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Weekend Australian-
Biased article on vaccination
Action needed!

Hi All,

I am sorry for sending out another update so soon after the last one, but many of you have written to me regarding the two terrible pieces in the Weekend Australian, asking what you should do and I felt that this was important enough to send you another update with information on this situation.

First off, I was contacted on Friday afternoon by Adam Cresswell, the Health Reporter for the Weekend Australian. He said he was doing a piece on vaccination and wanted to speak with a family in a capital city that had chosen not to vaccinate. I gave him the name of one of our professional members, a chiropractor who has always been excellent with the media and is very well-informed and articulate.

Just as I was calling Adam back to give him the phone details for this pro member, he rang me to say that the situation had changed and they no longer wanted someone in a city, but rather, they wanted someone in Byron Bay. Alarm bells began to ring...

I asked him why Byron and he said because we have such a low vaccination rate and I knew straight away that this was a set-up. I asked if I could be the contact for the story but Adam said no because I had a 'profile' and had already spoken with the media - a connection I couldn't fathom unless the point of the piece was to find a sacrificial lamb, I said I would see what I could do and contacted another Chiropractor up on the Far North Coast of NSW who I know had not vaccinated his own young children.

He was happy to speak with the paper, but both he and I were concerned about how genuine the Australian was and whether things he said would be taken out of context. I left it up to him advising him to speak with the journo and do what he felt was best. After speaking with Adam, the Chiropractor decided not to do the story - a decision I supported.

Finally, running out of time, Adam decided to interview me though he told me from the outset that I would only get 1-2 sentences (that's fairness in the media for you!). The interview was done, photos were taken and the following 2 articles were put into this weekend's paper (I have linked to them to keep this update as short as possible).

With my wonderful husband Ken's help, I wrote a reply to the paper on Saturday. So far, I have not heard whether or not they will print it. My thinking is that they won't unless enough pressure is brought to bear.

If you can write a quick letter asking them to show the other side and stating that the articles on Satruday were biased and unbalanced, that would be very much appreciated.

The email address is [email protected] and you must include your contact details - name, address and daytime contact number. Otherwise, they won't consider using your information.

Please forward copies of your letters to me at [email protected].

First article:
Parents' fear of measles
Adam Cresswell, Health editor | July 12, 2008

Second article
Spurning vaccination
OPINION: Peter Curson | July 12, 2008
 
Reply of the AVN
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
PO Box 177
BANGALOW NSW 2479
Phone: (61 +2) 02 6687 1699
FAX (61 +2) 02 6687 2032
[email protected]
www.avn.org.au
 

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