no way to promotes good
decision making in regards to their health. Could this be part of the
reason the emergency rooms are so full and the doctors and nurses so
overworked?
The Weekend Australian is a strong reputable paper and I am
disappointed by the lack of full information provided on the topic it
claimed to be covering.
I expected better from the Weekend Australian. I would like to see a
follow up article in the near future which provides the missing
information and therefore helps us parents to make the best decisions
for our children and our country.
Thank you for your time.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I was not impressed with the obviously very one-sided article about measles making a comeback due to parents choosing not to vaccinate their children. Please provide us with an article showing a more objective point of view on the subject. I'm sure there are an abundance of natural therapists that could provide you with all the information you will need.
To the editor,
It is frustrating to continually be exposed to sensationalist reporting such as your 'article' on measles vaccination, 12 July 2008. Your 'statistics' can and have been used to present a one-sided story which is further alienating parents who are truly trying to make an INFORMED decision on whether or not to vaccinate their children at all; whether to have their children vaccinated for everything or if there are key diseases that they'd like to vaccinate against.
No parent wants their child to be sick - every parent I know is making the best decision they feel they can make with the information available.
Check the statistics, and do some actual reporting. It would be nice to see an unbiased story on vaccinations.
Regards,
Dear Sir,
I could only laugh when I read Adam Cresswell’s article regarding lack of measles vaccination. Where on earth did he get his figures from? Sounded like scaremongering to me and not a fully informed article. As for the US experiencing its worst measles outbreak since 1997, does Adam know that the US has a 98% vaccination rate?
Your article, 'Parents fear of needles brings back measles' (July 12-13, 2008), infers that unvaccinated people are responsible for a five times increase in the incidence of measles this year. I would like to see the statistics that show how many of the 58 people with measles this year were unvaccinated. In my experience, children who have been vaccinated get and spread disease (of all kinds) more than unvaccinated children...and yes, children (both vaccinated and unvaccinated) do also get those diseases for which there are vaccines, but if there were accurate statistics and data (vaccine injuries/deaths are grossly under reported by the medical profession and by families who are not informed) you would probably find that less children die of diseases such as measles than die or are permanently injured by the vaccine that's supposed to prevent disease. How about an article that contains some real facts and unbiased information about the dangers and side effects of vaccination (these are available from Australian Vaccination Network or Vaccination Information SA) and the growing evidence that there are links between vaccination and the current and growing epidemics of diabetes, cancer and asthma (to name a few)? Or, perhaps, is your paper working for the interests of drug companies/government who may have vested financial interests in widespread vaccination or disease management?
Thanks
Dear Sir / Madam
I was very disappointed in your article about vaccinations over the weekend. Your newspaper has a reputation for presenting the opinion of the journalist rather than presenting the facts. To balance the scales and present a truly objective artice I think you should run the other side of the vaccination story and let both sides be heard equally. Your readers have brains and would like to be treated that way.
To Whom It May Concern,
I noted that you ran two articles in The Weekend Australian relating to vaccination. Being a highly educated professional myself, I have done a lot of research of government and AMA websites regarding vaccination. I found your article biased and unbalanced. One example is the misleading way you inferred that unvaccinated people are responsible for an increase in the incidence of measles this year, which is not supported by the government's statistics.
The Editor,
I am responding to the article written by Professor Peter Curson, Spurning Vaccination Invites Epidemics. The article is extremely narrow and I feel that your agenda was very clear. It is a shame that the real facts, both for and against vaccination are not addressed in this article. Firstly, there has been no recent epidemic of whooping cough and the people who have always been struck down with whooping cough are the elderly, especially in nursing homes where it spreads among the very old and weak. This vaccine was deleted from several other country's vaccination lists, because it's success rate was poor and the side effects from this vaccine were severe. Also, if you look at hygiene and good nutrition, you can see that most of the diseases were falling before vaccination was introduced.
I have already responded to another article on measles written by The Australian and told how my daughter became very ill with measles from the injection. However, my concerns with this article are that Professor Curson is concerned with rising numbers for serious illness from measles, while he conveniently leaves out all vaccine injuries. Drug companies pay out many millions, probably billions in compensation for extreme cases of vaccine injury each year, usually with agreements to be silent attached, and I know from first hand experience that this is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the the high numbers of vaccine injury that really occur. I only have to look around my own community to hear stories of many children having adverse reactions and I am not talking about a sore arm. I wonder why in Australia it is so hard to get information from the government, especially where adverse reactions to vaccination is concerned. Yet this seems unimportant and the authorities are also unconcerned with the amount of injections and dangerous chemicals being injected into a tiny baby, which has grown to an alarmingly long list.
I also have a son with autism and my previously healthy son had severe reactions to vaccinations. I think the medical fraternity and governments are unbelievably arrogant to say that vaccines have nothing to do with the epidemic of autism we now see. They don't talk about this epidemic, it is largely covered up. Why is the epidemic continuing to grow, and they can say 'oh no it couldn't be vaccination', even when they do not know what is causing autism. This is not good science? Just look at the rise in autism as compared to the rise in vaccinations given and you will see a strong correlation. No it is not all diagnostic, because if it was we would be able to find these high numbers of adults with autism, but they are not there.
Educated parents are making a choice not to have these injections because they see them as unproven and unsafe for their children and they are belittled and ridiculed for taking action and speaking out. I don't think the government or drug companies like people taking control of their lives, they prefer we are controlled by fear and ignorance. The drug companies are practically self regulating now and they have one goal, that is to make money and present all their drugs as 'wonder drugs'. The other thing that I cannot believe, is that people don't even question what is being injected into their children, eg; formaldehyde, aluminium, thimerosal and the list goes on. They are like sheep lining up because everyone else is or because they have been told to do so.
I would like everyone to remember this quote by Einstein, "He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned by contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, because for him a spinal cord would suffice." I believe it is more important now than ever to think, research and question everything.
I would like to see an article written to show the real story, which would involve honest interviews from people such as the Australian Vaccination Network, but I won't hold my breath.
To whom it may concern,
Adam Cresswell's article on vaccinations was more a promotion of the vaccination procedure- one wonders if he is on the drug company's payroll.
To give Ms Dorey only a couple of lines to counter the pro side was very biased journalism.
It is a fact that adverse events from vaccination are grossly under-reported. I have heard, along with an audience of 300 people, one doctor admit on stage that he rarely reports adverse reactions from vaccinations because he has no time, is too busy & the paperwork is tedious. And he was arguing for vaccinations! Besides, now doctors get paid extra money for every child they vaccinate. It is in their interest to maintain the illusion (lie) that vaccinations are safe & effective.
Why is it that the media do not seriously question this issue? I am a thinking, reasonable person who was brought up to believe in vaccinations. Over many years & after countless hours of research, I am absolutely convinced that vaccinations are NOT safe & are NOT effective. I have made an informed decision not to vaccinate my 3 children with either medical or homeopathic vaccination & many of my friends & patients have done the same. It is a fact that in ALL of these cases the children experience a superior level of health.
One day there will be an outbreak of common sense in the community! I do not hold great hopes that the media will be the catalyst.
Yours in health truth,
Dear Editor
One has only to read "Every Second Child" authored by Australia's "Greek of the Century" Dr Archie Kalokerinos to realize that people have good reason to be wary of vaccinations.
My daughter suffered severe convulsions following smallpox vaccination.
Personal research now confirms the need for caution with regard to this practice.
Yours with concern,
Dear Mr Cresswell,
Your article about measles and vaccination caught my attention because of personal connection with this. In 1973 I took a perfectly healthy, very bright baby for her measles immunisation. A very short time later, she contracted measles/ encephalitis. For many years following she was medicated against further convulsions. She has since struggled with ongoing problems to do with learning and behaviour.
I have taken an interest in vaccination since my disasterous event and am amazed even now, how many young parents are not aware that vaccination is not compulsory and are never advised by their doctors that there are possible side effects. And was also surprised to learn that doctors receive financial benefits for each child vaccinated. If doctors truly believed in the benefits of vaccination, why would they require financial incentives?
The biggest winners here appear to be the multi billion dollar drug companies. Thank you Mr Cresswell.
sincerely
The fact that finally a newspaper of the quailty of the Australian decided to deal with the often controversial issue of vaccination pleased me to no end. However, upon reading the articles by Adam Cresswell & Peter Curson that appeared last Saturday I was extremely dissappointed that the articles were written from such a biased & one-sided viewpoint. I would have expected the Australian to conduct a constructive & balanced argument on this issue instead of resorting to emmotive and inflamatory language. As a child of the late sixties and even though I had received the then administered vaccinations I still went on to contract all the common childhood illnesses, including measles, mumps & chicken pox. The vaccinations in effect gave me no protection but as a result of the illnesses I believe I am one of those who have now acquired a natural immunity to those common illnesses and am also a stronger & healthier person because of it. After extensive reading into the subject of vaccination & it's pros & cons my wife & I decided almost 6 six years ago not to vaccinate either of our 3 children and to date, despite heavy pressure from health authorities & uninformed friends & family members we maintain we have made the right decision. I implore The Australian to present the other side to this argument and give a less biased & more balanced view to this issue.
Kind regards,
Dear Editor,
I was very surprised to read in a newspaper such as The Australian, such a biased article on vaccination.
I am a parent who had chosen not to vaccinate due to the RISK of irreversible complications. My son is 15, is in excellent health and has not had ANY communicable diseases except a brief flu.
However, my niece who is 9 months old, has had all her vaccinations as scheduled. Her last vaccination was only a month ago. A week after this vaccination, she was rushed to hospital in an ambulance due to bleeding from her stomach. The bleeding soon stopped and she seems to be fine today.
The tricky part is that we will never know for sure whether the bleeding was connected to the immunization or not. (till next time???) With all those heavy metals in the immunizations, one has to wonder how the tiny child's system can cope with that poisoning.
During my career as a nursing sister for 35yrs, I was often offered immunizations "for my own protection". I refused almost all of the immunizations as I had the least amount of sick leave of anyone else. Now the laws have changed so that staff are forced to have immunizations. How can this be acceptable?
It is my opinion that The Australian would be more respected by presenting a more truthful approach about vaccination. There definitely are risks associated with vaccination. The scary part is that it is not only the vaccination that is injected. Our precious babies are also immunized with deadly chemicals (mercury for one) at such a tender age. It certainly cannot be doing them any good. Why is mercury in the immunization anyway? Surely they can find something less toxic.
I would really appreciate reading a more informed editorial on this article but it is my opinion that you have only used the views from people on one side of the issue.
Thank you for reading this letter. This is a really BIG issue. I sincerely hope you will not mislead parents who are searching for both sides of this story to make a responsible decision. For the sake of our children, please be accountable. Give ALL the facts and leave the final decision with the parents who love their children.
Yours faithfully,
To Whom It May Concern:
Your article 'Parents fear of needles brings back measles' (July 12-13, 2008) does not provide a balanced view and is clearly biased. We would very much like to see a follow-up article that presents real facts regarding the history of disease decline relative to vaccination introduction (the disease decline was significant in that it preceded vaccinations), and the real indisputable association (dramatic and ongoing) between vaccinations and such crippling disorders as autism, asthma, eczema, diabetes, epilepsy, ADHD, and cancer. Many vaccinating parents would be shocked to learn the true statistics regarding these relationships; it is more convenient not to know!
Every parent should thoroughly research both sides of the picture before making their own decision regarding their children’s’ health and protection – media fear mongering, apathy or general ignorance, and financial incentive to vaccinate are not justification for being uninformed in this important decision. Information is readily available, you only have to seek it; and the AVN is probably the most investigative, least rewarded and most trust-worthy place to start looking.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to you with enormous disappointment and frustration with regards to the two vaccination articles that featured in the Weekend Australian this past weekend. The articles “Parents’ fear of needles brings back measles” and “Spurning Vaccination Invites Epidemics” were, in my opinion, biased and unbalanced. Parents need to make informed choices regarding the incredibly important issues of the health and well being of their children; however articles such as these provide the reader with one sided and biased information therefore making it very difficult to make informed decisions.
If the topic was in fact researched properly, that is without bias, then your journalists would have found that the information being reported has very little, if any, factual basis. Your newspaper has a responsibility to report on issues of public interest and a responsibility to provide its readers with both sides of the story, for example, the damaging and devastating effects that vaccinations themselves actually cause.
I am a mother of two young children who has made an informed and responsible decision to not vaccinate my children. This decision was made after looking at both sides of the vaccination issue and I encourage every parent to do the same.
Regards
Dear Sir,
I would like you to forward the other side to your story about vaccinations in particular MMR vaccine. I am a parent of a child who is vaccine damaged. A report was sent to the TGA by my doctor 8 years ago. I have a 10 year old boy, the youngest of 6 children, who has Autism. If you would like to, step into my world and experience what we have to do on a daily basis because i wasnt made aware of the risks. As parents we should be made aware of the facts and have a choice. The articles you have published are completely biased and you wouldnt see the truth if it jumped out and bit you...
Many thanks
Dear Editor,
your articles on the measles are fear mongering and rubbish. Those of us with unvaccinated children are not causing epidemics. Measles was and still should be a normal immunological "rite of passage" for the immune system. We do not think that "fresh air & water" prevents the disease but a healthy diet and life style enable our children defend themselves against the disease efficently and come out the other end with a couple of weeks off school and a much stronger immune system.
We are not idiots. in fact, it is well known that most of the parents who choose not to vaccinate are well educated, well informed and choose conciously.
Dear Journo
Would be GREAT to see you cover a more unbiased article on use of non vaccination... how about some really outstanding journalism... get into it and really discover the exciting possibilities...
Many a Journo have interviewed a person here or there... wacked something together after a couple of phone calls....
Ask yourself the very valid and interesting questions.. why are more and more people moving away from injecting their precious babies from up to 40-50 vaccinations...
And lets not just talk about DEATH... its about damage in many circumstances... what about all thoes 'new' problems with children... COT death... autism.... slow development... asthma... unexplained illnesses..... weak immune systems..... the list goes on.....
And we are not talking about the 'Byron Bay mung beans'... we are talking about highly educated professional people...
Ask yourself... would you really look into the facts if it was your own little new born... or would you trust the reporting of a Journo...
something to ponder....
We did our research... a good 6 months of it in fact... before making our decision... I know we can say we have done our research.... found the facts.... made an informed decision....
Can most people say that??
All the best... we do love a good juicy article....
I am writting to you to protest about the articles you printed in the Australian on saturday the 12th of July, concerning the increase in measles. I believe your story was totally biased and unbalanced. We live in a democratic country , therefore it is only just that you publish the other side of the story as well.
thankyou
Dear Adam,
I read your article on parents opting out of measles vaccinations and I would like to tell you about my experience with this vaccine and others.
My first child reacted badly to vaccines, but I persisted as instructed by my doctor and with each vaccination she got higher temps and longer periods of screaming and eventually hallucinations. With my second daughter, we didn't fully vaccinate. This was advised by my Paediatrician, who was pro vaccination, but because of severe reactions with our first daughter and then our son, he decided it was not safe to continue. However, he did advise us to have the MMR when she was 12 months and after a lot of persuasion, I allowed him to give it to her. She got a severe case of measles from the vaccination. It took six weeks to get her well again, as she had secondary infections and was allergic to the penicillin they gave her, so she broke out in welts all over her body. Then the infection returned and she eventually recovered after a course of erythomycin. All this from a vaccination to keep her from getting measles! And strangely, I never hear of this or any other adverse reactions reported in the media.
I do not understand how usually intelligent people, completely close down their questioning and research when it comes to vaccination. You just have to say the word 'vaccination' and people become unreasonably overbearing in their opinions and close-minded. However, when asked "do you know what is in the vaccination you allow to be given to your child', they will admit they don't have a clue. And they completely trust the drug companies and doctors, without question. I do not find this to be reasonable behaviour.
I was another sheep lining up for all the vaccinations, without question. But if you have your beautiful child react badly to a vaccine, then you will start to question. And when you bring these questions to a doctor, you are treated as if you are an unreasonable fool. Until then most people do what they are told, because they are scared, which is just what the drug companies and governments want. Also, parents who are fearful don't want the responsibility of making this decision, and if the trusted family doctor can take that away from them, then that is very comforting.
Yours faithfully,
Dear Editor,
Re article in The Australian 12th July, 2008, "Parents Fear of Needles Brings Back Measles" by Adam Cresswell
This article states "Most of those affected were either babies too young to receive the first of two measles immunisation shots, or young adults who had left school before the mass immunisation campaigns of the 1990s got going, he said." So I would like to ask how many of the 38 effected this year have had the MMR vaccination and how many haven't?
If the MMR vaccination is effective, why do vaccinated people still contract the disease and why do the masses need to fear an epidemic?
As an unvaccinated child, I am quite happy if my daughted contracts Measles to build a natural immunity. Do you have any stats which show the risk of serious complications from contracting Measles in vaccinated and unvaccinated people? If these figures showed obvious benefits which outweighed my concerns about the possible side effect of the MMR vaccine, then I would consider vaccinating my child.
Another piece of mindless rubbish. Maybe it's the mercury in the vaccines that parents fear?? Maybe its the resulting illnesses such as autisim and cancers delivered via these poisons that parents fear?? Needles, what a load of diatribe. Never mind, your corporate bosses will be pleased with your journalisitc (non)skills. Idoits.
H.Balsom
I would like to forward information regarding the vaccination newspaper article. Please allow Meryl to respond to the article on behalf of those of us who are educated and have made a decision not to follow the sheep mentality and make our own decisions regarding our children's health. I am a Naturopath, who before i started my study, was very nervous about vaccinating our first child. He had a reaction, which doctors said was normal, not to be concerned, we will just remove the pertussin portion of his next shot. Another shot later, and still reaction. Then and there, my partner and I decided not to continue his vaccination schedule. After our second son was born, I started a Bachelor of Health Science in Complementary Medicine, and 7 years later, have 4 children....last 3 not vaccinated at all. And guess which child has the majority of ongoing health issues....hayfever, mood swings, heavy metal toxicity, gynomastia, skin rashes, food sensitivities, headaches, pneumonia as young child etc etc? My other 3 get sick yes, but not the chronic conditions that my first son has to endure with an immune system that is completely out of whack!! I am just glad i listened to my mother's instinct, and stopped them then and there, as I only fear what he would have endured if I had continued!!!! Enough evidence for me....and in the clinic i see the changes in kids before and after. I deal with trying to put together the pieces, and as a Naturopath, I don't depend on unproven medicine. i like to follow up with many pathology tests, which have detected kids with high aluminium levels, mercury, lead, cadmium, gut inflammation, mood disorders, immune system failure or over excitiabity etc...Anyway, just meant to send a short message to support the other side of the story!!! I don't push against vaccination, just please allow people to be informed and make their own choices!!!! not herd us and treat us like brainless sheep!!
thanks
Dear Editor,
I have just read the Australian. There were surprisingly two articles on vaccination appearing and both were extremely alarmist.
The phrase, those born prior to 1966 is interesting. Having been born in 1956, it was a common practice for your mum to take you to someone's house so that measles, mumps, chicken pox and whatever was going around could be caught and gotten over with a minimum of fuss. No vaccinations necessary as a great natural immunity was acquired.
I have had four children and only the eldest is vaccinated. When it was brought in that very small babies were to receive the same vaccination as my eldest did as a hefty four months old, this raised questions that have resulted in a life time of enquiry.
My three youngest have not been vaccinated, have gone or are going to school with lots of other children or may or may not be vaccinated, and if they become ill it does not develop into anything severe. All my children have had chicken pox with the very few spots.
Is not this natural immunity far better for their health and immune system. Measles can be caught and be so mild that the child might not be taken to the doctor. The few spots can be put down to a high temperature and a child with a healthy immune system recovers quickly.
Vaccination can be dangerous. Does not the rapid and unnatural rise in children with learning difficulties, asthma and austism not raise some questions regarding modern medical practice?
I do not like to see articles written meant to control people by fear mongering. 58 cases of measles. There have been more children diagnosed with austism, I bet.
To the Editor,
I have to say I am struggling for the words to express my disappointment at both articles featured in the Weekend Australian on Vaccination. My daughter is not vaccinated because we did our research. We are not uneducated people. My husband is a scientist who was very sceptical about my concerns UNTIL he did some investigation of his own. I think that those who choose to vaccinate on the whole, have NOT done any research but have just trusted the governments, the pharmaceutical giants and the medical profession. Why shouldn't they? I feel lucky to have a GP who fully supports our decision not to vaccinate.
The two articles were completely one sided. Immunisation is not as its name suggests 'an immunisation' and most of the measles cases are immunised people ( something that of course is not mentioned very often).
We have a very healthy little girl and we sincerely believe that we have made a truly informed and extremely well-researched decision.
Regards,
It is always disappointing to read one sided articles and especially in reputable publications such as The Australian. It is about time someone (journalist) actually told the whole story and looked into this subject with an open mind and with an unbiased view.
As a parent of 2 Children who are 3.5yrs and 16mths old and unvaccinated I can tell you this decision was not made lightly. I am just thankful that I am still able to have the freedom to research all the facts and then make my own choices.
My children are both very healthy robust girls who are thriving due to my choices and way of life. I find it amazing that someone as intelligent as Professor McIntyre has dismissed the fact that eating the right foods and breathing the right air (I assume this means using minimal toxic cleaners etc in the home) won’t aid in improving your health. I think he has missed the point. We are not scared of our children getting the measles or Chicken pox – they are normal childhood diseases. What would make me nervous was if my children's bodies were not healthy enough to deal with the illness . So to ensure this I feed my children as close to nature as possible. I avoid processed, genetically modified foods and sugar laden drinks and I use only natural non chemical cleaners in my home and my children also go to the chiropractor regularly.
As parents, the responsibility of vaccinating or not vaccinating our children and the ramifications of each choice will be with us always. There is no absolute safety with either choice and therefore it is crucial that as a parent we investigate the risks and make the decision that is right for our family.
I ask that you respect the rights of people to choose – and offer a fair and unbiased view.
Thank you
Good Day
I am writing today with reference to one of your recent articles with above mentioned title/tag line.
I work full time and raise my 11 year old daughter on my own. I have a mortgage, good income, and work hard and try to raise my daughter to be happy and healthy. So by many standards, I guess you could call me a fairly average Australian.
I am a very busy person, so do not have time to be emailing people such as yourself, but very much feel the need to do so after the recent publication of you article.
Simply, I have studied the subjects of vaccinations for over a decade now and do not consider myself an expert but do very much consider myself knowledgeable in this field. I have many books, medical journals, spoken to various people and researched and verified this subject, and am of the belief that in my own circumstances, I personally would be alot healthier if I had not been vaccinated. My 11 year old daughter has not had one shot in her life. She is smart, happy and most importantly healthy. She has been around so many children in the past 11 years that have had the measles and no matter how close she is or what contact she has had with them, still has not contracted the illness. She has had no more than 3 courses of antibiotics, and I cant remember the last time I had to take her to the doctor.
I think that the information you have published in this article is so incorrect. And the information to challenge this is so readily available and accessible and verify-able that I cannot honestly understand where you got your information from. It is a very one sided, uninformed opinion, and honestly will do nothing but put fear into people.
I challenge you, Adam, to do a bit more research on the subject of adverse reactions to vaccinations, see what can happen to people. Go visit a childrens hospital for a few days and listen to what the parents have to go through and the sadness and fear and confusion that has come about when they have simply done what they thought was the right thing, only to have their child end up autistic, or with brain damage or in some cases, worse.....
Now you can choose to laugh at me and my letter to you - no skin off my nose, I will continue to do what I know is the best thing for my child. Any choice you make in life regarding your children or your health has to be a well researched informed one. And that is how I live.
But if you do choose to do this Adam, remember this - there are people out there that will read your article, and run down to their health provider, and get a shot for measles, purely because of the information you have published. There might be hundreds of people that do this, or there might be one. What if one of these people has ad adverse reaction to this? How will you feel then?
Please consider publishing the other side to this and doing a bit more research than would appear you have....
Feel free to call me to discuss if you would like to...
Have a nice day
Dear Editor,
With respect to your articles in the Weekend Australian (12/07/08) about vaccination, it needs to be pointed out that the evidence against vaccination is mounting year after year, yet the only media publicity we see is pro-vaccination propaganda. I used to think that anti-vaccination lobbyists were cranks and indeed, my sons were vaccinated as children. Now I know differently. Dr Andrew Wakefield et al may have retracted their statements about the danger MMR with respect to autism but we need to remember that Galileo also retracted his position - the forces of public welfare - whether that be the church or the modern medical and pharmaceutical establishment - are willing and able to act with great determination to preserve the status quo. We need to look at the fact that children are not becoming more healthy but less. Despite the vaccination schedule increasing year by year, we have an increasing incidence of asthma, eczema, autism spectrum disorders and auto-immune conditions in children. The role of vaccination in this needs to be independently researched, making certain that NO stakeholders are involved. Could we please have a genuine, honest attempt to examine and debate the situation dispassionately, not emotive, biased perspectives such as these that so characterise this debate.
What your weekend articles on vaccination did not mention were the fact that the rise in Autism could in anyway be linked to Autism. The is now a FACT - the US government has set up a billion dollar vaccine-injury compensation fund (they would not do this if vaccines were 100% safe). A US court awarded damages recently to a US child suffering autism, acknowledging that it was a vaccine-injury. When there is even a possibility of contamination to a food product, there is a national recall. Yet it has been established as more than just a possibility of vaccines being linked to autism - and not only is nothing done - but parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, are labelled irresponsible, and are held responsible for a measles epidemic. Who is going to be held responsible for the Autism epidemic?? So it's okay for my child to get autism (or vaccine-injury), but it's not okay for them to have measles??
To the Editor
Here we go again with the fear-based campaign that really should have the hard data needed to convince those “non vaccinating” parents to jab their kids. “Parents’ fear of needles brings back measles” is another of those stories written to scare the bejesus out of parents and instil a dislike of those who have made an informed choice on this issue!
Many parents do start the vaccination regime but stop once their child has had an adverse reaction, in some case very severe adverse reactions. The exact statistics are not known as there is no mandatory reporting of adverse reactions. The other very relevant statistic needed before we go blaming unvaccinated children of spreading these diseases is how many of the cases reported were in vaccinated people?
Let's get real and maybe parents would be more willing to subject their healthy children to this unnatural cocktail of “life protecting vaccines”!
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to you in response to two articles published in the July 12-13 2008 edition of The Weekend Australian, “Parents’ fear of needles brings back measles” and “Spurning Vaccination Invites Epidemics”.
Both these articles were very one sided in their “reporting” of the case for and against vaccination and I feel gave an incorrect perception of the efficacy of vaccinations. In Peter Curson’s article he makes the assertion that only unvaccinated people contract measles, “…and then spreading to unvaccinated people”. This is completely inaccurate and assumes that vaccination is 100% effective, something not backed by any factual, scientific data.
Please uphold your duty as a reputable news source by following up these articles with a presentation of the other side of the vaccination debate. Parents have a right to hear an unbiased and evenly weighted report on this very serious issue.
My wife and I are extremely proud of our decision not to vaccinate either of our two young sons. This decision was reached after conducting our own independent research of the risks and rewards associated with vaccination.
Regards
To the editor,
I am writing to express my disappointment in your recent articles on the measles vaccination.
I always thought The Australian was a fairer, more accurate, balanced source of news than others but your recent articles on this topic have me questioning your standards and agenda.
What about presenting both sides? What about doing some solid research? What about the truth? I have a journalism degree and this is exactly why I have not pursued a career with major newspapers.
There are many families around the world who have bothered to do the research and take full responsibility for the health of their children by not vaccinating. It's about making informed choices and you have a responsibility to contribute to the information so more families can do the same.
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