by Jonathan Swan and Amy Corderoy
4-17-2013
Steve Hambleton, head of the Australian Medical Association, says vaccine objectors ''should be ashamed of themselves''.
Editor's Note: We are not ashamed and we will continue to tell the truth, even when the physicians are lying to people.
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| Photo: Belinda Pratten |
Unvaccinated children should be held back from school and groups spreading anti-vaccination messages should be punished, according to the federal president of the Australian Medical Association.
Dr Steve Hambleton said a report released on Thursday detailing national immunisation rates raised concerns about parents in certain areas not following vaccination guidelines.
''We should certainly make it difficult for [unvaccinated] children to get to school,'' said Steve Hambleton, responding to new national statistics on immunisation rates.
''And we should certainly have plans available to send all those children home if there are outbreaks.''
It is well known that fewer people are vaccinated in poorer neighbourhoods but Dr Hambleton said that ''perversely'' the data revealed there had been a reduction in vaccination rates in wealthier suburbs.
''These are parents who have got information, good information available and yet they are not vaccinating their children,'' Dr Hambleton said.
There is also a worrying undercurrent of vaccine objectors who believe conspiracy websites and reject public health guidelines.
These vaccine objectors ''should be ashamed of themselves'' for spreading misinformation and should be sanctioned, Dr Hambleton said.
''We need to look at the groups providing those anti-vaccination messages and we need to make sure we stop them . . . They are putting the community in danger.''
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