Vaccines

Please help get science and reason in gossip mags. #equality #StopAVN

The ACL (Australian Christian Lobby) has recently started a campaign to get their followers and supporters to get Margaret Court nominated and voted in as a National Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia.  Women’s Day, one of the most popular gossip mags here in Australia, has a website with a short-list of 100 nominees where you can vote.

In an attempt to counter this, we’d like to try to get as many people as possible to vote instead for Professor Ian Frazer (#32 in the list), the inventor of the Gardasil vaccine.  Reasons why you should support him are given below the jump. Continue reading →

Australian Vaccination Network at Woodford Folk Festival. #StopAVN

I’ve spoken about the Australian Vaccination Network before, but those have generally only been mentions and references, I’ve never really gone in to who and what they are.

EDIT: BREAKING NEWS! It appears StopAVN have done something fantastic and unexpected at Woodford Folk Festival!  Please scroll down to the next bolded “EDIT:” and ensure even if you don’t read most of this, you at least read that!!! 😀

Who are the Australian Vaccination Network?
The Australian Vaccination Network (AVN), despite all claims to the contrary, are an anti-vaccination group.  They are headed up by Meryl Dorey and claim they’re not, they claim they just support informed choice and provide a counter to the governments provides.  However, the information the AVN provide is wrong on almost all counts which means it’s not really an informed choice they’re providing but a misinformed one, and if the governments provides is pro-vaccine, then any stance counter to that surely must be anti?

Their preferred sources of information are not scientific studies, but rather conspiracy theorist sites such as whale.to (a site that collects any and all articles and claims no matter how crazy and unsubstantiated they are), conspiracy theorists such as David Icke (who promotes world leaders and the royal family being lizard people), and people with revoked medical licenses such as the disgraced Andrew Wakefield.

They’ve had their charity license revoked.  In the last two years, only two issues of their 6/year magazine “Living Wisdom” has been released (and despite being so far behind in issues owed, they’re still actively pushing subscriptions).  They regularly cry oppression, censorship and demand free speech, despite blocking/banning anyone who dares counter their supposed-not president Meryl Dorey with information that is nothing more than factual. They have also been caught filing numerous false DMCA requests to hide public and factual information they don’t like.  The Australian Vaccination Network about as hypocritical as one can get. Continue reading →

AVN talk at the State Library of WA is going ahead as we speak, and that’s good.

I should have spoken up earlier.  It’s currently 6pm in Western Australia, Meryl Dorey is setting up for her talk at the State Library of WA.  As a believer in science and reality based medicine, I am disappointed this is going ahead.  I am also glad.

When Meryl first announced her talk in Perth at the Uniting Church in The City, many people from the StopAVN group contacted them to let them know the reality behind the Australian Vaccination Network, what they really stood for and would really be talking about.  UCiTC were shocked, and decided in the end to cancel the booking.

The Australian Vaccination Network then looked around and lined up a new venue, the State Library of Western Australia.  They told Meryl they often have controversial groups talk, so would not cancel.  True to their word, once contacted by StopAVN members they responded in a similar way and allowed the talk to continue.  Continue reading →

New website launched to counter AVN.

Australia’s Anti Vaccination group, the Australian Vaccination Network are doing a seminar tomorrow in Perth.  They like to claim they give parents both sides of the vaccination “debate” to “let them decide”, a statement I covered in yesterday’s post.  However, I am yet to see them give any positive information on vaccines.  As a matter of fact, the only information I have seen from them on vaccines has been completely wrong.  This is quite disturbing for a group who claims to be the “vaccination watchdog”, and run by someone who claims to be “the leading expert in Australia on vaccines”.

Also as I said yesterday, you cannot give information and misinformation on equal platters and ask people to decide for themselves.  That’s just unproductive and dangerous as it gives people the false impression that the misinformation is justified and supported.  So, to counter the misinformation and blatant lies by the AVN in tomorrow’s seminar, a website has been launched specifically to correct the AVN’s incorrect claims. Continue reading →

Anti vaccination liars caught out again.

One of the more common lies spouted by the anti-vaccination liars is that vaccines are often pushed on people with no information about what the vaccine is, how it works, or possible side effects of them.  They often claim to be “pro information and pro choice”, saying they’re just giving the often hidden information in regards to vaccines.

Well, an email went around the office I’m working in today offering the yearly Influenza vaccine free to staff.  Lets have a quick look at the information given in that email and see just how fair the anti-vaxxers claims are.  Keep in mind this is just the annual flu booster, it’s not even one of the “dangerous” ones like the H1N1, Pertussis, or MMR vaccines that leaves anti-vaxxers running for the hills. Continue reading →

A reaction to factual stories on vaccination (Part 5).

Wired Fear CoverNote: You can now read this at Wired Magazine. Day 1. Day 2.

This is the fifth part of Amy Wallace’s (website) (twitter) tweet session following up her amazing article in Wired Magazine with comments and emails she has received.

As with the last few days, I have decided to consolidate this in to a blog post that is easier to read for those who, like me, find it annoying trying to read bottom to top and in such short snippets.  Again the only changes I have made have been the adding of paragraphs (something not possible in 140 character tweets) and the occasional full stop, comma or space.  Other than that, the section in block quotes below is directly as they came from her twitter stream.

It’s Friday morning and I’ve just heard from the 415th reader of my Wired story on vaccine panic.

A new blog on misogyny and J.B. Handley/Gen. Rescue: http://bit.ly/2YjLKb

This just in: 3 studies find pregnant mothers’ flu shots make for healthier babies. Read it here: http://bit.ly/jyBkw Continue reading →

A reaction to factual stories on vaccination (Part 4).

Wired Fear CoverNote: You can now read this at Wired Magazine. Day 1. Day 2.

This is the fourth part of Amy Wallace’s (website) (twitter) tweet session following up her amazing article in Wired Magazine.  Today’s tweets are a selection of comments from the actual article.

As with the last few days, I have decided to consolidate this in to a blog post that is easier to read for those who, like me, find it annoying trying to read bottom to top and in such short snippets.  Again the only changes I have made have been the adding of paragraphs (something not possible in 140 character tweets) and the occasional full stop, comma or space.  Other than that, the section in block quotes below is directly as they came from her twitter stream.

Hello, everybody. Just heard from the 345th person who has taken the time to write me after reading my Wired story on vaccine panic. You can read that story here: wired.com/magazi... Yesterday I was interviewed by National Public Radio’s Melissa Block. The interview, which ran on “All Things Considered,”. Is available online here: npr.org/templates... Continue reading →

A reaction to factual stories on vaccination (Part 3).

Wired Fear CoverNote: You can now read this at Wired Magazine. Day 1. Day 2.

This is the third part of Amy Wallace’s (website) (twitter) tweet session following up her amazing article in Wired Magazine.  Today’s tweets are feedback from people who actually have Autism Spectrum Disorder themselves and how it affects them.

As with the last few days, I have decided to consolidate this in to a blog post that is easier to read for those who, like me, find it annoying trying to read bottom to top and in such short snippets.  Again the only changes I have made have been the adding of paragraphs (something not possible in 140 character tweets) and the occasional full stop, comma or space.  Other than that, the section in block quotes below is directly as they came from her twitter stream.

My tweets are readable now on the Wired site. Day One: wired.com/magazi… Readers react at Wired, Day Two: wired.com/magazin…

This is instructive: Check out what happened to @bastardsheep‘s traffic when he arranged my tweets in order: http://twitpic.com/n8fm8

Just got my first email from Poland. It comes on the heels of a few from Australia and Japan. Vaccine panic is indeed a global issue. Continue reading →

A reaction to factual stories on vaccination (Part 2).

Wired Fear Cover

Note: You can now read this at Wired Magazine. Day 1. Day 2.

This is the second part of Amy Wallace’s (website) (twitter) tweet session following up her amazing article in Wired Magazine.  It includes a number of the letters she has received in response to the article both positive and negative.

As with yesterday, I have decided to consolidate this in to a blog post that is easier to read for those who, like me, find it annoying trying to read bottom to top and in such short snippets.  Again the only changes I have made have been the adding of paragraphs (something not possible in 140 character tweets) and the occasional full stop, comma or space.  Other than that, the section in block quotes below is directly as they came from her twitter stream.

Good morning, all. Today I’m going to begin to describe what readers have told me in the wake of my Wired story on vaccines. #vaccines You can read the story here: wired.com/magazi…

I just heard from the 280th person who has taken the time to get in touch. Yesterday, I gave you a taste of some of the bitterer missives. Those have kept coming.

A minute ago, J.B. Handley, the founder of Generation Rescue who I told you about yesterday, wrote me again. He called me a “cry baby.” If you’re interested, as I am, in the way people like Handley use gender and sexuality as weapons to bully their opponents read this: scienceblogs.com/… Continue reading →

A reaction to factual stories on vaccination (Part 1).

Wired Fear CoverNote: You can now read this at Wired Magazine. Day 1. Day 2.

A week ago, Amy Wallace (website) (twitter) wrote an amazing piece for Wired Magazine about vaccinations, the fear mongering of the anti-vax groups, and how it puts us all in danger.  If you haven’t read it yet I suggest doing so first here.

Earlier today she decided to post in her twitter account about the reactions received to this story.  Due to the formatting used on Twitter, I have decided to reformat her tweets and post them here in a more easily readable layout.  The only changes I have made have been the adding of paragraphs (something not possible in 140 character tweets) and the occasional full stop, comma or space.  Other than that, the section in block quotes below is directly as they came from her twitter stream.

I wrote the cover story in the November issue of WIRED: An Epidemic of Fear http://bit.ly/htnoy

Check out my piece in Details http://bit.ly/179mV6

WIRED and I are answering readers’ questions on vaccine safety. See: http://bit.ly/15XC4u

Here’s one on thimerosal: http://bit.ly/VTYmD

Here’s another on the mumps: http://bit.ly/YSgs8

And for all you who were wondering: A summary of who I am…: http://bit.ly/3839M2

It has been a week since my Wired cover story on vaccines and autism was posted online. I have never gotten so much feedback on a story. I’ve been a journalist for more than 25 years. In that time, I’ve written for national newspapers and magazines on contentious topics such as affirmative action, the death penalty, Mickey Rourke. Never have I experienced such an avalanche of letters and emails. Continue reading →