What is a conscientious objector I hear you ask? In Australia, between 2 and 5 percent of parents strongly object to their children being vaccinated, either for religious reasons or because of misinformation spread by anti-vax groups such as the AVN.

In a scheme introduced in 1997, parents who complete the government schedule for childhood vaccinations receive a one off payment of AUD200. This was an incentive designed to increase the levels of herd immunity, which had fallen dangerously low, thereby increasing the risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

But, if you identify yourself as a conscientious objector, you are also entitled to the money. You just need to explain your reasons to your doctor, they sign a form, (which you can conventiently find on the AVN website) and you collect your cheque too!

The pack pictured is chock-a-block full of magazine articles, opinion pieces and scientific papers (some dating back to the 60s meaning the information is seriously outdated), describing how vaccines will injure your children. This ~ 100 page A4 photocopied piece of propaganda is designed so you can arm yourself with misinformation and half truths about vaccines to bombard your doctor with, when they ask you why you don’t want to vaccinate your children.

And this organisation calls themselves pro-choice, not anti-vaccination.

Expect more updates as I bravely plough through this nonsense.

Know thy enemy.

Thanks to Pete for the pack.

Entitled “Vaccine fear campaign to be investigated” health reporter Louise Hall details allegations about the AVN which she describes as “a group that claims vaccines cause autism, brain damage and cancer..” who are “…allegedly spreading misinformation and endangering children’s health”.

Meryl Dorey, the president of the AVN claims that she fills the gap left by the mainstream medical profession and government bodies and

“We never have and never will tell anyone that they should not vaccinate. We simply fill the information void left by government and the mainstream medical community.”

Of course you do Meryl, you fill the gap with stories of vaccines being the biggest hoaxes of the 20th century, a plot to commit mass genocide and a method for the “illuminati” to implant all recipients with microchips. And you and your followers tell parents that vaccines contain toxic levels of mercury and aluminium, plus cells from aborted fetuses (amongst other things), cause shaken baby syndrome (or shaken “maybe” syndrome), vaccines have never been tested, there is no science to back up the benefits of vaccination, homeopathy, a healthy lifestyle and a loving family are suitable alternatives to vaccination, kids are meant to get childhood illnesses, whooping cough is not that serious, swine flu is a manufactured epidemic, vaccination efforts in the third world “put Hitler and Stalin in the shade”, and that doctors are a danger to children.

Oh, and Meryl is also an HIV/AIDS denier as well as being a member of the Facebook group Australians against vaccination* (odd, since she claims to be “pro-choice”).

If you need confirmation of the depths these people will sink to, then please read this comment, which was left on my blog in response to a post by Toni McCaffery, the mother of Dana who died from whooping cough at 4 weeks of age, some 6 months ago.

Then convince me that these people are well meaning and care about the health of children.

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*if you are directed to your home page on Facebook with this link, it means you have been banned from accessing this page by the administrator. This is most likely due to the following; “First and foremost, THIS IS NOT A DEBATE if you are pro vax don’t even bother”.

Australian parents urged to get the real facts on vaccination

Businessman, aviator, and explorer, Dick Smith, has funded an Australian Skeptics’ advertisement to urge parents to access factual information on vaccination, in the wake of the country’s largest Whooping Cough epidemic.

The advertisement warns people to avoid advice from groups such as the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN), which state that they are ‘pro-choice’ but are opposed to vaccination and spread misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

“Dick Smith Foods has funded this advertisement in the public interest, to ensure parents access unbiased, accurate advice from reputable medical sources. The Australian Vaccination Network is no such source,” said Mr Smith.

The advertisement – placed in the Thursday, August 6 edition of The Australian newspaper – warns parents that the AVN is spreading false claims including that vaccines contain toxic quantities of mercury, aluminium, and formaldehyde; that vaccines cause conditions such as autism, and that the AVN is providing incorrect information about the risks of childhood illnesses.

Following the tragic death of three babies to Whooping Cough, Australian Skeptics has established an information page with information on the myths and realities of vaccines and links to reputable sources.

The parents of four-week-old Dana McCaffery, who died from Whooping Cough in March, have welcomed the Skeptics’ actions.

“We implore parents to access reputable sources for information about vaccination. We thank the Australian Skeptics for presenting this information, which informs parents about the risks of preventable illnesses, addresses fears of vaccines with proven evidence, and debunks common myths. It is vital all Australian governments act now and implement comprehensive education campaigns to fully inform parents about the importance of vaccination,” said Toni and David McCaffery.

Eran Segev, president of Australian Skeptics Inc, said: “Australian Skeptics believes strongly that the public should have access to full and factual information so that they can form their opinions and choices in life, not half-truths, mistruths and fantasies.”

The Australian Skeptics has several thousand members across Australia, and investigates paranormal and pseudo-scientific claims from a responsible scientific viewpoint.

Further information: Australian Skeptics

Media contact: Tim Mendham, 0432 713 195

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.

Gardasil side effects controversy.

This story was screened on the incredibly erudite and well-researched-magazine-style-piece-of-fluff show, Today Tonight on December 7, 2007. I know this is over a year ago, but this kind of misrepresentation of science continues to occur all over the world and in many different incarnations. I was reminded of the extent of this nonsense during a recent conversation with Dr Ben Goldcare of the Bad Science column and blog. He has spent years tirelessly fighting the perpetuators of misinformation (in his own time, for no money) who will often go to incredible extremes just to get a sensationalist story*.

In this instance, the reporter Laura Sparkes has outdone herself by criticising the work of Professor Ian Frazer, a Queensland immunologist who’s team of researchers are responsible for developing the cervical cancer vaccine, marketed as Gardasil and more recently a skin cancer vaccine. Laura reports on two cases of adverse reactions by teenage girls after receiving the vaccine. Now if this is true, then it needs to be treated with all seriousness. There are mechanisms in place in Australia for reporting adverse reactions to registered drugs and this is particularly important when a new drug is released. But there is no need to get hysterical Laura.

“I had a headache, I was dizzy, I was nauseous, my right side was weak, my right fist was clenched and I was hallucinating,” Allie said. Gardasil has been hailed as a medical breakthrough, the first ever immunisation against cancer; but no-one was warned about this.

Well, this is just not true Laura. You can go to Gardasil’s own website where the side effects are listed on the front page and the TGA also details a list of adverse effects. It’s a government requirement that all drugs come with warnings of even the most unlikely or rare adverse effects. Whether this information was passed onto the girls I do not know, but certainly this information is publicly available.

But here’s where Laura really should have done her research when reporting on a serious public health issue. She asks the opinion of one Bronwyn Hancock from the vaccination information service, who is cited in the article as a “scientist and health researcher”. Long bow Laura. According to their website, Bronwyn has a BSc from Macquarie University obtained in 1981, which she never used – instead she went onto to work in computer programming for 14 years (which I don’t disparage, I just don’t think you can call yourself a scientist unless you have worked in the field). I hardly think you can call yourself a “scientist and health researcher” just because you have a BSc on paper. If I qualified as a hairdresser but never worked as one, then 14 years later offered to cut your hair, would you let me? She also has a certificate of nutrition which hardly qualifies you for anything particularly useful with respect to vaccines and immunology.

But this extract from her bio worries me even more.

“…to bring to the awareness of the public what is well published in the depths of medical research about this procedure, but is generally not studied or at least brought to the attention of the public by doctors or the media, due, it would seem, to the heavy influence of the “health”, rather sickness, industry”.

The depths of medical research? Hey Bronwyn, ever heard of the public database PubMed? Oh who really cares, you lost me with the big pharma conspiracy stuff at the end.

Then this little gem; “The Gardasil vaccine has never been shown to be safe or effective in preventing cervical cancer,” Bronwyn said. “There are so many limitations with the testing that they’ve done.” Okay so if you really are a scientist you would understand the structure of clinical trials, involving 4 phases of testing and millions of dollars and many, many years, (sometimes decades) before the drug is approved for human use.

People like this infuriate me because they detract from the complex and intricate process that is science. They also contribute to the public misunderstanding of science by suggesting that we just design a drug, test it on a bunny a couple of times then throw it out to the public, meanwhile exclaiming “it’s alive!”. The drug development process is complex, extensive and expensive. It makes my blood boil that people this daft are given air time to undermine the brilliant and thorough work of scientists like Professor Frazer, who has since gone on to develop a skin cancer vaccine.

Two strains of human papiloma virus (HPV) have been shown to cause cervical cancer. In 2006, the cancer council of New South Wales estimated there would be approximately 240 new cases and around 75 deaths attributable to cervical cancer in NSW. Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women and it is estimated to result in over 470,000 new cases and cause 233,000 deaths per year worldwide.

Meanwhile in 2006, Professor Frazer was honoured with the Australian of the year for his work on the cervical cancer vaccine. This later resulted in his research facility attracting a $500 million donation from a wealthy Taiwanese donor. High praise indeed.

I wonder how many lives Bronwyn and her cronies can claim to have saved by perpetuating misinformation and lies about the effectiveness and science behind vaccines.

Congratulations morons.

*Buy a copy of Ben Goldacre’s wonderful book Bad Science to read for yourself how far journalists will go to get the positive results they required to perpetuate the MRSA (Methicillan Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) hoax from a few years back.