A critique of the 16-page Australian pro-vaccination bookletentitled “ The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers”

Today, Dr Viera Scheibner (PhD) released a "critique" of the pro vaccination booklet that the AMA / Government recently released.  Prior to reading this document, lets take a look at Viera.

Vieras rebuttal

Wiki tell us this about Viera:

Viera Scheibner (1935 – present) (real name Viera Scheibnerová) is a retired micropaleontologist (a branch of geology). From 1958 until 1968 she was assistant professor in the department of geology at Comenius University, Bratislava. Scheibner has been active in the anti-vaccination field researching, writing and giving lectures on the subject matter of vaccines and vaccinations since her retirement from the Department of Mineral Resources, New South Wales, Australia in 1987.

A great number of doctors, scientists, legal professionals and other critics have questioned her qualifications, research abilities, and honesty

I find it quite interesting that the critique written by Viera doesn't indicate what qualifications she has to make comment on this subject, but I do believe that we need to understand that Micropaleontology is not a degree we would generally associate with subject matter experts on vaccination.

On the basis of that, while her critique may make interesting reading, I'm not inclined to give it any oxygen and will await critiques from those with the necessary medical qualifications and experience to make comment on that particular subject.

A Changing of the Guard at the AVN.

Move over Meryl, in comes Greg Beattie, anti vaccinationist who's claim to fame is taking his local council to the Anti Discrimination Board as he felt that the council's restriction of child care to his 2 unimmunised children was descrimination.   A little known fact though, particularly if you speak with him, is that he did not in fact win that case.

Unfortunately, given his behaviour on the internet and elsewhere is it unlikely that Greg Beattie taking the reigns at the AVN will mean any noticeable change to the behaviour or correction of the misinformation supplied by the AVN.

You can read his very public slapdown here>     Human Rights slapdown

Day of action

I invite you all to help unicef in their goal to vaccinate all the at risk children.

http://www.unicef.org.au/charity-gifts/christmas-charity-gifts.aspx

and remember, to buy it in the name of your favourite anti-vaccinationist!

An open letter to so-called “science” bloggers Darcy, Ben and Grant ( a response )

Well, i'm not Darcy, Ben or Grant, but I am another internet reader who has been banned from posting on the IAS page because my beliefs do not align with those of the Chairperson of the deceptively named Immunisation Awareness Society, which is a radical anti-vaccination group who disseminates misinformation on immunisation.

In the IAS response, they say:

It really amazes me how much spare time some people have on their hands to waste on useless activities. I’m a wife, a mother, a full-time student from home, I have a household to run and I’m the Chairperson of the Immunisation Awareness Society. My goal in life is to help families to make an informed choice on vaccination. The little spare time I have left in my day, I spend helping families whose children have been harmed by vaccinations, as well as attending to other IAS-related things.

We all have differing opinions on what is a useless and a useful activity, but they are as I said, just opinions.   The respondent seems to be very busy, but my experience with this individual is that they spend a lot of their day on facebook.  Certainly, the Chairperson on an anti-vaccination organisation is not helping families make an informed choice on vaccination, they are trying to ensure that people do not vaccinate.  The New Zealand Government has determined that this is the goal of the organisation, and my experience shows this to be true.  

Informed choice infers accurate and unbiased information, and the IAS offers neither of those things, so in my opinion that is a useless activity that people would waste their time pursuing.

They go on to say:

So when I saw the 20 page document (http://www.mediafire.com/view/?hgzev62g9n947xq) that Darcy Cowan sent to the Charities Commission on 25 July 2011 attempted to get us de-registered, I was not angry or resentful, but rather jealous. Where does anyone these days find the time to write a 20 page document about a harmless organisation whose only mission is to help families in New Zealand during one of the toughest decisions they will ever make?

Given we are still focused on opinions, I have four children, a husband, an acreage and a full time job, run a business from home and I can still find the time to pursue my other interests, but then I've done a time management course.  Perhaps the writer should consider the same if they are struggling to find enough time to do everything they wants.  Alternatively, if they closed facebook down for a little while, they'd find a lot more spare time.   Seriously, if you're going to pursue an issue you have to put in sufficient information to make your point, submitting rubbish like "we should all be able to use the seaside" when submitting an objection to potential legislation you're never going to be taken seriously.

I would suggest an answer to their question.  Perhaps they did not agree with her opinion that the organisation is harmless and it's mission to help families, certainly in hindsight we can see that the Government doesn't believe that it is.  In fact, the end result of the submission was to remove the charity status of the organisation which would suggest that their submission was treated seriously and the information contained with it, justified.

They then say:

So yes, I’m slightly jealous of all Darcy’s spare time. I certainly know what I would be doing if it were me that had that much spare time. I would spend it watching my incredibly beautiful (un-vaccinated) son digging in the dirt and playing on the beach, instead of having to sit in front of the computer and comment on a letter sent to the Charities Commission by someone with too much time on his hands.

See, I call shenanigans here because i've watched this writer on facebook the last couple of days so they are clearly not watching her son digging in the dirt and playing on the beach when they could be, they are sitting in front of their PC getting 'gobsmacked' by the comments that they are reading, and banning posts who ask reasonable (but potentially pro-vaccination) questions and posting offensive rubbish on other anti-vaccination facebook pages.

Time management is a matter of priorities, if they are lamenting the loss of time that they could be spending with their son then they should simply spend the time with him.  They are, by their own admission, a stay at home mother with no obligations other than the ones they chooses to take on.  I can't see the logic of being jealous of people for having better time management and more focus on priorities than they do.

They then say:

You see, the IAS is run by a handful of volunteers who all believe that vaccination should never be forced on any person. Everyone on the committee has a combination of part/full time jobs/families/children to look after/studies/life in general which take up a lot of our time. Despite this, each of us still manages to find time to volunteer for this amazing organisation because we are so passionate about our freedom to be allowed to choose what we put in our bodies.

I understand that there is no mandatory vaccination in New Zealand and isn't likely to be.  Seems to me, that if a person were time poor to the point of complaining about it, surely they wouldn't be wasting their time focusing on the irrelevant?   It sounds to me like they're inventing work to give themselves something to do, which is direct contradiction to the claims of being time poor.  Don't despair IAS, a solution is at hand, if you didn't waste your time on the irrelevant, you'd have the time to play with your son.

It might be worth noting here that there are plenty of people out there who juggle far more than the writer does with more children, without complaint.

They then say:

When people like Darcy Cowan, Ben Wiseman (http://www.ias.org.nz/natural-immunity/conspiracy-theorist-pseudoscientific-nonsense/) and Grant Jacobs (http://sciblogs.co.nz/code-for-life/2012/02/24/ias-talks-about-vaccination/) decide that they would like to use some of their spare time to try and make life a bit harder for us, I can’t help but speculate about the type of person that would go to that much effort to try and stop an organisation who voluntarily gives its time to help families all over New Zealand.

I suspect they'd see it quite differently, I suspect they'd see it as exercising their right to legally protest about something they disagree with.  But then, their document seems to be well put together and factual, and this response seems to be a bit of an unjustified whinging meme to me.

Again, given the Government decision, i'd suggest that not everyone agrees that this organisation helps families all over New Zealand.  Certainly nothing in this response addresses any of the actions that they take, what they are and how they're taken.  Nothing at all, but an attempted ad hominem attack on the complainants, without addressing the issues raised in the complaint.

They then say:

In case you missed the recent article in the Dominion Post regarding the IAS’s loss of charitable status, here it is: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/7916140/Charity-group-deregistered-for-lobbying and here is the Charities Commission’s document on its decision:http://www.charities.govt.nz/assets/docs/registration/deregistration/Immunisation-Awareness-Society-Incorporated.pdf.

This document is well worth the read.   It's decision is well set out and it's a bit of a shame that the IAS would prefer to attack the complainants than learn from the findings as they are quite clear and easy to understand.

They then say.

Perhaps Darcy thinks that this means he “won” (http://sciblogs.co.nz/skepticon/2012/11/07/anti-vaccine-charity-no-more) and Ben sent the IAS an email to say “I’m glad I wrote in about you – ’twas for great justice.” Little do they know that they have actually done the IAS a huge favour, because we are no longer constrained by the rules imposed on us by the Charities Commission. As Darcy writes himself “There are innumerable groups out there that I don’t agree with but you get that in a wide and varied world. In the case of the IAS though the speech they engage in is effectively publicly subsidised via the tax exemption, this should mean that they are constrained in what they can say.” Thank you, Darcy, for freeing us of the constraints in what we can say.

How wonderful that they can invent a positive out of a negative.  What this means is their ability to raise money via donation is gone, and they have lost a large portion of their credibility.    It also means that the government has determined within their findings that the name of the IAS is deceptive and the lobbyists in New Zealand can now pursue the issue of changing the organisations name.  The loss of the charity status is only the first step, and while they say they're happy with it, it's clear by the content and tone of this response that they are not.

They then say:

What Darcie does not realise, however, is that we actually share a common goal. On his website, he states that “I’m not interested in telling people what they should think, merely to show them that there is another side to things that they may have, until now, not really thought about and taken at face value.” Well Darcy, at least the IAS agrees with you 100% on this one thing – our sole mission is to provide people with information which they may not have thought about and for them to make up their own minds on the topic of vaccination. At least we are honest in our mission, whereas you only pay lip service to not being interested in telling people what they should think. If this was truly your mission, then you would not have spent countless hours writing letters to the Charities Commission to get us de-registered. It seems you DO want to tell people what to think, because if you didn’t, you would not find us a threat. As it stands, we’re obviously a threat to your way of seeing things, hence you felt the need to try to silence us.

Unfortunately, it is clear that the writer did not understand the findings of the government.   The government very clearly found that the organisation was anti-vaccination and they did not offer advice and assistance to New Zealand families.  A quick look at their facebook pages shows exactly that as well.   Families cannot ask questions on their page, they can only read and contribute comments to the information that the IAS puts up, and personal experience shows that if you question the validity of that information in any way, your comments are removed and your ability to comment are removed.   The IAS clearly tells people what to think and if you don't' agree, they ensure you can no longer partake in any discussion on the subject.   Additionally, as noted today, they also launch personal attacks on individuals who do not agree with them.

They then say:

In case you didn’t know, the IAS will be celebrating its 25th birthday next year. There have been many people like Darcy, Ben and Grant over this past quarter of a century who have tried to silence the IAS. Fortunately, truth will always prevail and it will take a bit more than some so-called “science” bloggers – with too much time on their hands – to stop the IAS from helping families to make an informed choice on vaccination.

Yes, fortunately the truth did prevail, and the charity status was removed.  That was merely the first of what will most likely be many legal hurdles this organisation will face.

In fact, someone setup a facebook page called "The Real Immunisation Awareness Society" which counters the misinformation of the IAS and within a couple of weeks they are getting almost as much interest in the page as the 25 year old IAS is getting on theirs.  Indeed, there has been no new information posted on there in the last week, you can hear the crickets chirping happily.

101 excuses to attempt to justify not vaccinating Part 4

Oh thank god this dribble is coming to an end ...  the desire to just go bullshit, fucking bullshit, big load of steaming bullshit  is quite strong ...

76. AIDS was transmitted to the human race via the monkey cells used to make vaccines. I challenge you to listen to this interview with Merck vaccine scientist Dr Maurice Hillemen who admits “I didn’t know we were importing the AIDS virus at the time.”

http://www.naturalnews.com/033584_Dr_Maurice_Hilleman_SV40.html

68 - Actually, this is inaccurate.  They don't know how HIV came to pass to man, but they have a number of theories, none of which are immunisation.   It's interesting that this point is added, because realistically most anti vaccinationists do not acknowledge the existence of HIV or AIDS.   Reason to not vaccinate?  No.  Reason to read up on HIV - Yes.

76. Disease outbreaks still occur in fully and highly vaccinated communities. This website has several links to journal articles documenting these – http://www.wvve.info/issues/outbreaks.html

69 - i don't disagree with this.   Immunisation is not 100% effective and no one has ever claimed that it is.  Many people who are vaccinated and remain up to date with boosters will never know the joys of a vaccine preventable disease, but some will and those people will enjoy less severe symptoms and less risk of adverse outcomes.    The fact that immunisation is not 100% effective is no reason not to vaccinate, the anti vaxers are just grasping at straws here.  Reason to not immunise - No.

76. Newly vaccinated individuals are responsible for the spread of disease via “shedding” from live virus vaccines – http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/2008/02/24/secondary-transmission-%EF%BB%BFthe-short-and-sweet-about-live-virus-vaccine-shedding/ andhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18922486

70.  Ah, i could harp on all night about their insistence on relying on these anti vaccination sites for their 'evidence'.   Yes, in some instances vaccines that have live culture can result in shedding, but has anyone heard of that happening?  Certainly not me.   This has been presented as if it's an everyday occurrence, but it's not.    As for whether it's a reason to not vaccinate, No.   Although if there is a risk of shedding and you have discussed it with your GP you may choose to not come into contact with people with compromised immune systems for the risk period.

76. Pro-vaccination enthusiasts like to point to various (usually Big Pharma-sponsored) “research” for evidence that vaccines work. In this interesting article by John Ioannidis, he writes why most published research findings are false. It’s interesting that humanity places such value on false research, yet discredits the claims of thousands of parents all over the world when they state that their children were damaged by vaccines.http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124

71 - Always with the Big Pharma bullshit.   The only published finding that has been identified as false was Wakefields study into MMR and autism.   I agree that it's interesting that humanity places such value on false research.    The reason why the claims of thousands of parents are not taken seriously is that they expect us to take their word for it, based on the same flawed information we have seen in these 4 documents from the IAS.  No one discredits these people, they simply ask for evidence of the link, yet they cannot supply it.   Reason to not vaccinate - No.  Reason to supply evidence of such vaccine injuries - yes (but don't hold your breath).

76. Those who promote vaccines also happen to be the ones who benefit from it financially. Coincidence?http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/25/cbsnews_investigates/main4296175.shtml

 This one has already been covered, and answered.

76. Some doctors in New Zealand are either intentionally lying about the effectiveness of vaccines, or they are just incredibly ignorant. One such example is Dr John Cameron, who blatantly lied (with a smile on his face) about the flu vaccine on “Campbell Live” earlier this year. Here is the story –http://www.3news.co.nz/Are-flu-jabs-beneficial/tabid/367/articleID/250944/Default.aspx – and here is the IAS’s response – http://www.ias.org.nz/vaccines/campbell-live-covers-the-flu-jab-18-april-2012-part-2/

 72 - Well, firstly, he was laughing at the jokes being made before the footage we saw.  As the reporters pointed out, many of the anti vaccinationists lie about having the flu, they'll take onion water and be ok in a day .. erm, no that's not the flu.  In fact, self diagnosis is quite common in anti vaccinationists, which brings into question most things that they say.  I'm a little torn on the flu vaccine, I don't actually have them.  However, every year the flu kills hundreds in New Zealand and Australia and ten of thousands in the US.  The H1N1 virus took out lots of people without underlying health issues so I think that sometimes we don't take the flu shot seriously enough.  Having said that, the flu shot isn't on the childhood schedule and choosing not to have the flu shot is not a reason not to vaccinate for other shots.  Reason to not vaccinate - No.    But if you get the flu and give it to your colleagues, don't go whinging then they get you fired.

76. Number 82 comes courtesy of Dr Goldman: “Prior to the universal varicella vaccination program, 95% of adults experienced natural chickenpox (usually as school aged children)—these cases were usually benign and resulted in long term immunity. This high percentage of individuals having long term immunity has been compromised by mass vaccination of children which provides at best 70 to 90% immunity that is temporary and of unknown duration—shifting chickenpox to a more vulnerable adult population where chickenpox carries 20 times more risk of death and 15 times more risk of hospitalization compared to children” –http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Goldman-SummaryofChickenpoxVaccine1.pdf

 73 - What the IAS has conveniently left out of this is the details that chicken pox can kill, it also stores shingles for some people as they age and shingles can cause disfigurement and blindness on top of the discomfort.  Additionally, chicken pox in pregnant women can cause birth defects.   The one glaring inaccuracy in the almost 101 is that the IAS hasn't actually acknoweldged once the potential impact of the diseases themselves.   Reason to not vaccinate - No.

76. Many parents have commented that their unvaccinated children are much healthier than their vaccinated children. Here is a blog to read on one such mum’s journey –http://www.ias.org.nz/vaccines/vaccines-if-only-i-had-of-given-it-some-thought/

 74 - Yes, many do so in a defensive way as they attempt to defend the indefensible.  It's actually a ludicrous statement to make and quite desperate to use it to justify non vaccinating.   The health of a child is determined by many things including genetics, environment, nutrition and even parental attitude.   Many parents of unvaccinated children have made these statements, yet I managed to put 3 kids through school without a day off sick, without a dose of anti biotics, no hospitalisation, no designer diseases, no allergies, IQ's above the norm, and all that with vaccination and bottle feeding.    There have apparently been studies of the health of children and their vaccination status is not a determining factor, the only difference is that unvaccinated children are more likely to suffer from vaccine preventable diseases than their immunised counterparts.  So it's just more bullshit.   Reason to not vaccinate - No.  Reason to look at your lifestyle - Yes.

76. Whybother getting the flu shot? “At best, vaccines are effective against only influenza A and B, which represent only about 10% of all circulating viruses. Therefore, there is a 90% chance you will not even be exposed to an influenza virus.” http://tenpennyimc.com/category/vaccines/

 The flu vaccine has already been covered, and answered and seriously, using tenpenny as justification is dragging the bottom of the barrel.

76. Here is a great resource with “cases that were awarded damages by the US Government via the Vaccine Court, which is a federal court of claims for the flu vaccine. Note the number of deaths, in just 2012” – http://drtenpenny.com/vaccine-court-judgements-for-flu-shot-injuries/

The flu vaccine has already been covered, and answered and seriously, using tenpenny as justification is dragging the bottom of the barrel.

76. If you’re not yet aware of the lies and scare mongering surrounding the 2006 Bird Flu saga, then start your journey here: http://drtenpenny.com/welcome-to-dr-tenpennys-bird-flu-hype-center/, also http://web.archive.org/web/20101124083941/http://drtenpenny.com/bfhv.aspx

 The flu vaccine has already been covered, and answered and seriously, using tenpenny as justification is dragging the bottom of the barrel.  Same holes true for the bird flu.

76. Oh and don’t forget the Swine Flu hype! http://drtenpenny.com/swine-flu-hype/. History is always repeating itself, so be prepared for more Big Pharma induced scare mongering in the future – with matching vaccines to “save us all” of course!

 The flu vaccine has already been covered, and answered and seriously, using tenpenny as justification is dragging the bottom of the barrel, and the swine flue.

76. Hassle the Ozzies all you like, but at least they are waking up to the dangers of vaccination, with a 600% increase in the number of parents refusing to vaccinate –http://www.naturalnews.com/038239_Australia_vaccinations_parents.html

 75 - the people from Oz don't vaccinate?  damn that rainbow!  I assume in their ignorance they are talking about Australians (or Aussies), and the recent media reports.  Well, to clear up the misconception there isn't a 600% increase in lack of vaccination, rather there was a 600% increase in the greedy grab for a government hand out for vaccinating their children.    These ignorant, neglectful welfare recipients found that if they lied on a form, they could get the money without vaccinating their kids, so of course you didn't want to be between them and the Centrelink office when they found that out.    Vaccination is a big thing in Australia and although there are pockets of areas where people don't vaccinate the rest of us are pretty good at it.   

The deceptively named antivaccination network in australia has been receiving smackdown after smackdown lately, the last being an order to change their name to more accurately reflect the nature of their organisation.   They no longer have any credibility in the vaccination discussion with the Fair Trading Minister describing them in the media as "nutjobs".

Having said all that, if someone jumped off a cliff, would you do so as well?  Reason to not vaccinate?  No.

76. “Gardasil contains polysorbate 80, also known as Tween 80, which has been linked to infertility in mice” – http://web.archive.org/web/20101124032928/http://drtenpenny.com/gardasil.aspx

 76 - Gardasil is not on the childhood schedule, but again ..   there is no way any normal thinking adult would take advice from Tenpenny who is a known antivaccinationist that has been caught time and time again giving out misinformation on vaccination.  Reason to not vaccinate - No.  Reason to investigate with your GP - perhaps.

76. An eye-opening report from the International Medical Council on Vaccination –http://www.naturalnews.com/Vaccines_Get_the_Full_Story.html

 77 - unreliable website.  Reason to not vaccinate - No

76. More deaths following the MMR vaccine –http://www.naturalnews.com/036169_MMR_vaccine_infant_deaths_measles.html

 78 - unreliable website.  Reason to not vaccinate - No

76. This brave Queensland Police officer speaks out about vaccine damaged children being written off as cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). If only we had more people brave enough to come out and speak the truth about vaccines!http://vactruth.com/2012/11/08/brainwashed-police-ignore-vaccine-injuries/

 79 - This one is laughable in it's lunicy.  Police investigate, they do not investigate medical issues.  This is done by the medical examiner and coroner.  Nice try, but no bananas for you.  This man obviously has issues, to hang onto what he says without investigation of his background is negligent.    Reason to not vaccinate - No.  Reason to learn more of the roles & responsibilities of the police - Yes.

76. A University of Pittsburgh study showed that monkeys developed autism-like reactions when given the same vaccines as children – http://vactruth.com/2012/04/29/monkeys-get-autism/

 80 - unreliable website.  Reason to not vaccinate - No

76. It’s all about the money, honey – http://vactruth.com/2012/11/30/2011-billions-vaccine-manufacturers/

  80 - unreliable website.  Although it is intersting to note that the IAS seeks donations and sells books too, so it's all about the money there too honey.    Reason to not vaccinate - No

76. If you’d like some real-life stories of vaccine reactions, you’ll find them on this Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-childs-vaccine-reaction/372638272814622?ref=stream

 81 - Yes, if you want stories . but if you want fact and validation don't bother as you won't get it there.  Reason to not vaccinate - No.

76. “Serious neurologic, thromboembolic, and autoimmune complications have been reported in patients who received human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines.” –http://www.beyondconformity.co.nz/BlogRetrieve.aspx?PostID=24884&A=SearchResult&SearchID=5229044&ObjectID=24884&ObjectType=55

 this has been covered already (it's called Gardasil)

76. And if you’d like just a little more evidence of the fraudulent activities of Big Pharma, have a read of this:http://www.beyondconformity.co.nz/_blog/Hilary’s_Desk/post/Former_Merck_Scientists_File_Suit_Against_Merck_Under_the_False_Claims_Act_/

 This has been covered mutiple times already.

76. Dr Janet tells us the real reasons behind why doctors push vaccines:http://tenpennyimc.com/2011/12/24/why-do-doctors-push-vaccines/

 82 - unreliable website.  Reason to not vaccinate - No

76.  This resource lists some great books about vaccination, with plenty of reasons to not vaccinate – http://www.noforcedvaccines.org/vaccination-information/reviews-of-books-about-vaccination/

 83 - unreliable website.  (but hey, buy the book .. it's all about the money, honey)   Reason to not vaccinate - No

76. Information on the link between diabetes and vaccination – http://www.nvic.org/Vaccines-and-Diseases/Diabetes.aspx

 84 - unreliable website and there is no link between diabetes and immunisation.    Reason not to vaccinate?  No.

76. And reasons number 101 to NOT vaccinate: listen to your gut instinct!

Only 84 honey .. only 84 .....           your gut may help in some instances, but Math is important in others.

What is sadly and glaringly missing from the 84 imagined excuses to not vaccinate is any discussion at all about the risks and the potential affects of the vaccine preventable diseases.  It's a typical anti vaccination whitewash .. lots of excuses but not answers.   Their solution is to not vaccinate, and if the disease gets you, you must have been unhealthy ...

I hate to apply godwins law, but realistically there have been other groups in history that have rid the world of the weak like the IAS would like to see happen.

But i'd like to think that we've moved beyond that and we will afford the weak all the same rights and courtesies that we offer the healthy.

Shame on you IAS, shame on you for your dishonesty and your desire to see the unhealthy dead.  You are barnacles on the backside of society.

101 excuses to attempt to justify not vaccinating Part 3

OMG they're still going ...

wait, that happened to 51?   Which is really 47?   cheaters never prosper ...

52. This “60 Minutes” program was on in July 2011 and looks at two New Zealand children who were brain damaged by the whooping cough vaccine and another who was killed by the Gardasil vaccine. During June 2005 and June 2011, ACC paid out on 449 claims of vaccine damage – http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/vaccinate-not-4321635/video  This is actually 47, they've missed a few.      No validation again, but we know that the Gardasil death was due to a pre-existing condition that everyone other than the anti vaccinationists have managed to understand, but then they're in good company as the deaths due to Gardasil in the US that they quote included someone who fell down a well, someone who got shot in the head and someone who fell off a horse.  What they really mean is that these people died AFTER being immunised, not due to immunisation.    The girl in the article they rely on here is over 20 years old, and it's hard to discuss an incident with so few details.  The DPT vaccination was change due to adverse reactions, and the new vaccine is much safer than the old one was.   Without minimising the tragedy of a child who suffers an adverse reaction to an immunisation, we need to remember that 13 babies die in the UK this year alone due to whooping cough, a number in Australia and New Zealand as well as other countries.    Reason to not vaccinate - No. Reason to seek advice from your GP - Yes.

53. The Hippocratic Oath states that physicians swear to do no harm – yet vaccines routinely destroy the lives of people right around the world (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html)    This one is 48.    I guess someone should tell the IAS that Doctors no longer take the Hippocratic Oath.   After all, those who take the oath cannot cut anyone and they cannot perform abortions, both actions are quite legal and necessary procedures in some instances.   This one i suppose is one of those tongue in cheek ones, as quite frankly I snorted my coffee out my nose while reading it.  Reason to not vaccinate?  no.  Reason to laugh like a lunatic?  yes.

54. The polio vaccine actually causes vaccine-associated polio paralysis (VAPP) – http://www.naturalnews.com/035588_polio_vaccine_India_paralysis.html#ixzz1sILTvVTm    49.   Again they rely on an agenda driven website to justify what is quite a silly little comment.     Reason to not vaccinate in a 1st world country?  no.  Reason to not vaccinate in India ..   given how many people die of polio - no.

55. Vaccines are Bill Gates’ means for accomplishing world depopulation – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WQtRI7A064     This one has been covered already, it's just reworded.     It's also more than a little silly, but in this bunch .. silly seems the norm.

56. GlaxoSmithKline were responsible for the death of 14 babies during illegal vaccine experiments – http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/88922/gsk-lab-fined-$1m-over-tests-that-killed-14–babies     50.  Last time I looked the IAS were a New Zealand based group.   The alleged behaviour of an organisation in a country without the same laws, checks and balances is actually irrelevant.   Reason to not vaccinate?  No.

57. Even though mercury has been linked to numerous illnesses, it is still routinely used in vaccines – http://www.naturalnews.com/035432_vaccines_mercury_court_case.html#ixzz1qsdZ0dVw     Actually, this one is also a lie.    51.   Organomercuries, which are not the same as the mercury in your thermometer, although the IAS won't bother with the distinction, is not contained in most vaccinations, in fact I believe currently there are only trace elements in one of the immunisations on the childhood schedule.   The IAS has failed to explain that there are differing types of mercury and you're more likely to come into contact with the bad ones eating seafood or other foods than you would in an immunisation.    Reason to not vaccinate?  no.  Reason to point at the IAS and chant "liar liar, pants onfire" - Yes.

58. Even fully vaccinated doctors get whooping cough – so what’s the point in getting vaccinated? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-10-18/more-kids-hospital-doctors-get-whooping-cough/2301942       52.   Well, I think the point is that if we don't get vaccinated, we may infect a small child and that small child may get really sick and die due to whooping cough, like the 13 in the UK this year and the others that died in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and other countries.    I guess the IAS didn't actually read the article as it ends with ""While the vaccine is extremely effective in preventing severe disease, it does not always prevent infection in all people," he said."    The IAS seems to believe that it has to be 100% effective or it's worthless, but that's quite an ignorant statement and shows a lack of understanding of the physics of immunisation, and realistically do we want to take our immunisation advice from people who don't understand how it works?  Reason to not vaccinate - No.

59. Vaccine ingredients can lead to a severe form of kidney disease – http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/03/09/common-vaccine-ingredient-implicated-in-nejm-article-as-causative-in-serious-type-of-kidney-disease-by-suzanne-humphries-md/      53   Again with the reliance on the non reputable agenda driven sites.     All immunisations come with a risk, but the risk is minuscule when compared to the risk to getting the vaccine preventable diseases.  I would want to see that article from a more reputable site before I read it.  Reason to not immunise - No. Reason to seek more information from your GP - Yes.

60. The whole policy of vaccination is based on money, not on health, safety or anything else that might benefit the human race – http://www.jpands.org/hacienda/vaccine.html      54   This is nothing more than a person opinion that has been drawn due to their anti-vaccination stand.  There is no validation of this opinion and quite frankly, I find it as offensive as it is ludicrous.  Reason to not vaccinate?  No    Reason to think anti vaccinationists are nutjobs - Yes.

61. Vaccines are the cause for many of the chronic diseases we see these days – http://www.whale.to/vaccine/moskowitz.html     55.  Anything that relies on whale.to for validation is clearly rubbish.   Though in this instance I don't think you  need any more than simple common sense to know that this statement is rubbish .. I guess it's one of those tongue in cheek ones she mentioned.    It doesn't even deserve a response, its' so stupid.   Reason to not vaccinate - No. 

62. Vaccines are used to commit genocide among First Nations people in Canada – http://www.iahf.com/20001117.html    56   How interesting, in Australia and New Zealand it was the diseases that ran rampant killing all of the natives.   The vaccines actually saved their lives.   Oh, the link is hardly reputable either, it's just an email and one without the header information to validate authenticity .  Additionally, it is ancient information and even if it is true (and i'm not commenting on that), it would pale into insignifance compared to the atrocities that were inflicted upon the indigenous of these countries).  There is no evidence in the emails that prove the statements.....it's not worth reading.  Reason to not vaccinate?   No    Reason to lament past behaviours - sure, if it's true.

63. Vaccination is not compulsory in New Zealand – we have the “Right to refuse to undergo medical treatment” – http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/DLM224792.html?search=sw_096be8ed8083e77c_medical+procedure_25&p=1&sr=0      57  This is true.  Vaccination should never be compulsory.  Families should make the decision that they are comfortable with, but they should make those decisions based on accurate information, not opinion, supposition and outright lies.    The fact that you don't have to vaccinate is not a justification not to vaccinate, in fact doing something just because you can when it relates to the health and well being of a child in our care is negligent parenting.  Reason to not vaccinate No.   Reason to investigate - Yes, but base it on accurate information and not the misinformation from IAS and other like organisations.

64. If you’re religious, then there are plenty of reasons to not vaccinate – http://www.ias.org.nz/vaccination-2/vaccination-and-religion/  58   There isn't a single religion that restricts vaccination, and anyone who is not religious and claims a religious exemption is a liar who, given vaccination is not compulsory certainly lacks morals and ethics that many of us would consider were necessary to be a good role model for children.    Reason to not vaccinate - Not really . but if we had to choose 1 ... we'd choose this one out of the 97. then i guess this could be it.

65. More information is becoming available regarding the link to vaccines and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) – http://www.vaccineriskawareness.com/Vaccines-And-Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome   57.   Actually, there is absolutely no evidence that links SIDs to immunisation.  In fact, SIDs is one of the anti immunisaiton catchalls .. see, anti vaxers believe that anything that happens to you from the point of immunisation to your death, regardless of the time taken is vaccine injury.    Immunisation occurs from 2 months and SIDs generally occurs between 2-6 months.    It's co-incidence.  If it were true that immunisation causes SIDS, then unimmunised children wouldn't die of SIDs, but they do.    Reason to not vaccinate - No. Reason to talk to your GP, sure .. if the misinformation of the anti vaxers worries you.

66. Most doctors have no idea what ingredients are found in vaccines. If you don’t believe me, ask your doctor at your next visit! Why would you allow your doctor to inject you with something when they do not even know its ingredients?  58     This is a deliberate lie too.  Most doctors do know what's in the immunisation, and the ingredients are freely available so we know what's in them too.  The only people who don't seem to know are the anti vaxers who insist on ingredients that simply aren't in there.  Reason to not vaccinate - No.  Reason to find out about the contents - yes.

67. “Only about 1% of serious events are reported to the FDA” – That means that 99% of adverse vaccine reactions are not reported – http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Safety/MedWatch/UCM201419.pdf      59   This is also a misconception.      In Australia and I suspect New Zealand reporting of adverse affects is mandatory and accordingly, the reporting of adverse events are quite high.   Indeed, it would make sense that if there were so many adverse effects we'd see more about it in the media and we'd see evidence supporting all these claims of vaccine damage, and we're not.  In a world of social media where you can read about your cousin dying on facebook before her parents are notified, there are not secrets.  Conspiracies are no longer plausible.   Ask yourself why a New Zealand organisation has quoted an American document here.     Reason to not vaccinate - No.

68. The pertussis (whooping cough) “bacteria are adapting to the vaccine and mutating, much like antibiotic resistant superbugs, becoming more pronounced and lethal” – http://www.naturalnews.com/038111_pertussis_whooping_cough_vaccine.html   60     Again, a reliance on an non reputable agenda driven website. Until we get this one in the mainstream sites, it's not worth answering, nor worrying about.  Even if it were true, which there is no evidence, it is not a validation to not vaccinate.  Indeed, all the babies that died of whooping cough were not immunised.  Reason to not vaccinate - No.

69. “30 Years of secret official transcripts show UK Government experts cover up vaccine hazards to sell more vaccines and harm your kids” – http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/government-experts-cover-up-vaccine-hazards/    61 . what can we say here other than LOL .. and run off to get some alfoil for our heads.  we're back to the whole world of social media having no secrets, relying on the past seems a tad redundant at this point.    Reason to not vaccinate - No.  

70. If you need any further evidence regarding the numerous errors that occur during vaccine manufacturing, storing, administering, etc. then here is a great resource – http://www.vaccinetruth.org/vaccine_mistakes1.htm   62.   Yes, I need more evidence, can they supply anything other than an unreputable agenda driven website?   Not only that, we have recently seen examples that prove they are quick to withdraw batches of immunisation if there is any concern over the batch, and then find that the concern was unfounded.   This is what we would expect them to do, and they are doing it.   Reason to not vaccinate - No.

71. The head of the Center for Disease Control – Julie Gerberding – admits in this interview that vaccines can cause autism-like symptoms. Same difference! http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=E49D8A116BD9040C8C4674A2D8A91391    63.  Again with the agenda driven anti vaccination websites.   If all this proof exists, why does it only appear on these websites?    Because it's not true.  Reason to not vaccinate - No.    Reason to talk to your GP - Yes.

72. Vaccines are the cause for the alarming rise in peanut allergies around the world. When I was a child, I didn’t know a single kid with a peanut allergy in our entire school. These days, peanut-containing products are banned from most school grounds to prevent deadly anaphylactic shock in those who are allergic to peanuts – http://www.whale.to/v/peanut_allergy.html      64  An interesting view into the mindset of the IAS but nothing more.  In 1984 Apple released it's first computer, and doctors began diagnosing autism .. ergo, Apple causes Autism.   There are a few realities here that the IAS have ignored.  We have changed the way we live, we have far more reliance on technology, and on pre-processed foods, at the same time we are living in a far more polluted world than ever before, we are told to not feed our children, to feed them, to give them eggs, to not give them eggs (and so on), we wrap our children in cotton wool, we disinfect our houses from top to bottom, no germs near our children ....   there are many reasons why we may be seeing rises in allergies, and NONE of them become valid simply because we want it to be, that's why we have academics.    And of course i'll refer you back to previous comments about whale.to.     Reason to not vaccinate - No,    Reason to point and laugh - Yes.

73. Yeast is a common ingredient in vaccine manufacturing and has been linked to the rise and cause of asthma in many young children – http://vactruth.com/2011/07/11/research-shows-vaccinations-are-causing-surge-of-asthma-in-children/  65  Never heard this one before, it's quite late and there are drunk teenagers talking to me .. so I call bullshit until I see it from a reputible source ...   Can't say i've ever seen yeast listed in immunisations, and all google told me was that there is hope for all chronic thrush sufferings, an vaccination (or needle) to help with chronic yeast infections.    A quick check shows yeast in 3 vaccines, 2 of which have equivalents that are yeast 3 ...   a common ingredient?  I don't think so.     Reason to not vaccinate - No.  Reason to check the contents of immunisation - Yes.

74. Vaccines cause allergies because they “clog our lymphatic system and lymph nodes with large protein molecules which have not been adequately broken down by our digestive processes, since vaccines by pass digestion with injections” – http://www.whale.to/v/vaccines_cause_allergies.html   66    Bullshit.    Reason to not vaccinate -  No.

75. There was a 4,250% increase in fetal deaths reported to VAERS after the flu vaccine was given to pregnant women – http://healthimpactnews.com/2012/4250-increase-in-fetal-deaths-reported-to-vaers-after-flu-shot-given-to-pregnant-women/?fb_action_ids=10151330705773674&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=24696592541736  67   Dear IAS, you are a New Zealand organisation, and VAERS is a US database that is well described here:   http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/11/28/h1n1-vaccine-and-miscarriages-more-antivaccine-fear-mongering-about-flu-vaccines/    Reason to not vaccinate - No