Press release
No Forced Vaccines
April 28, 2015
New Zealand “needs to do more for victims of vaccine-injury”
While New Zealand is doing very well in terms of increasing vaccination rates “as a nation we often fail victims of vaccine-injury.” That’s the conclusion of Katherine Smith, spokeswoman for No Forced Vaccines, a group that opposes forced or coerced vaccination.
Explaining that some members of No Forced Vaccines have family members who have suffered significant adverse reactions to vaccines, including reactions that had caused ongoing illness or disability, she described how No Forced Vaccines had contributed a comprehensive document to the 2012 Health Select Committee “Inquiry into improving child health outcomes and preventing child abuse with a focus from preconception until three years of age”. [1]
“The No Forced Vaccines submission included general information on initiatives that could be used to improve young children’s health, as well as strategies that could be used to reduce the risks of adverse reactions to vaccines,” Mrs Smith stated. [2]
“As some No Forced Vaccines members are parents of children who have suffered a significant adverse reactions to vaccines, reactions which have left their children with ongoing health problems or disabilities, the No Forced Vaccines submission described the sorts of problems that are faced by families when a child has suffered from a serious adverse reaction, and suggested ways that such families could be better supported.” Smith continued.
Unfortunately, Smith said, the Report of the Health Select Committee, published in November 2013 completely ignored the concerns of No Forced Vaccines members. “The words ‘vaccine injury’ or ‘adverse reaction’ are not mentioned even once in the ‘Immunisation’ section of the Report,” Smith said. [3]
“It’s not good enough for the government and the Ministry of Health to promote vaccination to parents without at the same time making sure that there are strategies in place to both prevent avoidable adverse reactions and to properly support every family in which a child suffers an adverse reaction that leads to chronic illness or disability,” Smith continued.
Children who have suffered a serious adverse reaction “deserve better than to be treated as inconvenient ‘collateral damage’ of the childhood vaccination programme,” Smith said.
Monetary compensation “cannot buy back a child’s life, in the case of a fatal adverse reaction, or magically restore a seriously ill child’s health”, Smith acknowledged. “Adequate financial support for families of vaccine-injured children is necessary to ensure that parents can meet the medical, special education or other ongoing needs of their vaccine-injured children.”
[2] The submission made by No Forced Vaccines may be found at this link: http://www.noforcedvaccines.org/submissions/no-forced-vaccines-contributions-to-the-health-select-committee-inquiry/