The anti-vaxxer movement is being blamed for an outbreak of whooping cough on the North Coast, which has so far affected 21 people in the past four weeks.
Whooping cough (also known as pertussis) is a serious respiratory infection that causes a long coughing illness.
In babies, the infection can sometimes lead to pneumonia and occasionally, brain damage. Three babies have died from whooping cough in the last six years – and all were unvaccinated.
As of March 14, there have been 149 confirmed cases of babies struck down with whooping cough in NSW.
State Labor has accused the Berejiklian Government of being ‘all talk and no action’ on fighting the anti-vaccinations movement.
Shadow Health Minister Walt Secord said he was extremely disappointed by the on-going failure of the government.
“We just had the worst flu season on record and it is not even winter yet, but we are starting to get worrying reports about whooping cough in regional NSW,” Mr Secord said.
‘Make no mistake, these outbreaks are due entirely to State and Federal governments allowing the nutcases in the anti-vaxxer movement to spout their lies,’ Mr Secord said.
‘Vaccination rates on the State’s north coast have dropped to dangerous levels.
‘I am angry that we are seeing outbreaks of diseases like whooping cough on the North Coast with increasing regularity.
‘What is most frustrating is that there are vaccinations available to prevent these illnesses and parents are not using them.
‘It is time State and Federal Government’s said `enough is enough’ to the anti-vaxxer movement.
‘No one has a right to risk infecting their own child or anyone else’s child.
‘It is incredible that we see North Coast parents refusing to vaccinate their kids, yet in Africa and on the Indian sub-continent mums line up for hours in the heat to vaccinate and protect their children.
‘The Berejiklian Government must step up its efforts to increase the number of vaccinations in NSW.
‘Despite his talking tough on the anti-vaccination movement, Health Minister Brad Hazzard has failed and the vaccination message has not gotten through to the community.
‘The worst part is that whooping cough is entirely preventable.
‘Vaccination is a 20th century public health achievement. It saves lives. Sadly, large scale vaccinations have allowed a small fringe to become complacent about the welfare of our nation’s children – especially in regard to measles, whooping cough, mumps and other deadly diseases.
‘While the NSW and Federal governments have taken some steps in relation to this issue, there is still more work to be done.
‘It is heartbreaking to see that immunisation rates in some parts of the state – such as the North Coast and Sydney’s northern beaches and Sydney’s east – have slipped to the levels of the developing world.’
Forget the political point scoring Walt. Just keep putting the message out there. Anti vaxxers are irresponsible and are putting their own children and others at risk. Remind the anti vaxxers of the millions of lives saved by the use of vaccinations around the world. It’s not about “Big Pharma” , it’s about saving lives.
The most amazing thing to me is that many of the parents who are anti vaxxers have had the benefit of vaccinations themselves.
Not true my grandkids are 4th generation of no vacinations . Yet we all seem to live to our 90s .. good genes and healthy living
She said *most* Deborah, while you may think the world revolves around you, you are merely one person and one family.
The imbalance which is caused to the immune system by vaccination by stimulating an excess of anti bodies does not allow the cellular branch of the immune system to expel the disease agent from the body through an inflammatory response, therefore in vaccinated people the disease agent remains in the body and is able to infect others , the people who make and promote vaccines know this and this is conveniently covered up by blaming un vaccinated people . An immune system that is not compromised by vaccination is able to expel the disease agent through an inflammatory response and thereby grows stronger , by vaccinating one avoids the dis-ease of the inflammatory response which make you healthy , the immune system does not get stronger by avoiding things.
Do you care to provide a reference for your claim. It is inconsistent with my immunology text books
Yes it is at odds with your text book without doubt, go to this site http://www.philipincao.com and click on the article titled , Understanding Germs and The Immune System and Vaccinations
Unfortunately Anton, you seem to confuse opinion with references/facts. He asked for evidence, not a link to a blog. Would you care to try again ? Maybe avoid the unreplicated baboon study anti vaxers like to share as well.
Except that vaccines have saved precisely zero lives.
Ever.
Even the government sourced data shows this. Deaths from these diseases had all but disappeared before the vaccines came along.
And there are respiratory cases in hospitals all around the state – and Australia. In fact, respiratory related hospitalisations have increased since the pertussis vaccine.
Yes. Increased.
The vaccine is completely worthless.
Doctors will often refuse to diagnose pertussis if the patient is vaccinated. So for every unvaccinated kid diagnosed with pertussis, there will be 100 kids in hospital with croup because that’s what the doctor diagnosed it as.
That is Secord’s problem. He thinks that he can just bully parents into falling in love with vaccines because he assumes all parents are as stupid and gullible as he is. But he can’t. The more the government bullies us, the more organised and coherent we become. We will fight against vaccines today, and we will fight against them in 10 years time because they are killing and maiming our kids and don’t work.
Odd that you claim that no lives have been saved by vaccines. That is not actually true and the science is very clear on that and while you may not realise it, you conceded it in your post when you said “deaths had all but disappeared”. While that is not entirely accurate, I want to only focus on the “all but”, which concedes that vaccines did save lives and assist in the reduction of deaths due to these diseases, although as you vaguely suggest, modern medicine also played a part in the reduction of mortality due to these diseases. Additionally, you seem unaware that saving lives is not the only purpose of vaccines.
I find it hard to take seriously anyone who makes vague claims without evidence. I don’t see any evidence that ‘respiratory related hospitalisations” have increased, and more particularly there is no suggestion in your post that links it to the subject of the article. In fact, you seem to have invented facts to fit your narrative.
Then you continue on with the unverified fabricated facts. Good for you.
Walt Secord just called me a ‘nutcase’ … well F*** you Walt. My three children who grew up here were NEVER vaccinated and have never been ill with anything that vaccines supposedly prevent.
We humans have a right to trust our immune systems that nature gave us. The Nazi inclinations to take away our freedoms is wrong ! There are also numerous counts of vaccinated children spreading disease. When I was a kid, everyone got measles and mumps … and it strengthened our immune systems.
I suggest you access a series called “The Truth About Vaccines” … and I’m not against them totally, but it is becoming a witch hunt with big-Pharma stirring the pot to get the uninformed to do their screaming for them.
Our society is supposed to be free … as long as we do what we are told. What happened to parents having the right to raise their children the way they choose ?
Rubbish, the kids have whooping cough because vaccinations dont work and are a total scam…. in reality it would be the unvaxxed kids who are in danger…. mandatory vaxxing in australia is n abuse of human rights a breach of international law and nothing more than a huge cash cow for our corrupt PM’s wife while the govt poisons the people…. wake up australia. Government is NOT your friend
spot on Max!!
Well those last three replies show the world of the anti vaccers.
A ton statement is illogical and the body doesn’t expel diseases through inflammation responses. Gee a bit of research will explain how antibodies work.
Rpt and Rossco response belies belief- explain polio, small pox to me please, if no lives have been saved by vaccinations. Anyway rosco you can say thanks to the majority who had their vaccinations for your three children never been ill. Sure we can consider the big pharma conspiracy like the conservatives consider climate change is a conspiracy or industry of scientists.
You do need to look at the bigger picture people to get to the truth. Sure everyone got mumps and measles but not everyone recovered just as with diseases like small pox and polio.
I think Walt Secord had a point about anti vaccers.
I have already explained it Rod.
Polio has been renamed. Rates of paralysis have increased since the vaccine. The vaccine is completely worthless.
Smallpox vaccine too is 100% useless. We now call smallpox things like monkeypox or pellagra or impetigo.
They are paid shills, anyone can hire them. India $6 a week. Good english, but zero knowledge of the subject. They use cut and paste from their own website (provided by pharma or government) ……… some have like 20 aliases. They are so pathetic it shows. The CDC boss, who invented the ebola and zika garbage (all vaccine damage) has done a runner.
Pathologist, Australia, angela coral eisenhauer
also a facebook software tester.
I should just add to my above statement that because the body’s immune response has been suppressed by an over production of anti bodies the disease agent which remains in the body will persist for a long time , the body can only react chronically to this and the result is allergic or autoimmune conditions.
If there is herd immunity for vaxxers why are they so concerned to force medicate those who don’t subscribe to their programme?
FIRSTLY IT TURNS OUT THAT WHOOPING COUGH VACCINE IS NOT VERY EFFECTIVE:
Up to Half of Vaccinated Preschoolers Were Infected With Whooping Cough
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently featured an article in Emerging Infectious Diseases that highlighted the transmission of whooping cough among vaccinated children.1
in an outbreak that occurred at a Tallahassee, Florida preschool in 2013.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/01/26/whooping-cough-vaccine-ineffective.aspx
California Whooping Cough Outbreak Also Occurred Among a Highly Vaccinated Community
In 2014, a whooping cough outbreak spread through Elk Grove, California, a community in which all but 80 of the suburb’s 4,500 kindergartners were vaccinated. Even still, the county had rates of whooping cough that were up to five times higher than surrounding areas.4
Health officials in the area expressed concern that the vaccine is not protecting children as it should be and suggested its protection lasts only two to three years.
90 Percent of Whooping Cough Cases in Vermont Occurred Among Vaccinated Children
Yet another example of the pertussis vaccine’s questionable effectiveness came from a wave of cases that occurred in Vermont in 2012.
Of nearly 200 cases reported in Vermont children, 90 percent had received at least one dose of the pertussis vaccine, and most had received five or six doses.8
Various scientific studies conclude that the vaccine does not eliminate, but mutates the virus. Then the new strain is either not diagnosed as whooping cough, or blamed on non vaccinated infection.
EQUALLY RELEVANT – RISKS OF THE DTaP SHOT
Whooping cough can be serious, especially for newborns and babies, whose tiny airways can become clogged with the sticky mucus produced by the toxins in B. pertussis bacteria. The majority of 10 to 20 pertussis deaths that occur in the U.S. every year are in infants under age 3 months.19
However, the vast majority of children and adults get through a bout with whooping cough without complications, and it is important for them to get proper nutrition, hydration and rest to support the healing process that sometimes can take as long as two to three months before coughing ends.
Similarly, while some children and adults get pertussis-containing vaccines and experience no complications, others do suffer serious reactions, injuries, or have died after getting vaccinated. It is well known, for instance, that whole cell and acellular pertussis vaccine in DPT and DTaP/Tdap vaccines may cause brain inflammation and permanent brain damage in both children and adults.
Nearly 3,000 cases of pertussis-vaccine-induced brain injury and death have been awarded compensation in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) under the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.20 As reported by Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center:
“A 2013 published study evaluating reports of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) following vaccination in the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) and in a European vaccine reaction reporting system found … pertussis containing DTaP was among the vaccines most frequently associated with brain inflammation in children between birth and age 5.”
READ THIS review of suppressed scientific studies that reveals the darker side of vaccinations, that the pro-vaxxers in their enthusiasm to subject everyone to their medical opinions, choose to keep under the carpet:
https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-03-05-autism-mercury-thimerosal-and-vaccines-natural-news-releases-collection-of-scientific-knowledge-thats-been-suppressed.html
Out with the pro vax nut case politicians. Labor just lost and chance of me voting for them. And what about balanced reporting echo?
Whenever people pose this discussion as a pro-vax/anti-vax debate we can be sure they have studiously avoided any information questioning that assumption. Had they done so they would discover that, rather than being full of frauds and people wanting to kill their children, it’s full of well-credentialed people questioning the constantly growing and phenomenally profitable vaccination schedule.
We have a methodology for determining questions here in the 21st century, where we examine ALL the available information. We call it science.
Please can I have a doctor statement saying “the vaccine for whooping cough prevents whooping cough” and signed. Then I will consider. My understanding (what GP’s have told me in the past) is that the vaccine reduces symptoms but cannot ‘prevent’ someone from contracting whooping cough. Therefore 100% vaccinated population against pertussis will not eradicate the disease rather lessen the impact. Pertussis behaves very differently to small pox or polio. Please Health minister how can we trust you when you don’t get you facts right!
How deadly is whooping cough?
“Take a quick trip over to the Australia Bureau of Statistics and have look at how many people really die each year from this ‘deadly’ disease called whooping cough.
You’ll be shocked.
Here are the actual figures, without the media hype:
2006 – 3 deaths no data
2007 – 0 deaths 5379 cases
2008 – 2 deaths 14435 cases
2009 – 3 deaths 29545 cases
2010 – 4 deaths 34285 cases
2011 – 3 deaths 38040 cases
2012 – 3 deaths 23885 cases
2013 – 2 deaths 12318 cases
2014 – 4 deaths 11842 cases
2015 – 3 deaths 22508 cases
Now do the maths. There are currently 24.3 million people in Australia. What is your child’s risk of dying of whooping cough? Oh, you didn’t need to do the maths – you could immediately see it was extremely remote.
Now calculate the chance of dying if your child actually gets whooping cough.. the .000 of a percent is one hell of a scary figure isn’t it? Fear sells vaccines, common sense and basic maths prove without a doubt that vaccines are nothing but poison sold by fear to the ignorant
Now, for argument’s sake, I’m even going to allow you to claim that the rates are so low because of vaccination. (I’m too exhausted to fight.) If that’s what you believe, vaccinate your children. I have no issue with that.
But I have a question for you:
Assuming the vaccine works, (which is contentious, to say the least) how many additional lives will be saved by forcing the 1% of conscientious objectors to vaccinate their children?
Do the maths. Oh, don’t need to – you can immediately see that IT’S NOT EVEN ONE!
Now remember that the next time the media tries to whip you into a frenzied hatred of people who don’t vaccinate.
Source: Table 1.2 Underlying cause of death, All causes, Australia, 2006–2015”
http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/A601587C5EA0E34FCA25803B0017FA62/$File/3303_1%20underlying%20causes%20of%20death%20(australia).xls
You must therefore believe that the death of a child from disease is insignificant. It must give the parents of those children who have died such comfort that their children are so worthless to the likes of you.
From the Associate Editor of the British Medical Journal:
“It does matter if the vast majority of doctors or scientists agree on something. But medical journalists should be among the first to realise that while evidence matters, so too do the legitimate concerns of patients. And if patients have concerns, doubts, or suspicions — for example, about the safety of vaccines, this does not mean they are “anti-vaccine.” Anti-vaccine positions certainly exist in the world, but approaches that label anybody and everybody who raises questions about the right headedness of current vaccine policies — myself included — as “anti-vaccine” fail on several accounts.
Firstly, they fail to accurately characterise the nature of the concern. Many parents of children with developmental disorders who question the role of vaccines had their children vaccinated. Anti-vaccination is an ideology, and people who have their children vaccinated seem unlikely candidates for the title.
Secondly, they lump all vaccines together as if the decision about risks and benefits is the same irrespective of disease — polio, pertussis, smallpox, mumps, diphtheria, hepatitis B, influenza, varicella, HPV, Japanese encephalitis — or vaccine type — live attenuated, inactivated whole cell, split virus, high dose, low dose, adjuvanted, monovalent, polyvalent, etc. This seems about as intelligent as categorising people into “pro-drug” and “anti-drug” camps depending on whether they have ever voiced concern over the potential side effects of any drug.
Thirdly, labelling people concerned about the safety of vaccines as “anti-vaccine” risks entrenching positions. The label (or its derogatory derivative “anti-vaxxer”) is a form of attack. It stigmatises the mere act of even asking an open question about what is known and unknown about the safety of vaccines.
Fourthly, the label too quickly assumes that there are “two sides” to every question, and that the “two sides” are polar opposites. This “you’re either with us or against us” thinking is unfit for medicine. Many parents who deliberate on decisions regarding their children’s health ultimately make decisions — such as to vaccinate or not vaccinate — with lingering uncertainty about whether they were right. When given a choice, some say yes to some vaccines and no to others. These parents are not zealots, they are decision makers navigating the grey, acting under conditions of uncertainty in perpetual flux.
And among those uncertainties are the known and unknown side effects that each vaccine carries. Contrary to the suggestion — generally implicit — that vaccines are risk free (and therefore why would anyone ever resist official recommendations), the reality is that officially sanctioned written medical information on vaccines is — just like drugs — filled with information about common, uncommon, and unconfirmed but possible harms.
Although MMR and autism have dominated journalistic coverage of this issue, and journalists have correctly characterised the scientific consensus that rejects any such link, most journalists have insufficiently acknowledged the fact that bodies such as the Institute of Medicine have “found convincing evidence of health outcomes —including seizures, inflammation of the brain, and fainting — that can be caused by certain vaccines, although these outcomes occur rarely.” And for 135 other adverse events investigated, the committee concluded “the evidence was inadequate to accept or reject a causal relationship” with vaccines.
Medical journalists have an obligation to the truth. But journalists must also ensure that patients come first, which means a fresh approach to covering vaccines. It’s time to listen — seriously and respectfully — to patients’ concerns, not demonise them.”
Peter Doshi associate editor, The BMJ
BMJ 2017;356:j661 doi: 10.1136/bmj.j661 (Published 2017 February 07)
How many of the whooping cough cases have been vaccinated????
When I did the testing in 2010 in Australia? 100% were vaccinated. No one over the ages of 8-12 caught it. Only the vaccinated kids. Albany Western Australia, we had NEVER had a wave of whooping cough. The vaccine fails after about 3 years. Same as mumps vaccine. My son aged 20 now has mumps. He is fully vaccinated. Should have had the mild mumps when young. Thanks to pHarma greed, he is now very, very sick.
Angela,
In your time at Western Pathology you were employed to collect pathology samples for a period of 3 months. You did no testing at all.
In fact Western Pathology have confirmed that you did not even have a computer log-in.
Exactly how could you ‘prove’ that all people who got whooping cough were vaccinated?
I was Pro vaccine…until..my youngest daughter had a severe reaction…..
I had to rescusitate her seven times in two years……..
This was over 20 years ago…I had no trouble getting certifiicates from three different doctors….stating that my daughter had..had a reaction to the…Whooping cough vacine…..
[no I do not still have them…..I never thought I would hae to pull them out as evidience in some debate about whether or not she was injured by vaccines]
One doctor in his statement wrote…..that anymore vaccines could kill my baby…
Try to get that now……
I also looked after a little girl for three years…She has peti mal epilespy..and many other compications….
She also had documentation from doctors stating this was the Pertussis vaccine…
When the poor little girl was five…Her mother was pressured into administering a…Booster…..for whooping cough……
Within two hours ..the little one..had convulsed….fallen off of her push bike…..hit her head…inhaled vomit..and was in intensive care…for Ten days…in status epilepticus,,
Now the doctors there….all concluded that it was whooping cough vaccine…….
This little one survivied….she is still ill….Gand mal now…..cannot drive..sleeps on the floor with a helmet on…..
I am no anti vax….I am pro informed choice…..
From Boston medical not even a year ago
“””Resurgence of Whooping Cough May Owe to Vaccine’s Inability to Prevent Infections”””
“This disease is back because we didn’t really understand how our immune defenses against whooping cough worked, and did not understand how the vaccines needed to work to prevent it,” said Christopher J. Gill, associate professor of global health and lead author of the article. “Instead we layered assumptions upon assumptions, and now find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of admitting that we may made some crucial errors. This is definitely not where we thought we’d be in 2017.”
https://www.bu.edu/sph/2017/09/21/resurgence-of-whooping-cough-may-owe-to-vaccines-inability-to-prevent-infections/
Last September my fully vaccinated child contracted whooping cough, while my younger unvaccinated child did not. I checked the health.gov.au website on whooping cough stats… 2005-2007 81% of cases(1-4years) fully vaccinated… 2007-2011 2%-22% fully vaccinated 2% unvaxxed… the other 96%-76%… oops! They forgot to take note of that???? They have also forgotten to inform parents of the increased risk of adverse reactions when co-admistering previnar13 and the new 6in1 whooping cough vaccine… which are routinely given on the same day. Oh, how do I know? I read the insert on the glaskinesmith vaccine manufacturers website because I asked 5 medical professionals including the vaccine clinic and they refused to give it to me.