The West Australian Newspaper

Attention—Letters to the Editor

FAX—08 9482 3177

 Dear Sir or Madam,

 In your newspaper (27/7/99), Professor Fiona Stanley states that "a decision to not vaccinate a child could be likened to jumping off a cliff without a parachute." The Australian Vaccination Network believes that a doctor who does not fully inform parents of all of the risks of vaccination actually pushes that child off the cliff.

 Yes, parents are now much better informed of the risks of vaccination. That is why they are choosing to not vaccinate their children in ever increasing numbers. They are also aware that vaccines do not necessarily protect their children from infectious diseases as evidenced by the government’s own publication, the CDI Bulletin (Vol 21; No 11; 29/5/97) which shows that the rate of reported whooping cough went from "2.0 per 100,000 population to 30.5 per 100,000 population in 1994 despite pertussis vaccination coverage approaching 90% for the three-dose primary course". In other words, the vaccine failed to protect.

Last year, the Federal government spent more than $30 million on a campaign to vaccinate all children with the MMR vaccine. At least 5 children in WA developed ITP—a life-threatening reaction to this vaccine.

Who knows how many other reactions there have been? According to ADRAC (The Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee), only 10% of reactions are ever reported, so when Barbara Scott says that there would only be a small number of children harmed by vaccines, she is basing this statement on a figure that is more than 90% incorrect.

The medical community has a long and chequered history of claiming safety and effectiveness for procedures that later turn out to be both unsafe and ineffective. Just look at the child who got HIV from a supposedly safe blood transfusion. Remember the many children who were born with horrendous birth defects because of thalidomide? Observe the claims that both tobacco and radiation were safe for human use. And don’t forget the 18,000 people killed every year by doctor error in Australian hospitals.

Doctors have not earned the right to be trusted in issues of health. The only ones who have a right to say what is appropriate for the health of their child are that child’s mother and father—and doctors must provide them with enough information to make that choice.

Sincerely yours,

Meryl W. Dorey

NATIONAL PRESIDENT

The Australian Vaccination Network, Inc.

Meryl W. Dorey,

President

The Australian Vaccination Network, Inc.

PO Box 177 02 6687 1699 Phone

Bangalow NSW 2479 02 6687 2032 FAX

meryl@avn.org.au http://www.avn.org.au

"All truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is

violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

(Schopenhauer)

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Any information obtained here is not to be construed as medical OR legal

advice. The decision to vaccinate and how you implement that decision is

yours and yours alone.