More bad publicity for the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) this time in the form of an article written for the Brisbane Courier Mail Weekend Magazine, by Amanda Watt and published on July 18th, 2009.
I was contacted by the journalist Amanda Watt after the McCaffery’s suggested she talk to me about the damage being done by the AVN in Australia. Naturally, I was very pleased to be able to furnish Amanda with lots of information about the misinformation and lies spread by my favourite organisation. She has done a great job on the article, especially considering she did not know anything about the anti-vax lobby before writing this.
Even though I only get one quote, the article does a good job of exposing the lies and half-truths perpetuated by the anti-vax lobby in Australia. Amanda also poses the question of why the job of educating the public about the dangers of the anti-vaxer lobby is left to the McCafferys and Australian Skeptics, which is a very good point indeed. Perhaps the government might want to sit up and listen.
You can read the entire article as a pdf here.
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Comments ( 7 )
[...] More bad press for the Australian antivaxxers, who have been so successful that people Down Under — including at least one baby — [...]
Some alt-med quickies | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine added these pithy words on Jul 27 09 at 12:00 am[...] More bad press for the Australian antivaxxers, who have been so successful that people Down Under — including at least one baby — [...]
Whats Hot » Blog Archive » Some alt-med quickies added these pithy words on Jul 27 09 at 9:03 am[...] anti-vaxers have come under much public criticism of late (see more info here) and it appears as if they’re beginning to lose their composure. Comments left on my blog [...]
Vaccines are part of a world wide plot to commit mass genocide. This is not a conspiracy. « Skeptic Zoners added these pithy words on Aug 01 09 at 8:32 pmDianne added these pithy words on Jul 20 09 at 11:26 pmCongrats, well done! I prefer this type of crusade than random and publicly calling Meryl Dorey a whatever. This is much more effective, intelligent and it shows we do not have to stoop to their level of ignorance. Once again, well done to Amanda and Dr. Rachie.
Sean the Blogonaut added these pithy words on Jul 25 09 at 7:40 pmName calling is juvenile and unproductive but unfortunately quite entertaining when it comes to “true believers”.
I think it is a good question – why do the public and non profit organisations have to promote government policy. Perhaps Aus. Skeptics should be applying for a grant.
I don’t really know the answer though. I suspect that most politicians are equally uneducated when to comes to medicine. The Alternative medicine crowd have the veneer of respectability and politicians are all about the appearance of equality and letting everyone have their say.
Perhaps we need to really target politicians.
Paolo the just added these pithy words on Sep 18 09 at 12:59 pmInteresting that Skeptics with a K.
Non-government, or drug company sponsored research on vaccinations and it’s effects on little children is beyond reproach.
If vaccines are safe why has big Pharma been given immunity from prosecution WHEN their vaccines cause damage and even death.The Autism rate is now 1 in 150 children who is vaccinated, in the Amish communities who do not vaccinate, it is zero, zip, nil.
Add that to all the other damage done by vaccines and what do you get? I don’t need to tell you if your smart.
While you’re working that out, why not let your audience check out what happen in America with the rotavirus in the name of profit.
Maggie added these pithy words on Oct 03 09 at 5:53 pmThis is simply not true about the Amish. You only need to do a little research to establish this
Vaccines are not 100% safe, this is why we have adverse reporting systems in place and bodies such as the NCIRS to monitor any adverse reactions. The point is the risk of harm from a vaccine is much lower than the risk associated with the corresponding disease.
Regarding your allegations of profit, do you think the alt med industry, which is worth $44 billion a year in the US alone is not profit driven? Homeopathy (i.e., magic, vibrating water) is ~100 x more expensive than a litre of petrol.
