About

Why this website?

To help educate people on the dangers of the anti-vaccination movement and provide resources to sound, scientific information about vaccination. Many parts of the world, and our own communities, are facing public health crises from misinformation about vaccines.

Why do antivaxxers wear tin-foil hats?

To inform the public that the anti-vaccination movement is ideologically based, founded on conspiracy theories, and does not exist to promote good health. On the contrary, it is contributing to preventable death and disease in our communities. This site will provide evidence that anti-vaccination groups are not only ill-equipped to be providing health information, but it is dangerous and irresponsible to follow their advice. It is my hope that parents become aware of this, and seek appropriate medical advice about vaccination instead.

Why should I be concerned?

In Australia this year (2009) we have experienced measles and whooping cough epidemics due to lowered herd immunity. It leaves the vulnerable in our society exposed to potentially deadly diseases that could have been avoided by an appropriately vaccinated population. Some individuals are unable to be vaccinated due to medical conditions, or by virtue of being too young to have completed a vaccination schedule, and rely on herd immunity for protection.

Why target the Australian Vaccination Network?

The Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) is Australia’s largest anti-vaccination organisation. They have been running a campaign of misinformation and fear-mongering since 1994. Many people who now refuse to vaccinate cite the information that they received from the AVN as being partly, or wholly, responsible for their decision not to vaccinate.
This site will include evidence that the AVN provide misleading information, promote dangerous practices, subscribe to various conspiracy theories, and therefore should not be allowed to continue their campaign which is contributing to a degradation in public health.

Why do I do this?

First of all, I would like to declare that I do not have any children. This fact, however, does not absolve my responsibilities as a citizen, nor does it affect my concerns for the health and welfare of others. What motivated me initially to take direct action was the distress I observed in a work colleague one day. She was a young, nervous, first time mum, with no supporting network, desperate to make the right decisions for her child. She had been discussing vaccination one day with someone, and afterwards I found her sobbing quietly at her desk. She confessed to me that she hadn’t yet vaccinated her 2 year old daughter, as she was so frightened that it would harm her child. At the same time, she was fully aware of the potentially harmful effects of the diseases that vaccinations protect against. She was extremely confused and upset – worrying that her daughter would come to harm no matter what step she took. I am certain that in this she was not alone, and that many parents who make up the numbers of the unvaccinated are not laden with conspiracy theories, or taking an ideological stance; they are just terribly confused and extremely anxious about the welfare of their children.

This anxiety, unfortunately, is a great hindrance for them being able to look at the vaccination issue calmly and rationally. To discover that their fears are based on absolute nonsense is a tragedy. I hope the information about the anti-vaccination movement presented here can assist these parents to sift the fact from the fiction, so they can be confident that whatever decision they make it will be the right one for their circumstances.

And for the record, my personal views allow for certain situations (that don’t affect herd immunity) where I would respect a decision not to vaccinate – basing that decision on information provided by the anti-vaccination movement, is most definitely not one of them.