Letters, letters and more letters
I realised this morning that the word document where I had been saving your letters was over 6,000 words long and I still probably have at least that much still to go so it's time to post some more letters up here and as I have time through the day, I will put some more on this blog. You are all AMAZING! If you don't yet know what all these letters are about, please click here to read about how change.org is blaming the unvaccinated for the current outbreak of pertussis and is also trying to help get the AVN shut down. When you're done with that, click here to read about an article in the Herald Sun (Victoria) calling for compulsory vaccination of Australia's children. It is time to be active and vocal on this issue so we nip these threats to our health rights and freedoms in the bud!
To Tanya Plibersek:
If you were to give in to the bullying of Sue Ieraci and the Stop the AVN group, you would be doing a great disservice to families devastated by vaccine injuries, the right of free speech especially in regards to questioning vaccine safety, but foremostly to the rights of parents everywhere to make decisions in the best interests of their children. My family has been dramatically affected by vaccine injuries and the AVN is the only organisation that is even bothering to fight for our rights. We are told we should vaccinate our children to protect the minority that vaccines cannot protect, but is it alright to sacrifice other children in order to do this? Can someone please explain to me who gets to decide which children should live and which should die?
This is a decision no one should have to make, so that is why it is so important that parents be given the right to advocate for their own children, it is the only truly fair way to protect our children! I exhort you to talk to both sides of the vaccination issue before you make a decision on whether to support Sue Ieraci's agenda.
Kind regards ,
TD
To Tanya Plibersek,
I would like to say that the AVN is an organisation that is helping to keep us all informed about what we are injecting in ourselves and our children, for those that are ignorant about what the AVN is all about, perhaps you should get more knowledge for knowledge gives the power to make better choices, those that choose to vaccinate have nothing to worry about for their children if they have been immunised, after all does that not mean that they are protected from these diseases, if one chooses not to vaccinate then they should have the freedom to choose and not be penalised. Those that do choose it should mind their own business. I would like to thank AVN for all the good work that they do.
Yours sincerely
SM
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am an Australian-registered pharmacist (although not currently practising as I am living overseas with my husband) of 15 years experience and I have impartially researched very carefully the topic of vaccination. (It's worth noting I don't have children to add emotion to this issue for me personally.) I seek out information outside of what drug companies with clear financial interests tell me is truth - it has always seemed a reasonable and responsible way to do my job. As a healthcare professional I see my responsibility lying in remaining open-minded, providing access to all sides of a particular healthcare issue, and empowering and encouraging people to make their own informed choices - which I see as the minimum of respect and courtesy we all deserve. On the balance of available information I fall out on the side of personalised selective, reduced-schedule or no vaccination, depending on the individual. I just can't find reliable, reasoned, non-fear-based, unbiased evidence without vested interests to support the efficacy and safety of most vaccines over and above issues of sanitation, immunosupportive nutritional measures and the implementation and longterm maintenance of other healthy lifestyle factors. And it would save me a lot of trouble and it would be so much easier for me if I could just find evidence to persuade me to fall back into line with the opinions of many of my colleagues in the medical profession and support full-schedule, mass vaccination but I just can't find it. The multiple and complicated issues surrounding each different vaccine, each different illness or biological agent a given vaccine claims to protect against, each individual being vaccinated means that dealing in absolutes and generalisations in healthcare, in my experience, is at best irrelevant and at worst dangerous. I would like to see us move away from any idea of "mass" healthcare and advice, to a more individualised, choice-based model.
Yours sincerely,
CG
Attention: The Editor:
I am absolutely disgusted that you can print such biased rubbish re: see below.
People have a choice and freedom of choice is a God given right! To say that unvaccinated children are risking other children without factual evidence is not only unjust it is unethical!
I have been in the disability industry for over 15 years and many hundreds of mothers and fathers have cried in my arms telling me that their children were quite normal and reaching all milestones until they were given the multiple vaccinations but now they have mild to severe disabilities!
You might say that it is okay if a few are injured for the sake of the many but let me tell you that none of you would put your hand up to be one of the few! You are hypocrites, I have seen the pain and anguish of what vaccinations can do.
Why don’t you put your money where your big mouth is and guarantee me 5 million dollars if anything happens to my child after he gets vaccinated and I will do it, how about that? Put up or shut up!
My little boy who has been immunised homoeopathically caught whooping cough from his vaccinated friend! His friend had to go on to antibiotics my boy was over it in a few days! My unvaccinated boy rarely gets ill and is tall strong healthy and intelligent. It is only when he is around vaccinated children who are sick that he gets their illness, however, not as intense as they do. My boy has not received one needle of anything and when he was born the nurses and doctors were pushing us for him to get all those shots hep b etc etc etc, I told them that they could give him all the shots that they want as long as they guarantee me in writing that it is perfectly safe, I challenged them to tell me that no harm would come to my child and they said that they could not do it. I then asked them if my child gets the shots will it stop him from contracting the disease that he is being vaccinated for, they said no it won’t and that he can still contract the disease! So I asked what reason is there that I would I want to inject my son with these drugs, you know what they told me, because it will minimise the risk of him contracting the disease! I asked them by what percentage and is this factual and if they could please put that in writing, well of course they refused, no surprise!
The fool who wrote the article below stating “Standard vaccinations are safe, and essential to protect our kids from preventable deadly diseases such as whooping cough, diphtheria and even influenza.” You ask that idiot if they are willing to guarantee that my child will not be harmed by being vaccinated with a guarantee to pay for all costs if he does and I will have my child vaccinated right in front of them!
You can stick your stupid state schools where the sun don’t shine as well as they are also incompetent in teaching the basic needs for children! And you can stick your family benefits too you unjust unfair ignoramuses.
You peddle your lies and say they are facts and say it’s okay and people believe you because people don’t research for themselves!
There is nothing wrong with being anti vaccination as you are anti anti-vaccination, what’s good enough for you is good enough for others as well!
Anyway I am sick of people like you who want to make everyone do what you think because it is right for everyone!
MORE PEOPLE ARE KILLED EVERY YEAR BY YOUR SO CALLED MEDICAL SCIENCE SO CALLED THAN ANY OTHER REASON.
A concerned citizen of the world!
Dear Susie,
I was very disappointed to read the article written by you. It showed that you are someone who is willing to pass your vitriol off as a news piece. It showed a distinct lack of investigation of the issue and a comment that "Doctors are good and we should trust them without question" is not a very enlightened view. That being said, your whole premise of "doctors all agree therefore they must be right" is wrong on many counts. Not all doctors agree and, while its not a majority, there are a number of doctors that I know personally that would not vaccinate their children or would do so selectively. Doctors have been known to be on agreement on quite a number of issues that have proved to be very, very misguided or just plain wrong. Look at leeches used in the 1800's or Thalidomide in the 1960's or even Lipitor as recently as 2000's. We should never presume our doctor has all the answers. They don't.
Also in your article you state there have been no reactions to vaccines or if there are, they are minor. You perhaps need to visit http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datasheet/dsform.asp and read all the information that is available and put out by the manufacturers. You will find there is quite a list of adverse events following vaccination. Telling everyone that there are no reactions to vaccines is wrong and is the kind of misinformation that you accuse others of peddling.
As for restricting parents’ access to government money because you do not agree with the medical decisions that they make, that is just ludicrous. I made the decision not to vaccinate after many, many, many hours of study, starting with the information given to me by the government when I first fell pregnant, to talking to my GP, to reading every book I could get my hands on both for and against. And funnily enough, it was the government pamphlet that first started me off on this journey.
Why would a newborn baby possibly need to be vaccinated against Hep B? A newborn is hardly likely to be a IV drug user, prostitute or engage in a homosexual sex (all the risk factors for Hep B), nor did I have Hep B or participate in any of these activities.
What research did you do when you decided to vaccinate? Did you even read the government information? Or did you just rock up to the doctor at the allotted time to get your children their dose of aluminium, formaldehyde, and other preservatives and random virus particles? How many ear infections has your child had? How many courses of antibiotics?
Of all the children I know, 4 have got whooping cough, all of them vaccinated.
Neither of my children have had antibiotics or had an ear infection (a rite of passage it seems these days). I am not saying they have been perfect I am just saying they have never been really sick. The occasional cold happens and is cleared up quite quickly with rest and good food.
Once you start looking you will soon see the gaping holes in the whole argument for vaccination and many of the modern medicine standards. Open you mind and start looking, even if you still agree with vaccination, you will at least have a better argument than "They said", which is what your argument boils down to. No substance, no referencing, no clue.
With the small hope that you will read something outside your box and start to question the world around you.
BL
Dear Editor,
I am writing to you to voice my support for freedom of choice in health care in Australia. Every Australian adult has the right to take responsibility for their own body, and their own health.
In this regard, it is very important that each Australian be given the opportunity to choose whether or not to vaccinate themselves and their children.
Some people will, some people won't, but their choice is no reflection of the intelligence or morals of the individual. In addition, the concept of "herd immunity" has been disproven years ago, so please do not be swayed by arguments that state that those who don't choose vaccination can somehow cause the rest of the population to become vulnerable. This has been shown to be impossible, even in actual herds of animals.
Any sensible adult who spends 5 minutes thinking about health will realise that there are two important factors in illness/wellness --
1. the virulence of the disease, and
2. the health of the individual's internal ecosystem (ie, the state of their immune system).
Because the second factor is specific to the individual, no external person or group (including government) should be allowed to dictate what is right for an individual. This is a personal issue, not a political issue. The wrong decision for a particular individual could have serious longterm health ramifications.
If Australia is a free country at even the most rudimentary level, we must be allowed our freedom in this most personal of issues.
Sincerely yours,
ML
BS Health Science
To whom it may concern,
In promoting Sue Ieraci's agenda, you are doing a great disservice to families devastated by vaccine injuries, the right of free speech especially in regards to questioning vaccine safety, but foremostly to the rights of parents everywhere to make decisions in the best interests of their children.
My family has been dramatically affected by vaccine injuries and the AVN is the only organisation that is even bothering to fight for our rights. We are told we should vaccinate our children to protect the minority that vaccines cannot protect, but it is alright to sacrifice other children in order to do this, can someone please explain to me who gets to decide which children should live and which should die??? This is a decision no one should have to make, so that is why it is so important that parents be given the right to advocate for their own children, it is the only truly fair way to protect our children!
I exhort you to talk to both sides of the vaccination issue before you make assumptions on who is right and who is wrong...
Kind regards
TD
Dear Herald Sun Staff
I write regarding the above article/blog post on your website.
There is no doubt to any reader that this article is one-sided. Ms O’Brien is clearly “for” vaccination, seemingly holding great contempt for the unsuspecting Meryl Dorey of the Australian Vaccination Network. It is unfortunate, however, that the Herald Sun is satisfied to only share Ms O’Brien’s view and not that of the families who have been negatively affected by vaccinations (for example, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/taking-steps-to-care-for-vaccines-victims/story-e6frg8y6-1226082406325). Or perhaps the views of qualified Medical Practitioners whom agree that the current vaccination schedule is not in the best interests of the child? Ms O’Brien may possibly deny it, but there are doctors and nurses within our community whom think the schedule is “overkill”.
Her opening statement calling for mandatory childhood vaccination is rather extreme. If we truly want to protect our children, we should also mandate that families not have a swimming pool on or near their property due to infant drowning fatalities; families should not use ANY mode of transportation due to deaths on roads, trains, ships and aircraft; families should not live in homes with windows that open due to children falling through windows (even on ground level) and dying, etc. Mandating a law in these matters, or in the area of vaccination, does not allow the individual to research for themselves regarding a subject and make a decision in the interest of their family.
It is also disappointing that Ms O’Brien believes she needs to resort to name calling, sarcasm and unkind words (within her article and to the commenter’s on the post). Her mention of “homebirthers” will not win her any friends, either, but I deduce from her writings that she does not care about the feelings of others.
A very disappointing read.
Regards,
SE
Dear Editor,
I have just read your article citing Dr. Sue Ieraci's opinion on compulsory vaccination and the Australian Vaccination Network.
Comment is made about how unscientific the Australian Vaccination Network and home birthing is.
May I point out that it is unscientific to be afraid of unvaccinated children at school. If the rest of the school is vaccinated, there should be no fear of contamination.
It is unscientific to use invective against personalities when trying to make a valid case.
It is unscientific to make accusations and assumptions without statistical or factual back up, which I found to be totally lacking throughout the article.
Sincerely wishing for fair and honest reporting.
TH
Dear Susie,
I ask you with deep respect to please make a thorough investigation into the contents of vaccines, the known side effects, and the overwhelming anecdotal evidence of damage. There are many esteemed publications on this subject.
Regards,
GO
Compulsory Vaccinations - don't you dare !
Change.org - mail@change.org
Herald Sun - hsletters@heraldsun.com.au
Minister Plibersek - tanya.plibersek.mp@aph.gov.au
To say I am a furious woman, mother, adult, intelligent human being is an understatement. Myself & my family have had serious problems with 'sensitivities' to toxic, neurotoxic & carcinogenic chemical cocktail in vaccinations - my son nearly killed by them - and the last flu vaccine my mother had within two days she 'went funny' could not tell the time, confused day and night and much more ..... see Vaccinations are causing impaired blood flow (Ischemia), Chronic Illness, Disease and Death
(http://vactruth.com/2009/08/03/vaccinations-are-causing-impaired-blood-flow-ischemia-chronic-illness-disease-and-death-for-us-all-hp/ Dr Andrew Moulden MD, PhD As a medically trained Doctor, a PhD trained neuroscientist/neuropsychologist, with a Masters degree in Child/language neurodevelopment, ) so don't any of you dare talk to me about safety of vaccines and there is that much filth and corruption in the big boys of industry and their 'health department' associates and people are waking up. Also see:-
Toxic/neurotoxic/carcinogenic chemical assault on the brain and body http://www.informedchoice.info/cocktail.html
http://www.novaccine.com/vaccine-ingredients/
http://www.tetrahedron.org/articles/vaccine_awareness/ingredients.html
The Military Vaccine Resource Centre http://www.mvrd.org/
Dr. Ken Stoller http://www.whale.to/vaccine/stoller_h.html
The article from yesterday calling for compulsory vaccination and criticising women who home birthed actually WAS on the web, It had a different title – All Aussie Kids Should Be Vaccinated. The woman who wrote it, Susie O’Brien, seems to have had correspondence in the past with both the Australian Skeptics and their splinter hate group, Stop the AVN.
More and more people are relying on Groups such as AVN http://www.avn.org.au/ for the truth because they don't get truth from Government. (the same as the FORCED fluorosilicic acid/silicofluoride poisoning of our water supplies). The people have lost all faith in mainstream science due to loss of integrity due to conflicts of interest and lost any hope because of the lack of integrity and transparency of Government.
Some of my notes:-
Those ‘minor side effects’ from these dangerous neurotoxins nearly killed my only child with the most horrendous reaction, violent jerking and convulsing, projectile vomiting, gastric, high fevers, high pitched screaming and yes, he would have been a SIDS statistic except we never left him as we noticed he stopped breathing – he has been left with a life of allergies, chemical sensitivities, behavioural disorders and conditions (and most of the reports of harm and/or death never get reported). My son had vaccine induced encephalitis. So don’t dare tell me about the minor side effects.
One size doesn’t fit all – some people don’t react badly to vaccines but ever increasing numbers do – sensible people in any case should if they have any doubt about colds, flu or anything else wear a mask until the illness has gone – my child was so damaged and his immune system weakened( from the toxic, neurotoxic and carcinogens in these chemical cocktails injected into our babies) we had to wear a mask a lot to try and stop him constantly catching infections – he was sick so much and after the vaccine developed shocking asthma, many allergies, chemical sensitivies – he was so ill and had behavioural disorders from these neurotoxins injected into him.
and
I have seen and know of too many people with bad vaccine reactions – well no wonder, a potent toxic, neurotoxic and carcinogenic chemical cocktail. Re: you the Australian Vaccination Network I say without you the people would continue to be lied to and never receive the truth of just how toxic and dangerous these cumulative poisons are and I should know, severe vaccine reaction nearly killed my only child nearly 24 years ago and he has had a lifetime of health and behavioural problems and disorders. These are dangerous chemical cocktails injected into our babies, children and adults – too many people on the vaccine industry payroll too – massive conflicts of interests – and these corrupt mongrels making money from vaccine industries can be on the ‘panels’ of the ‘health departments’ telling you what vaccines you should have. Corruption has destroyed many peoples’ faith in mainstream medicine…….
The evil of corruption, power and greed has us under serious threat from those who are supposed to care for our health and put us in Harm’s Way.
Don’t this Government or any Government ever try and forcibly inject me or my family – Human rights Health rights or is it true that we have lost all our freedom, rights and everything else and in a total Nazi Country ! and if vaccination was supposedly so effective, any people who have had the vaccine shouldn’t have to worry about catching the disease or should they ??????? Any people who don’t wish to be injected with your poison needle have that right – People demand the truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth, they’ll never get it from the Government and all their ‘associates’ – so I say thank God for Australian Vaccination Network who have fought against filthy corruption, slander, defamation et al to try and stop AVN from giving the people the truth.
and
here is a short extract:-
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/00285/CDC_Big_Pharma.html
In the wake of overhauling the FDA, lawmakers are also cracking down on conflicts of interest within the Centers for Disease Control. Last month, Representatives, Dr Dave Weldon (R-FL), and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), held a press conference to announce the introduction of a bill that would give responsibility for vaccine safety to an independent agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, and remove most vaccine safety research from the CDC. Specifically, they said on July 26, 2006, the "Vaccine Safety and Public Confidence Assurance Act of 2006," will create an independent office to address, investigate, and head off potential safety problems like the use of mercury in vaccines, in an objective and non-conflicted office whose sole purpose is vaccine safety and evaluation. According to Dr Weldon in a prepared statement, Federal agencies charged with overseeing vaccine safety research have failed. They have failed to provide sufficient resources for vaccine safety research. They have failed to fund extramural research and they have failed to free themselves from conflicts of interest that serve to undermine public confidence in the safety of vaccines, he said. "The American public deserves better," Dr Weldon stated, "and increasingly parents and the public at large are demanding better." "There's an enormous inherent conflict of interest within the CDC," he said, "and if we fail to move vaccine safety to a separate independent office, safety issues will remain a low priority and public confidence in vaccines will continue to erode."
http://www.americanchiropractic.net/FDA/Congressional%20report%20reveals%20FDA.pdf
In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Chairman Burton called for reforms to crack down on conflicts of interest on the two committees. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) makes recommendations on the approval of new vaccines. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations on guidelines for the administration of vaccines.
The Government Reform Committee staff report found that the majority of members of both committees have financial ties to vaccine manufacturers or hold patents on vaccines under development.****
http://www.whale.to/m/quotes9.html
Vaccine Conflicts of Interests
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. investigates the government cover-up of a mercury/autism scandal
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.Posted Jun 20, 2005 12:00 AM http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/7395411/deadly_immunity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrIM2hwrLoc&feature=related
http://dianabuckland.webs.com/vaccinationinformation.htm
http://dianabuckland.webs.com/vaccinationinformation2.htm
DDB
To whom it may concern:
I am totally opposed to compulsory vaccination and I know of children who have had violent reactions and have read enough to know that they can be harmful.
Parents have the right to choose- and if the vaccinations are so successful why are people concerned about a healthy unvaccinated child- does not make sense.
VE
Dear Editor
There are Doctors and there are Doctors – water finds its own level.
Your article written by one of Australia’s leading Doctors (your writers words not mine) Dr Sue Ieraci is one of the most misleading and shallow pieces I have ever seen written on any medical issue.
For example, show us the evidence for this statement “ Children who are not immunised … are risking the health of all kids”. Where is the research supporting this statement?
Show us the evidence for this statement “Standard Vaccinations are safe, and essential to protect our kids from preventable diseases such as whooping cough, diphtheria and even influenza”. Show us the evidence? Were you aware that there has never been one study done to the medical standard to prove the safety of vaccines individually let alone collectively as administered in the standard childhood schedule?. That is, there has never been one double blind, placebo controlled study to show the safety of vaccines, ever!
I could go on and on but won’t even grace the turbid comments made by your paper about parents who choose not to vaccinate their children and the very well-meaning and capable and longstanding organisation the AVN.
Instead let me help your good Doctor by directing her to some research that may just help preserve the health of her family and her patients.
Beth Lambert and Victoria Kobliner, MS, RD in a “Compromised Generation” demonstrate very clearly that seemingly benign elements of our culture including vaccines are making millions of children chronically ill, disabled or dysfunctional. They are being diagnosed with illnesses such as autism, asthma, allergies, diabetes and ADHD at a breathtaking rate. Research shows that decades of pharmaceutical over-usage, toxic or nutritionally anaemic diets, exposure to environmental toxins, certain modern habits and lifestyles and excessive or improperly administered vaccines are at the root of these illnesses.
Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill in their 5 years of research document how clearly it can be shown that Mercury in various forms but as Thimerisol in Vaccines is linked to Autism. Their recently released work “The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine and a man-made epidemic” is a must read for all Doctors seriously interested in the health of their patients. Just two interesting points from their immensely detailed research Amish people who do not vaccinate their children do not suffer from Autism – the very few cases of Autism in that community have been directly traced to the forced vaccination of one child and mercury exposure from dental amalgams in the mother prenatally in the others. Tens of thousands of children whose Doctors practice among communities that do not vaccinate - the children do not suffer from Autism or Asthma. This is mathematically inexplicable otherwise than that the absence of vaccines means an absence of these states.
Good Journalism makes an effort to find the truth, please provide your readers with some on this matter or remain silent.
Kind Regards
LB
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you as a concerned parent. The article that i recently read Regarding Compulsory Vaccination in the HearldSun has frightened and upset me to see such a one sided story. I am a first time parent to a beautiful healthy baby boy and I plan on keeping him that way. Through educating myself to be the best parent I can be. As a new parent I was confronted by many doctors and nurses about vaccinating my child, I had never really thought about any of it until i fell pregnant and even up until he was born. Then the day he arrived after having a beautiful natural drug free birth the first thing they wanted to do was jab him with a needle for Hep-B. Something deep inside of me didn't feel right as he was the most purest form of life and here they were wanting to inject him with a virus that as a baby would be very had to contract. So i declined!
As soon as I got home i started to research for myself what exactly was in these shots... which the doctors and nurses wouldn't explain to me at the time.. as they persisted to try and scare me with everything but the fact. I felt that if i was going to be a responsible parent & that the right thing to do would be to investigate it first... Wouldn't You if you felt you didn't have all the information? I was shocked to find out just how many shots they wanted to give my child in the first few years of his life.. He didn't even have chance to try and build up his own immunity.
Still to this day i do question myself if I have made the right decision not to vaccinate its a damned if you do.... and damned if you don't feeling, every day i am still reading different reports from doctors and stories from parents who have had children affected by being immunised but when I see how healthy and happy my little one is without the vaccination i couldn't take the risk of him having an adverse reaction. He is the healthiest baby i know.. i have friends who have decided to vaccinate and it seems as though their children are Always sick.. one of them at not even 2 months old had her twins sent back to hospital as they caught a virus.
We as parents deserve the right to free choice and shouldn't be slaughtered for our decisions... Would you do the same thing when it comes to religion?? NO of course not! Just because people have different beliefs doesn't mean that they are wrong.. They have made a decision to suite their lifestyle and us as a multicultural country have to accept that... So why cant people accept that not everyone agrees to Vaccinations?? Our children shouldn't be discriminated against when it comes to going to public pre-schools or schools... just like you wouldn't discriminate when it comes to religion! BECAUSE EVERYONE DESERVES A RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHAT THEY FEEL IS BEST FOR THEM AND THEIR CHILD!
Regards
SL
Dear Ms Plibersek,
I wish to express my concern that the democratic rights of parents with regard to freedom of choice in health issues may be under threat. My concerns relate to all health issues in general but particularly to vaccination. There is enough evidence to show that children can be at risk from some vaccines and parents must have the choice as to whether they wish to expose their children to this possibility.
Kind regards,
GC
Homeopath
To whom it may concern,
I really do find it hard to know where to start and it would be all too easy to take the low grade standard of comment by Susie O'Brien and make some very outlandish, hurtful or misguided comments in response to her article.
However I will give a very brief outline of my story and would love to think that Susie or yourself would do me the courtesy of replying.. but I will not hold my breath.
I am a mother of three adult children aged between 34 and 27. I chose not to vaccinate them due to concerns of the immunisations harming their bodies based on stories of other mothers knowledge and first hand experience of vaccination reactions. I did research in alternate health/herbal remedies and paid for them to attend chiropractic, herbalist or Kinesioligy throughout their childhood. They are all healthy and except for broken bones they do not go to the doctor.
As children while I was caring for them they did each have one course of antibiotics.
Now they wish to make choices for their own children and have done their research and prefer to use an alternate health approach and not immunise.
I am tired of having to defend this 'right to choose' that I was able to make 34 years ago and I am full of admiration for Meryl Dorey and the information available on the AVN site. No such internet site or volumes of documentation were available back 34 years ago, yet I was able to decide and choose a different approach
I never forced my opinion on others and never judged others for the decision they made. The reason I am taking the time to tell my story is that the seriousness of this proposed action is scary to say the least. There are lots of very good comments and letters which cover very well the real issue here which is "informed choice" and "our freedom to choose" in a democratic society. The irony is that families who choose not to immunise are ready and willing to step up and take full responsibility for their family’s good health. Their children are, in my observation, very strong and healthy and they do not have to go running off to ask the "sickness industry" what to do next.
Please stop trying to beat people into submission with the "big money stick" and stop the bullying that is going on regarding the AVN. One sure way to upset a parent is to threaten to harm their child. Leave this issue where it belongs- with each individual parent and today, more than ever before, parents are well equipped to make a conscious choice.
Kind regards,
MN
Hi There,
When I read your paper’s article on 31/1/12 titled Parents Must Ignore Conspiracies About Childhood Vaccination, I thought this is not a balanced view and I wish to bring your attention to key missing facts.
After many months of researching vaccination safety and efficacy issues my wife and I made an informed decision not to vaccinate our daughter, rather we followed a natural, proven and effective approach to protection (see Dr Isaac Golden’s Homeoprophylaxis protocol which has around 80% protection rate, similar to allopathic approaches). Our decision was based on mounting efficacy and safety concerns. For example, some babies in Australia administered the flu vaccine in April 2010 died, 60 plus were hospitalised and there was a national flu vaccine ban for little ones.
You state that Medical science is pretty united on immunisation, but are they? My sister, an experienced and popular GP in Northern Sydney & mother of three, recently advised me that she has been investigating her vaccination efficacy and safety concerns (evidenced in her work). She concluded that she would not have vaccinated her own children had she had the decision again. Specifically, her concerns are around the connection between deteriorating digestive health and food intolerances. This is substantiated by journal published research from Dr Andrew Wakefield, supported by other international Doctors.
You state that Dr Steve Hambleton from the AMA said recently, immunisation has meant two generations free from deadly diseases such as diphtheria and polio. Our protection against any disease is based solely on the capability of the immune system. Since a lot of us are better nourished than those during and after war times, (look up charts of death from diseases post 1944 and then map out when vaccination was commenced) disease deaths dropped off before mass vaccination was introduced.
You state that the best federal experts say side-effects commonly cited as being caused by immunisations are co-incidental, and not caused by vaccines at all. Yet, Governments around the world settles multi millions dollar claims from families with seemingly healthy children pre vaccination then post vaccination deteriorate seriously in health. If doctors read the vaccine inserts they would see horrendous possible side effects that inevitably some kids will experience, including, Guillain-Barre syndrome a serious disorder that occurs when the body's defence (immune) system mistakenly attacks part of the nervous system. This leads to nerve inflammation that causes muscle weakness called ascending paralysis.
When you state that CHILDHOOD vaccination should be mandatory for all children. Children who are not immunised should not be allowed to attend state funded schools and preschools because they’re risking the health of all kids. What you are actually supporting is more potential injuries and more law suits.
One of my main personal concerns is the lack of long term medical studies supporting all efficacy and safety claims. If your business success and reputation relied on it, you would think that Pharmaceutical companies or Governments would conduct these studies and publish the results. Obviously, these studies would need to follow accepted protocols e.g double blind, ramdomised, placebo controlled and include vaccinated vs non vaccinated kids over a long period, say, 10 to 15 years.
You state that Like homebirthers, parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are letting their own ideological beliefs get in the way of the safety of their children — in fact, all children. I personally know of 5 families who chose not to vaccinate their kids and all, like our daughter, lead strong, healthy and vibrant life. Small sample but accurate nonetheless. I also personally know of three families in the last 6 months who have fully vaccinated kids that had whooping cough. It seems that each year more people are vaccinated (you quote 94% for Australia), so it can’t be for lack of immunisation. Maybe it’s because vaccinations aren’t totally effective or the immune systems are impeded through vaccination?
There have been many, many cases where people trusted the pharmaceutical industry paid too big a price with their lives or capabilities e.g Thalidomide and VIOXX. Pharma companies have a history of getting some things badly wrong, so can be trusted implicitly.
In your article you support a view that Kids whose parents deny them this basic right should not be mixing with the rest of us, and should not be allowed to attend state-funded schools and preschools, but on reflection with the evidence I have provided doesn’t that just simply remove our liberty without recourse?
In my view your paper supports a view without presenting all the facts. Please review the facts provided above and reconsider your position. I think it's time for a more balanced view.
Regards,
AM (BSc Hons)
The Editor
Herald Sun Newspaper
Dear Sir/Madam,
Re - Your article “Kids Need Jabs” Herald Sun 31 January 2012.
I take exception to the claims made in this article. One has to wonder how much research the journalist who wrote the article actually did. There is so much evidence available around the world to show that at the very least some children can be adversely affected by vaccinations.
The usual argument put up by pro vaccination supporters is that there will be some collateral damage but it’s for the good of the “herd” that we need to vaccinate. This is all well and good unless it’s your child whose life has been ruined.
One of the statements made in the article is that children, who have not been vaccinated, should not be allowed to attend school because they endanger other children. If vaccinations are so effective what’s the worry?
This article is typical of the type of journalism we are subjected to today, in that a journalist can take cheap shots at a group who don’t get an equal chance to respond. There are many doctors who are not in favour of vaccination but can’t speak out for fear of being punished by the AMA. Maybe your journalist should do some real investigative work and seek out and interview some of these people before printing one-sided articles.
The real issue here is about the democratic rights of parents to make informed decisions about their children’s and for that matter their own health. Freedom of choice has always been what we Australians believe is our birthright, do you really want to change this?
Your faithfully,
GC