The Australian Vaccination Network Inc. (AVN), a registered non-profit organisation run by parents and health care professionals, is concerned that the majority of Australian parents are not being given complete information about their health rights or the true risks and effectiveness of vaccines. It is very important that all parents know: 
- That no school can deny their children entry as a result of their vaccination status. 
- That vaccination is not compulsory in Australia. 
- That they can register as a conscientious objector to vaccination and still get their Maternity Immunisation Allowance and all Childcare payments.

 All parents want what is best for their children. The trouble comes when we try to ask questions about this medical procedure that is almost universally recommended and yet, almost completely untested. It might interest readers of Byronchild to consider that:
 - No vaccine has ever undergone a double-blind, crossover placebo study - the 'gold standard' of medical research. When the health department has been questioned about why this is so, we have been informed that vaccines are assumed to be safe and effective and therefore, it would be unethical to leave one group 'unprotected' for the purpose of testing them. Without this research, nobody can say that vaccines protect or that they are safe.
 - Vaccines contain many toxic chemicals including formaldehyde, a known cancer-causing substance. According to the Poisons Information Centre, "There is no acceptable safe amount of formaldehyde if being injected into a human body. It is a toxic substance and should be avoided at all costs." 
 - Vaccines contain heavy metals such as mercury and aluminium. Mercury is the second most toxic substance known to man. It is a neurotoxin and has been linked with many conditions which are now epidemic among children such as Autism, ADD, ADHD, Schizophrenia, etc. Aluminium has been linked with the development of Alzheimer's disease. 
 - Vaccines contain animal and human viruses and bacteria, other than those they are supposed to include. Their effect upon the human system is unknown, but several which have been studied have been shown to cause cancers which were formerly rare but are now much more common. 
 - No vaccine can provide true immunity. Only contracting a disease and recovering from it can do that. Everyone who is vaccinated will, at some point in the future, be susceptible to the diseases they are vaccinated against. In addition, vaccines can alter the immune system and can cause changed or atypical forms of diseases which can be more dangerous than the 'wild' or natural disease. Measles is an example of this with the death rate from atypical measles (which only the vaccinated get) being 15% while the death rate from wild measles is less than 1%.
 - Some vaccines such as the Injected Polio (IPV), Chicken Pox (Varicella) and the Rubella portion of the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine are cultured on aborted human foetal tissue. Many people who are opposed to abortion are unaware of this. These are just a few of the many facts about vaccination that parents are unaware of. Like all medical procedures, vaccination can and does cause unforeseen side effects. The risk of these reactions must be weighed up against the risk of the diseases involved. Only when a parent has had an opportunity to consider both sides of the vaccination issue, can they truly make an informed decision. 

 We know that the death rates of all these illnesses had declined by 90% and more before the introduction of drugs or vaccines. We also know that the majority of children and adults in Australia and other developed countries who are contracting these illnesses have been fully and appropriately vaccinated against them.

 The AVN has for some time now been calling for independent studies into the safety and effectiveness of vaccinations. Almost all research for the last 30 years has been paid for either fully or in part by the very drug companies that produce and profit from vaccines. Whilst we do not claim to accuse any companies of putting profits before health, the fact is that there is nothing that makes a pharmaceutical company inherently any more ethical than a tobacco company. These corporations will all answer first to their shareholders and watch the bottom line most carefully. Without the independent, arms-distance studies that have never been performed, we cannot have confidence that the vaccines which almost every man, woman and child get are either safe enough or effective. 

 We also need studies which compare the overall health of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children. After all, what good is it having a child who never had measles and yet has asthma, eczema and develops cancer at an early age? The AVN has lobbied the government for a very inexpensive and easy to perform comparison of the amount of money spent on Medicare by those who vaccinate and those who do not. Since the Federal Government instituted the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register in 1998, this should be a simple matter of just pushing some buttons on a computer in Canberra and the result should be easy to find.

 When we suggested this study to Dr. Michael Wooldridge, former Federal Minister for Health, he had a representative of the Liberal Party, Mr. John Burston, reply on his behalf. Mr. Burston stated, "The AVN is hoping that such a study would validate the proposition that children who are immunised in fact have further compromised immune systems and 'get sick' more and hence, consume more Medicare dollars. Even if such a study was to be viable, and it would not, it is important to reflect on what impact this might have on the policy.

 " In other words, if this study were to be done (and Mr. Burston seemed to think that this would be too difficult though he does not explain why), its results might have the effect of changing the government's current vaccination policy and that would not be acceptable! American government officials estimate that only 1-10% of vaccine reactions are ever reported. In Australia, the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee (ADRAC) admit to similar figures.

 The AVN has collected more than 700 serious reactions and deaths following vaccination. This is despite the fact that as an unfunded, volunteer-run organisation, we have never been able to widely advertise our service. These reactions would be only the tip of the iceberg and, what is even more amazing, not one of the reactions that were reported to us, had ever been reported by the doctor or health professional involved. We need better gathering of statistics. We need independent research into the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. We need doctors who will present the information available in an unbiased and pressure-free manner and respect the decisions of parents rather than abusing and haranguing them. Until we have the information we need, it is no wonder that parents say they lack confidence in this procedure and decline it for their children. For referenced information on this subject or support in dealing with issues relating to your family's health rights, please contact the AVN for our free information pack.

Meryl Dorey is a native New Yorker who settled in Australia 14 years ago. She and her husband Ken, an avid rainforest regenerator, have 4 children ranging in age from 13 to 6. Her eldest son was injured by vaccines, leading her to start researching the issues of vaccination and health. Her findings led to the formation of a local vaccination support group which eventually merged with other groups across Australia to form the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN). Their new magazine, "Informed Choice", covers all health issues from the perspective of cure and prevention without the use of drugs or vaccines. Subscriptions are $44 a year and include discounts on books and seminars as well as premiums at many practitioner's offices. 
More information can be obtained by phoning 02 6687 1699 or at the AVN website.