Parents have been urged to immunise their children despite calls from groups such as the Australian Vaccination Network who say parents should have the right to choose.
Queensland's Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said Queensland Health remained "absolutely committed" to delivering its immunisation program to as many Queenslanders as possible.
"In the past year hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders have been protected against deadly diseases such as whooping cough, cervical cancer, diphtheria and measles, as well as influenza." she said.
"The benefits of vaccination are obvious. Between 1930 and 1988, around 40,000 Australians developed paralytic Polio. Now Australia is Polio free.
"This program saves lives, and we will continue to urge Queenslanders to vaccinate their children against life-threatening illnesses," Dr Young said.
"Queensland's vaccination program is extremely safe and is the most effective way to prevent illness and death from vaccine preventable diseases," she said.
State Member for Cook Jason O'Brien concurred and said groups like "the misleadingly named" Australian Vaccination Network " are wrong to discourage people from getting vaccinated."
"The fact is vaccinations have saved millions of lives. Their invention was a miracle of scientific achievement" he said.
According to the Australian Vaccination Network's website "We believe it is a parent's right to choose what's best for their child...some would say that this is one of the most basic rules of any civilised society. Yet governments all over the world have abridged or denied the right to free choice when it comes to vaccinations, vaccines and immunisations."
Have you checked out the region's best photo competition?
“I always find it interesting that the anti-vaxxers have no scientific or medical qualifications and offer no actual evidence for their views beyond some vague anecdotes. Talk to your GP and ask for the facts, the real facts.”
Robyn, I am a qualified NURSE. Where is your evidence that “anti-vaxxers” have no medical qualifications? I based most of my information from www.gsk.com.au and other vaccine manufacturer’s websites where I read each individual product insert and was horrified at the risks. I myself had a STROKE at only a few months old IMMEDIATELY after receiving a vaccine and the doctor REFUSED to report it. How could I trust a GP’s opinion on this subject?
Scott wrote:
“Nadia, this is science not art. There is no room for people's individual opinion. On one side there is scientifically proven fact and on the other is speculation and superstition”
Scott,
ALL science is based on opinion. Scientists look at findings and form an OPINION based on them. If you need evidence of this, look at Einstein’s theory of relativity. This is classed as scientific fact. However, recently this has been put into doubt. Have you never noticed that most scientific ‘facts’ are only ever labelled theories?
there can only be one answer to this question; Yes, parents must continue to have the final decision in the wellbeing of their offspring; the only other option left in the above mentioned title would be enforced immunisations! Who decides which immunisations are optional and which are to be compulsory? There is an ever growing theory that our planet is over populated; if we conceed to enforced immunisations whose to say that we are not giving our rights away to procreate by choice. How are we to know what ingredients are included in the vaccinations if we are not trained in medical science research? how would you recognise any scientific name for a drug? would you read the consent form and abdicate the responsibility to the nurse or doctor giving you the drug assuming they knew exactly what was contained in the vial; which of course they dont. what are the long term effects of drugs? In my opionion, there are too many factors left in the unanswered box to abicate this decision makeing role of a parent.
There are many medical professionals that are not pro Vax- http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/about/ And more... Vaccine Nation, well worth a watch... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TdSp3hyuHk
Just a reminder for those wanting to comment to remain respectful to differing points of view. There is a lot of healthy discussion here so let's not ruin it with personal barbs. We reserve the right to decline or edit comments that we deem inappropriate.
Editor
And Huntington's diease is of autosomal dominant inheritance. You CANNOT catch it from a vaccine or anything else for that matter.
The majority of vaccines are delivered as intramuscular injections, not intravenous. You're not injecting *anything* into anyone's bloodstream.
This is a common trope among antivaxers and it's WRONG.
Luke, unlike you I do not believe anecdotes are evidence. But while dealing with anecdotes I'll give you some of my own. Why am I so emotional about this? Because I have seen children die from vaccine preventable diseases. I have seen many more go near death or suffer great morbidity from vaccine preventable diseases. None of them were immunised for the disease they were afflicted with them. I have seen their parents blame themselves for not having had the vaccine. They should not blame themselves. It wasn't their fault - it was the fault of organisations like the AVN.
Stop the AVN.
Leigh the reason the chances of your family catching diptheria are remote is because you are protected by an immunised community. You are right in saying that your children are more likely (in Australia) to have autism, just not from the vaccine (that theory has been disproven time and time again).
Scott, you need to calm down! This is a debate, not an argument. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and if you can’t accept someone else’s perhaps you should refrain from commenting.
i will refuse
you cut off payments
i will go without them
you won't let my child in your schools,
i will home school
you will discriminate me
threaten me
persecute me?
it will make me stronger
will you then, insult me
beat me
arrest me?
will you kill me?
because you will have to kill me
to put that needle into my child
for i am his wall
the last wall!
that protects him from you.
and after i'm dead
only then, maybe,
you may see, that you are wrong.
for it is no victory
what you gain by force.
for all of you
who live in fear,
that fear which drives you
against your brothers, and sisters
and justifies in you
the spawning of hatred
the lust for persecution
and the perpetuating of evil, again. and again.
for you, who are lost
i will pray tonight.
for that sword that you use against me today
may be used against you by others one day.
But I do not blame you for this, I blame anti-vaxx advocates such as the AVN who prey on well meaning parents with misinformation and outright lies to satisfy their own agenda and fill their coffers.
You have the right to choose to vaccinate or not and I will fight for that right. The AVN have no right to willfully present lies as fact when it endangers lives. They must be stopped.
We dont ban obese people from eating macdonalds!
Smoking and drinking are still legal yet they affect others adversely.
People should be able to make their own decisions for their own health.
Now for me i cannot in any good conscience, willingly shove something into the system of my child without their consent that may end up killing them, or paralysing them, or much worse having them being totally mentally handicapped to the point they must be fed and wear nappies and never talk or walk or even be able to hold themselves up ever again, what right do i have to inflict that on my child, the risks are small you say , even a small risk is to much of a risk.
Conspiracy theorist you say, well how about people actually read the information thats out there, majority of it referenced and sourced from medical journals that shows the dangers,Please become totally educated on this stuff before giving an opinion, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and to express it but at least make it an educated non ignorant opinion, about the pros and cons not just something thats been drummed up in your mind overnight, people against vaccination are not conspiracy theorists, they are educated people who educated themselves by reading lots and i mean lots of information.
http://apps.who.int/immunization_monitoring/en/globalsummary/countryprofileresult.cfm?C=jpn
Note the wild claims and allegations about vaccines from the anti-vaxxers on this site. Note not one of them can provide any evidence to back their claims. Note that many of the same anti-vaxxers also state that vaccinations shouldn't be used as there is no evidence of their efficacy or safety (of which there is a multitude). Note that many of the same anti-vaxxers advocate naturopathy, homeopathy, chiropractic and all manner of hocus pocus for which there is no evidence. Note the hypocracy.
Luke Murray I will stop labelling people as a conspiracy theorist when they stop alleuding to conspiracies. A casual glance at this forum reveals multiple conspiracy theories, all of which are baseless. Dismissing well researched evidence as Big Pharma propoganda is conspiratorial.
In any other situation, when parents endanger the lives of their children, either by directly abusing them, or by proxy in making irrational decisions against procedures, or treatments, or anything else that might save their life, a mandate of child protection can be enforced by a government agency against those parents.
So only a parent knows what's best for their child? Wrong, anyone is capable of making a misjudgement, even with their own children. It happens all the time. There is no special magical force that enables a mother or a father some divine knowledge of their child's welfare that nobody else can possible know - and it is arrogant to assume that "parent knows best" routine won't endanger somebody else's immunodeficient child at school. Mandatory vaccinations all round, because YOUR child is not the ONLY child in the world, and it's nobody else's fault, or problem, if you can't understand the benefits of vaccination, or if you've been led into some paranoid conspiracy theory or another.
I had 3 children and took responsibility for their health based on good food choices plus the support of alternate remedies- Herbs, Chiropractic, Homeopathy and Kinesiology.
Now as parents they are choosing after investigation and support not to vaccinate and they, nor I, want to have to battle for that right.
The AVN is one of the areas of support they use, plus their years of experience with our alternate choices in health care which we gladly pay for.
The government knows smoking, drinking alcohol to excess, fast foods full of trans fats all harm our health, but still allow people a choice and pay millions to try to repair the damage when these people need free health care.
So instead of trying to make vaccinations mandatory, the health department should do a study on the health of unvaccinated families and I feel sure a study would reveal the majority are all in very good health.
That vaccine-induced herd immunity is mostly myth can be proven quite simply. When I was in medical school, we were taught that all of the childhood vaccines lasted a lifetime.
This thinking existed for over 70 years. It was not until relatively recently that it was discovered that most of these vaccines lost their effectiveness 2 to 10 years after being given.
What this means is that at least half the population, that is the baby boomers, have had no vaccine-induced immunity against any of these diseases for which they had been vaccinated very early in life.
In essence, at least 50% or more of the population was unprotected for decades.
If we listen to present-day wisdom, we are all at risk of resurgent massive epidemics should the vaccination rate fall below 95%.
Yet, we have all lived for at least 30 to 40 years with 50% or less of the population having vaccine protection.
That is, herd immunity has not existed in this country for many decades and no resurgent epidemics have occurred.
Vaccine-induced herd immunity is a lie used to frighten doctors, public-health officials, other medical personnel, and the public into accepting vaccinations.
1. The child has to inherit a healthy immune system (IS) from both parents.
2. You need to be educated on what to give your kids when they get sick to support there immunity, eg look at homeopathics. Anti-biotics, panadol etc supress the ability of the IS to function at optimal levels.
3. Diet is highly important for your kids. Sugar intake greatly reduces immunity. Be very well researched and have resources avail.
If you dont meet all the above or are not willing to learn then dont bother, you are doing it for the wrong reasons. Hope that helps.
PS My wife made me detox and give up beer, sugar (namely soft drink) & fried food for 3 months before we conceived our 1st, it was hell for a while but totally worth it in the end.
of vaccinations, why do we have fertility problems that 3rd world non-immunised countries don't?? As a Naturopath I find the proof in front of me every day undeniable. Where is the public referendum on such enormous decisions?
But what is the level where a carcinogenic is accepted as being non-cancerous?
If this is unknown, and the cause of autism is unknown, then why do people persist in denying that dangerous chemicals and toxins cannot be a cause for cancer and autism? Seems to me to be very unreliable science, based on guess work. In the meantime, we keep vaccinating but are perplexed why cancer and autism rates keep increasing.
Trace amounts? And so many trace amounts, injected into a tiny new-born? Really? We just don't know the cause of our current cancer and autism explosion.
Go figure.
it is not fair to choose not to vaccinate your kids cause you ARE putting our families at risk! Not everyone can be vaccinated, some babies are too young and can catch horrible disease before we can protect them!
all this talk is like saying:" i never used to wear a bike helmet when I was a child and I"m still alive!" or "My Grandpa used to smoke till he was 90 and he didn't get cancer!" YES CAUSE THERE WERE LUCKY!!!!!! and your children are lucky cause they live around our vaccinated kids! If your child would get polio I'm pretty sure you would cry out loud!
the side effects of vaccine are tiny compared to big life changes that diseases can bring!
Polio was not on a sharp decline before vaccination. Deaths from polio were; owing to the invention of the iron lung that kept polio sufferers alive when their paralysis prevented them from breathing naturally. Some remained in iron lungs for the rest of their lives. Others were lucky to escape with only a withered limb. A healthy diet was no protection to Sydney's Aboriginal community in 1789 when smallpox broke out and killed half of them, nor did it protect them against death from measles and whooping cough. Many of us had grandparents and parents who suffered the loss of siblings due to what are now vaccine-preventable diseases; and some of us saw our own siblings badly affected. Those were in the days when most people had clean water an efficient sewage-disposal system. Vaccines were welcomed as they were seen to remove the fear of these diseases. Sadly, two generations have grown up not understanding what life (and death) was like before vaccines. Diseases are returning and, as has happened overseas, when many children have been maimed and killed; vaccination rates will rise again. Unless medically advised to the contrary, failure by parents to vaccinate amounts to child neglect.
This subtitle seems illogical to me. Also, while the AVN supports parents' freedom of choice, Australians already have freedom of choice.
State Member for Cook Jason O'Brien says:
"The fact is vaccinations have saved millions of lives. Their invention was a miracle of scientific achievement."
This is a belief, not a fact. The truth is that vaccines have never prevented anything apart from health, sanity and common sense and that vaccination is in fact an organised criminal enterprise dressed up as disease prevention by means of junk science.
Also, it doesn't seem that these people ever get the concept of herd immunity. Think it's wilful denial of a very important community benefit. You are the ones who don't care about those around you. Kids and adults with cancer, immune deficiencies and very young infants. It's not that complicated.
Stop wasting my time.
gp
The government has no right to dictate what we should and should not do to our children.
Balanced information should be readily available to every parent so they can make an educated decision. Since vaccination rates have increased so have cases of autism, childhood disabilities, cancer rates, chronic illnesses, food allergies and whooping cough outbreaks.
Why is it that anyone who has done their own research, and has decided against vaccination, is automatically labelled a conspiracy theorist?
Our bodies have been designed with a wonderful immune system. A healthy lifestyle, diet and sensible sunlight exposure are the best things to boost your immunity, not a needle packed full of toxic chemicals, live strains of diseases and questionable ingredients which are not fully disclosed.
I urge all parents who are wanting to make informed decisions to get copies of the manufacturer's package inserts for all vaccines that are recommended for your children, to read the list of ingredients, side effects and contraindications or reasons why the vaccine may not be appropriate for everyone. Ask lots of questions and remember that vaccines is not compulsory in Australia (and hopefully, never will be) so you have the right to make a free and informed choice. You won''t lose any government financial entitlements, your child can go to school, preschool or childcare whether they are fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated or not vaccinated at all.
Meryl Dorey
Australian Vaccination Network, Inc.
Table salt is Sodium Chloride. Nacl
Chlorine is just Cl.
Chloring is not an "Ingredient" but an element in a compound.
That is like comparing Oxygen (O2) to Ozone (O3). or Carbon dioxide (CO2) to Carbon Monoxide (CO)
One is essential to breathing, the other highly toxic.
/watch?NR=1&v=hhImYMMGwOc&
feature=endscreen
Oh and on the cancer issue watch this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBUGVkmmwbk Nothing is black and white, especially when there is money involved.
1) Claim there is no evidence vaccines work. In actual fact there is a multitude of evidence that they work. People like Ms Dorey have been presented with this evidence, read it and repeat "there is no evidence".
2) Claim that there is no evidence that vaccines are harmful. See Number 1. No vaccine is 100% safe however significant adverse reactions are very rare. There are hundreds of thousands of highly qualifeid scientists and doctors working around the world on vaccination research. If they haven't come up with any evidence by now they should be out of a job.
3) State that evidence doesn't count because it all comes from pharmaceutical companies. Pharm does the majority of the leg work on new vaccines no doubt, however governments, universities and hospitals worldwide also verify/retest results and administer ongoing surveillance.
4) Ask why we worry about unvaccinated if we are vaccinated. Because it protects the community and the vulnerable people in it, not just the individual.
5) Claim it all is a Big Pharma conspiracy. If you believe that you are beyond any rational argument.
Governments should work for the best interest of the people and not bend to the pressures of big pharmaceutical corporations.
The decision to vaccinate or not lays entirely on the individual.
Éverything else is scare tactics by money mongering corporate fascists.
By the way, if vaccinations are so effective, why should pro vaccine parents fear contamination of their children by non vaccinated kids? makes no sense to me...
If we are talking about following the money, why is it that every anti-vaxx website you go to wants to sell you something? Do anti-vaxxers have some sort of financial reward for spreading their rhetoric? I'm looking at you AVN. Is it a conspiracy?
1) Not all children (or adults) can be vaccinated. Some have cancer, some are on immunosuppresants, some have congenital immunodeficiencies, some have contraindications and/or allergies to vaccines.
2) Vaccines are at best 95% effective. That means 5 out 100 vaccinated people can still catch the disease.
We immunise to reduce disease vectors in our community. It is a social responsibility.
There has not been effective safety studies & there have been too many covered up claims by parents of damaged kids. I, my kids & grandkids are proof of health without drugs. Why r parents afraid of the likes of us if their kids are immunised. Aren't they protected?? Funny how when there is an outbreak people are recommended to get more doses to protect them? Interesting that a large % of medical staff refuse it as they have seen the results. I strongly advise you do a lot more research from other than the standard medical advertorials and you will realise there is a very large conspiracy. It's all about money, profits, control etc, not the welfare of others
Ms Dorey from the AVN, after a HCCC warning against her for misleading information about vaccination... How the two of them ended up together on the same stage made my eyes role.
Thanks for participating so passionately on this discussion. We do ask, however, that you refrain from personal attacks on other commentators. We can get our point across and be civil at the same time.
Thanks
Ed.
Ms Dorey, there is substantial evidence that vaccines are effective, there is substantial evidence that vaccines are safe. This evidence is obtained from both epidemiological studies and controlled trials. These have been shown to you time and time again yet you persist with these untruths.
Polio was already on a sharp decline due to better hygiene practices and better sewerage systems before the pharmaceutical company swooped in and 'saved the day'.
The human body has an amazing immune system. It should be allowed to develop naturally. When I was a kid we used to have measle parties. Someone in town would get it so we would all go to their house and catch it. 4 days at home on the couch and there's your vaccine!
I fully respect parents who choose to vaccinate their kids but it should not be forced on everyone. There are plenty of arguments for and against vaccines and not enough proof that they are 100% safe.
There is one side which actually protects the people of Australia and the world from deadly diseases and as the article states, eradicated diseases such as Polio and Smallpox which used to run rampant throughout society...
and the other which tries to promote the return of deadly diseases through some misguided view that Big Pharma is evil. Therefore, putting those who do not vaccinate at risk, but even worse - the children of that person and those who rely on herd immunity (Immunodeficient, too young etc).
Health or Disease... which would you choose? Think about it...
Add comment