Media Reports
NB: This page has archived new stories from April 2011 – November 27. More recent stories will each be assigned their own post.
The purpose of this page is to provide links to reports in the media that deal with the issue of vaccination, with a particular focus on stories that are relevant to New Zealand, the recommendations in the Report of the Health Select Committee and the government’s response. (Some international stories are also included to provide a global context for the issues we face in NZ.)
Reports will be posted in chronological order, with those that are most recent being at the top of the page:
November 26, 2011
The Australian reported that the Australian Medical Association has called for better monitoring of side effects of vaccines.
“Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton said the government must introduce ‘active surveillance’ to monitor side effects instead of relying on doctors and patients to report problems through ‘passive surveillance’.”
“‘For a vaccine, you are taking healthy people and trying to keep them healthy so surveillance of the side effects is doubly important,’ Dr Hambleton said.”
The full story is here:
NB: The statement in this story that the “government has announced penalties for parents who fail to immunise their children” is untrue. There has been no such announcement, although there has been media reporting that this is the case. (See the story below for details.)
November 25, 2011
The Australian Herald Sun reported that parents who chose not to vaccinate their children would lose access to the “the family tax benefit part A end-of-year supplement.”
It also stated that “Families are already required to have their child fully vaccinated to receive the childcare rebate and childcare benefit.”
Both these statements are untrue. (See http://www.vaccinationawareness.com.au/ )
Children in Australia do not have to be vaccinated in order for their parents to claim the childcare rebate and family benefit.
Moreover the relevant page on the Australian government website states:
http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/information/strengthening-immunisation-for-children
The Herald Sun story (which includes an online poll that ask the question “Should parents be penalised if they don’t have their children vaccinated?” may be read here:
October 13, 2011
American customers of the Walgreen chain of pharmacies are being harassed about having flu shots when they are in the stores, reports Natural News.
http://www.naturalnews.com/033859_flu_shots_Walgreens.html
Walgreen staff appear to being bribed and/or threatened by management to ask customers (including pregnant women) to have flu shots. Influenza vaccination is now available from a small number of pharamacies in NZ, according to NZ Doctor magazine and this practice may be expanded next year, with the possible outcome that NZ pharmacy customers may be treated similarly.
October 11, 2011
According to the Activist Post a law has now been passed in California that makes it legal to vaccinate children as young as 12 years old against sexually transmitted diseases (hepatitis B and HPV) without parental consent. http://www.activistpost.com/2011/10/california-gardasil-law-signed-children.html
This is a bleak day for parents in California whose rights to make medical decisions on behalf of their minor children have been trampled.
October 2011
In local media, the current (October) issue of Investigate Hers magazine has a very good article about the discovery of synthetic HPV DNA in Gardasil – the HPV vaccine on the NZ market, and the impications of this discovery. (If you are not familiar with this magazine it used to be called Investigate but has now changed its format so that it is two magazines in one Investigate Hers (with a focus on stories of particularly interest to women) and Investigate His (focusing on stories aimed at a male audience; see http://www.howlingatthemoon.com/ for the current covers.)
Sept 28, 2011
In the USA, the pro-vaccination government agency Center for Disease Control (CDC) has initiated a household vaccination survey in which people will be telephoned and asked to provide information about their children’s vaccinations.
September 26, 2011
In California, public school officials and a nurse are going door to door vaccinating students who have not been vaccinated against whooping cough (pertussis). Although this has been done with parental permission as parents are being told that their children will not be able to return to school unless they are vaccinated – so there is an element of coercion involved. (Exemptions from vaccination are available in California but not all parents know that this is the case.)
More information relating to (and commentary about) door to door vaccinations may be found here:
http://www.infowars.com/door-to-door-vaccinations-training-the-public-for-forced-innoculation/
Sept 10, 2011
The NZ Herald has reported that just over half of the NZ health professionals offered free influenza vaccinations declined to be vaccinated.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10750740
Parents in California are fighting a bill, which if passed into law would make it legal for children as young as 12 years old to be vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases without their parents’ knowledge or consent. A massive public outcry against the bill has caused it to be placed on suspense for the moment.
http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=giglio8222011101.htm
More information on this issue may be read here:
http://nvicadvocacy.org/members/Resources/VetoAB499.aspx
The current issue of The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine includes an article “What’s Worse: Measles or the Disease” written in response to the measles cases in NZ. An expanded version of the article is also available on the journal’s website at the following link:
http://www.naturalmedicine.net.nz/articles/
Disturbing reports are coming out of Africa about children being vaccinated at gun point after their parents have tried to exercise their right not to have their children vaccinated, as well as authorities ordering prosecution of both parents and health professionals who do not comply with coercive government vaccination policies.
http://news.yahoo.com/nigerians-face-prosecution-over-polio-vaccines-142837698.html
The Irish newspaper the Independent has carried an article that that states that the Minister in charge of social welfare is interested in the system in use in Brazil and Mexico in which parents are “incentivised” to vaccinate their children through “Conditional Cash Payments”.
The link below is to the TVNZ website where you can view the approximately 15 minute long documentary by Ian Sinclair of the Sunday programme. Called “The Agony of Choice” it first screened on NZ television in July. It includes interview with parents whose children suffered brain damage following vaccaination, as well as with the parents of Charlotte Cleverly-Bisman who lost the lower portions of both of her arms and legs as a result of suffering from meningococcal disease when she was a baby.
http://tvnz.co.nz/sunday-news/agony-vaccine-choice-19-34-video-4321608
The link below is to a story in French from the French newspaper Le Monde about how young French women whose health has been severely damage by Gardasil are now weeking compensation.
The link below is to story on June 23 by Dominon Post reported Kate Newton on the government response to the government response to the Health Select Committee report.
The link below is to an article by NZ Herald Health Reporter Martin Johnston’s about the government response to the Report of the Health Select Committee on increasing vaccination rates.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10733956
The link below is to a Radio NZ story by Karen Brown about reaction to the government’s response to the Report of the Health Select Committee:
The link below is to a story by Jonathan Carson about public concern about the recommendations in the Report of the Health Select Committee that was on the front page of the Waikato Times.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/5171350/Parents-may-get-stick-over-no-to-jabs
The link below is to Green Planet FM. Tim Lynch recently interviewed No Forced Vaccines’ spokeswoman Katherine Smith. The interview largely concerns her new role as editor of The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine but she also discusses the Report of the Health Select Committee on increasing vaccination rates and No Forced Vaccines towards the end of the interview.
http://www.holisticliving.co.nz/members/holisticliving/blog/VIEW+00000010/
The link below is to an article in the Otago Daily Times that included an interview with Anna Hughes about the Report of the Health Select Committee on increasing vaccination completion rates.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/164300/paying-parents-vaccinate-bribery
The link below is to an interview on the Vinny Eastwood show during which Katherine Smith was a guest. The interview discusses The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine as well as the Report of the Health Select Committee following its Inquiry into how to increase vaccination completion rates and No Forced Vaccines.
http://www.thevinnyeastwoodshow.com/uploads/1/3/1/2/1312301/_vinny_eastwood_show_katherine_smith_apr