Whooping Cough
26th April 2009A friend sent us a text message this evening to notify us that Channel 7′s “Sunday Night” were televising a show on whooping cough. Now I intentionally say “show” rather than ‘interview’ because interview implies “constructive and non-biased journalism”, which we so rarely see in this country. In fact the only television broadcast I have ever seen on vaccination that demonstrated investigative journalism was by the BBC.
While I wish to sling mud at Channel 7 for implying that parents who don’t vaccinate are irresponsible, I sense my time is best spent reminding parents that WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO INVESTIGATE VACCINES. While Channel 7 eluded to hundreds of studies establishing vaccine safety and effectiveness, there are in fact NO LONG TERM STUDIES demonstrating that vaccines are safe, nor effective.
Channel 7 ( as per usual) did not present with any depth -the very real dangers surrounding vaccines and only punctuated that whooping cough is a very serious threat to newborns.
It is interesting how parents concerned about vaccine injuries are often portrayed as ALARMISTS and yet here, again, we see a very sad story linked to a ‘political ALARMIST ploy’ to make non-vaccinators look dangerous and ignorant.
Yes, this story is extremely sad (the featured couple’s baby with whooping cough died), but lets not dangerously overlook the fact that there are very real risks involved with vaccinating and not vaccinating!
This is where ALL broadcast interviews on the topic, I believe, should begin and end.
The Australian government provides no compensation for families if a child is vaccine injured, so is it not therefore irresponsible that television shows become political and portray vaccines as completely safe?
If Channel 7 had looked further than their ‘sponsors’ felt comfortable, they could have created an interview that held real merit in representing what this country espouses as “Freedom of Choice”. The backlash governments face across the globe for ‘vaccine injuries’ is exponential. Instead, Channel 7 chose to isolate whooping cough as the feature story knowing no parent can bare to hear of an infant dying and to breed angst and fear towards ‘non-vaccinators.’
I have such sorrow for the couple who lost their baby girl. Such sorrow. Those of you who know our story will remember Abe. So I do not discuss their loss flippantly. I am also sorry though that in a time of grieving this couple have been gobbled up by the media.
I share our own personal story of Nelson at 7 weeks being rattled with whooping cough in Chapter 15 – Putting Vaccines in Perspective because unless you have held your own child to your chest monitoring there breathing through the night, how can you know the fear most parents have when they consider the cost of whooping cough.
I wish to share this story in a separate blog to remind all parents that while at no point during Nelson’s battle with whooping cough did we question “should we have vaccinated him?”, at no point were we ignorant either in our approach to supporting him through his illness.
I will also post a list of variables that increase the risk of vaccine injury such as autism and information regarding how chiropractic plays an essential role in supporting your child’s health with either decision.
Please remember
WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO INVESTIGATE THE DANGERS OF VACCINATING and NOT VACCINATING
and WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECLINE VACCINES IF WE DO NOT BELIEVE THEM TO BE SAFE.
More information about whooping cough and vaccinations can be found in my book — Well Adjusted Babies — a unique guide for holistic parenting from pregnancy through to early childhood.
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