Twice as many parents refuse to vaccinate - please comment on the blog

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For those who want to know, I actually told Weaver, the journalist who wrote this, that it is only 12 years since the register even started so of course there would be a huge increase in the number of people registering as conscientious objectors 10 years later! I also said that the government and the medical community refuse to publicise the fact that this exemption is available, either insinuating that vaccination is compulsory or outright lying about it and telling them it is. It is the rare parent who actually discovers that they have the right to get all of their government entitlement whether they choose to vaccinate, not vaccinate or vaccination selectively. In addition, I told her that there are many parents who cannot find a doctor to sign the form and that some parents who have contacted us have gone to see a dozen or more doctors before finding one who will sign - a huge drain on the Medicare costs. Lastly, if 26,000 children - or even 52,000 children in a country of 22 million people - can lead to outbreaks of diseases amongst the 90-95% vaccinated (that 83% figure is a lie and relies on the ACIR database which grossly underestimates vaccination status as McIntyre would well know as the head of the NCIRS - the body that says that vaccination rates are over 90% across Australia!), it doesn't say much for the effectiveness of vaccines now, does it?I know that Weaver would have put much more into this article, but thank you to the sub-editor and editor of the Telegraph for perverting this information, once again.All the best,MerylTwice as many parents refuse to vaccinatehttp://bit.ly/dmkSls

THE number of Australian parents refusing to vaccinate their children

against preventable diseases has more than doubled in the past decade.

Figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph reveal

26,000 children are excluded from the national immunisation program

because their parents have registered as "conscientious objectors".

This compares with 12,050 children in 2000.Are you against vaccinating your children? Join our blog to tell us why.Experts

say there are likely to be at least 52,000 unvaccinated children, as

many parents do not record their intentions with the Australian

Childhood Immunisation Register.Parents who register as

conscientious objectors can still receive child care benefits and

maternity allowances, which are normally conditional on up-to-date

immunisation, but their children may be excluded from school or child

care during outbreaks of disease.Doctors

across the country were ordered last week to stop giving the

controversial flu vaccine to under-fives, following a spate of adverse

reactions marked by high fever and seizures.Public-health

experts maintain that children who are denied routine jabs, which do

not include flu, are putting themselves and others at risk."If

your child isn't immunised, they remain at risk of diseases that have

pretty much gone away for everyone else," National Centre for

Immunisation Research and Surveillance director Professor

McIntyre said."They're protected by other people being vaccinated but, if a disease does emerge, they're the ones who are going to get it."There's

the individual risk to the child, but there's also the risk to other

kids, such as those with immune deficiency and other problems."Registry

data shows 83 per cent of five-year-olds in NSW were fully immunised as

of March 31 - slightly less than the national average.Meryl

Dorey, of the action group Australian Vaccination Network, said many

parents did not realise they could get government benefits if their

children were not vaccinated.Conscientious objectors can retain

benefits if they sign a one-page form saying they have a "personal,

philosophical, religious or medical" objection to childhood vaccination.A doctor's signature is required to confirm the benefits and risks of immunisation have been explained.Unvaccinated

children were 15 to 20 times as likely to get Haemophilus influenza

type b (Hib) meningitis, which can result in brain damage or death,

compared with those who were vaccinated, Professor McIntyre said.The

official conscientious-objector figures were only part of the picture

because just as many parents did not bother to register, he said. s, he

said."We've always found there would be just as many, if not

more, parents who didn't don't bother to register because their

children didn't go to childcare or they didn't need the benefits," Prof

McIntyre said.Medicare said figures from the Australian

Childhood Immunisation Register showed 26,000 or 1.3 per cent of

children were registered as conscientious objectors by March 31, 2010.Regional

clusters of low childhood vaccination rates have been identified in

NSW's north coast, upper Blue Mountains, eastern suburbs and Mosman.

Meryl Doreymeryl@...Australian Vaccination NetworkLiving Wisdom magazineInvestigate before you vaccinate02 6687 1699 - Work02 6687 2032 - FAXWHAT PART OF "PRO INFORMATION - PRO CHOICE" DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?The AVN is a Charity Authority Holder (CFN11694).We rely on the help and support of our members and subscribers to continue offering our services freely and without prejudice.Please consider helping us by subscribing to Living Wisdom and joining as an AVN member. Go to http://www.avn.org.au to subscribeWe also sell books and information packs. Go to http://avn.org.au/catalog/ for more details.The information contained in this email communication may be confidential. You should only read, disclose, re-transmit, copy, distribute, or act in reliance on this information if you are authorised to do so. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify us by return email and destroy any electronic or paper copy of this message. Any views expressed in this email communication are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to be the views of this organisation or its representative. The Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) and Living Wisdom magazine do not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained nor that the communication is free of errors, virus or interference. The AVN and Living Wisdom magazine are not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in this email, nor for any error or omission and they expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by any person in whole or partial reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this email. If medical advice is required the services of a competent professional should be sought. Remember - vaccination is not compulsory in Australia - the decision about whether to vaccinate is yours and yours alone.