Australian Vaccination-risks Network

The Australian Vaccination Network (AVN), formerly called the Vaccination Awareness Network, is an Australian non-profit organisation registered in New South Wales. It was formed in 1994 by a group of health professionals and parents that believe that one's health can be maintained without any pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines. The group campaigns against mass vaccination programs and promotes the use of homeopathy as an alternative. The group has been called the "stronghold of the anti-vaccination movement" in Australia.

Organisation

The Australian Vaccination Network's mission statement states that it "is dedicated to the idea that health can be achieved and maintained without the use of pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines" and that it seeks to enable people to make informed health choices. AVN is run by Meryl Dorey, who is its president. According to Dorey, he got involved after her eldest son was adversely affected by DPT and MMR vaccines that were administered when he was a child. Dorey disputes that she is part of the anti-vaccine movement and considers herself, "pro-information and pro-choice". She has stated that AVN doesn't try to tell anyone not to vaccinate, but instead only wants to insure everyone makes informed decisions.

AVN says that vaccines can cause autism, ADHD, brain damage, and cancer. The group argues that vaccines contain a variety of toxins that have no place in the human body. Dorey claims that most doctors "may not know more than the average parent who's read a few articles and a book or two about vaccinations" and thus don't adequately warn patients of the potential risks. In response to studies that show few side effects to most vaccines, Doyle argues that doctors are very hesitant to report adverse reactions and thus the data is highly skewed. Vaccination expert Robert Booy counters these claims. He notes that while minor side effects such as soreness, swelling, and fever are not uncommon, no large scale scientific study has found evidence of more serious reactions.

AVN has also questioned the effectiveness of vaccines. While admitting that infection rates dropped dramatically in the twentieth century, they argue that the change is due in large part to improved hygiene and living conditions. Doyle has argued that infection rates were already on the decline before vaccines were invented and that diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox are benign conditions that do not kill children in industrialized countries. AVN has expressed doubts about the cost-benefit ratio and effectiveness of flu vaccines.

Infectious disease specialist, Professor Peter McIntyre has accused AVN of manipulating research and statistics in order to make its case. "It's been a real characteristic of the anti-vaccine movement ... [to claim] to be looking very extensively at the scientific evidence," says McIntryre, "[but their conclusions are] really a complete misinterpretation." Paediatrician Chris Ingall says that AVN's efforts are "negative, destructive and [have] no scientific basis."

Publications

AVN publishes a quarterly magazine called Informed Voice, and a bimonthly digital magazine called Living Wisdom. The AVN's paid-for memberships also include a quarterly insert called Inside Edition which contains "12 pages of current news from around the world regarding vaccination".

Positions and activism

The Australian Vaccination Network has regularly spoken out against vaccine-related positions adopted by the Australian government and defended controversial research.

In 2002, Meryl Dorey spoke out against a government initiative that cut child care payments for families who failed to get their children vaccinated. She called the legislation a type of "civil conscription" and said the program was likely in violation of the Constutition.

In 2004, AVN defended Andrew Wakefield's 1998 study that found a possible link between autism and MMR vaccinations, implying that Wakefield had been treated unfairly and that he lost his job for "[refusing] to lie."Less than a month later, ten of the twelve scientists associated with the study retracted their conclusions.

In 2007, AVN spoke out against the government's practice of giving pediatricians bonus payments for immunising their patients. Doyle argued that the practice was unethical and led to doctors making decisions based on their pocket book rather than their conscience. She further argued that the government began the practice in order to meet World Health Organisation mandates on vaccination percentages and thus was more interested in playing a numbers game than doing what was right for the nation's children.

In 2007, Meryl Dorey compared a NSW Health policy change requiring immunisation for its workers to concentration camps saying "these are the sorts of [immunisation] tactics you would expect in concentration camps, not the sort of tactics you would expect in the Australian health-care system." The policy was also opposed by a handful of medical students on religious grounds but was defended by NSW Health as a policy that ensured "rigorous programs [were] in place to protect the safety of our staff and patients" .

Views on Swine Flu

Meryl Dorey, the president of the AVN, has argued that more testing is needed on the H1N1 vaccine before it is offered to the public. She argues that the vaccine could prove to be more dangerous than the flu itself and that it should not be compulsory for children. She was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as saying that the swine flu should be treated no differently than the seasonal flu and the government shouldn't be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the H1N1 vaccine. The group's claims were rejected by the Australian Medical Association and other medical experts.

Health Care Complaints Commission complaint

In August 2009, Ken McLeod filed a complaint against AVN with the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission. The complaint, which was supported by the group Australian Skeptics, said that the organisation was in breach of the Health Care Complaints Act because it made "unsubstantiated health claims based on 'conspiracy theories', pseudo-scientific evidence and debunked research." The complaint was also supported by Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith, who earlier had run a national ad in The Australian asking parents to ignore AVN's claims.

In responding to the complaint, the AVN argued that as they are not doctors they cannot be held responsible by the Health Care Complaints Commission and stated that "we are not employed in community health, we do not teach or provide any other educational services nor do we work in the fields of alternative health or health care. We do not administer medications, diagnose, or provide medical advice. We do however lobby in support of parental choice when it comes to vaccination."

The commission agreed to look into the complaint, but a spokesperson admitted that they "did not have power to shut down or gag the Australian Vaccination Network." He left open the possibility of pursuing action against individual members of the AVN or making a public statement against the group's activities. As of November 2009, no official action had been taken.

External links

• Official website
• Official Facebook page