NSW Extends Free Pertussis Vaccine for New Mothers

About a month ago, Phil Plait wrote about the Victoria, Australia, Ministry of Health's decision to end a program that provides pertussis vaccine boosters for free to carers of newborns in an effort to protect infants from what can be, for them, a deadly disease. The reason cited was that the program did not "get the clinical result required". This move by the state of Victoria led Toni McCaffery, whose infant daughter, Dana, was killed by pertussis, to create a petition to the Premiers and Health Ministers of Australia to ask the states to continue to provide free pertussis vaccines to adults caring for newborns to help cocoon these infants until they are old enough to be vaccinated.

Well, the state of New South Wales has listened, to a degree.

The Callous Face of Hubris

The video below has already been shared at Just the Vax and Respectful Insolence, but it is such a powerful and important message that I feel it should be shared as broadly as possible.



I don't think we have anyone quite as vile and despicable as Ms. Viera Scheibner in the U.S. At least, I hope not. This is someone who blames the parents if their child dies of a vaccine-preventable disease; someone who believes that all vaccines, without question, are bad and cause autism, and that diseases are, without exception, good. To anyone who is against vaccinations, watch this video and take a good hard look at your beliefs and the impact that they can have on those around you.

Measles Outbreak in New South Wales, Australia

Australia generally has a much better situation, regarding popular views of vaccination, than the U.S. Over there, the primary anti-vaccine group, the Australian Vaccination Network, is openly called an anti-vaccine organization by the mainstream media. Their non-profit status was revoked last year and they have been sanctioned by the Australian Health Care Complaints Commission. Furthermore, they have been caught breaching copyright law on several counts. There are no major celebrities endorsing antivaccine nonsense.

With all of that going for Oz, you'd think things would be fine. Not so.

Censored on Australia: A Grieving Family and Baseless Accusations

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