The Australian Vaccination-risks Network Inc., formerly known as the Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network (AVsN), and before that known as the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN), is an Australian
anti-vaccination
Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...
pressure group
[ registered in ]New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. As Australia's most controversial anti-vaccination organisation,[ it has ]lobbied
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
against a variety of vaccination-related programs, downplayed the danger of childhood diseases such as measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
and pertussis
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or ...
, championed the cause of alleged vaccination victims, and promoted the use of ineffective alternatives such as homeopathy
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
.
The vast majority of doctors
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
agree that opposition to vaccination is a fringe medical science viewpoint. The group has been described by the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission
The New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (commonly referred to as the HCCC), is an independent statutory body created by the Parliament of New South Wales, Australia to receive, assess, resolve or prosecute complaints relating to he ...
(HCCC) as a provider of “misleading, inaccurate, and deceptive” vaccination information,[ and has been heavily criticised by doctors and other experts on immunisation.][ The group has been called the "stronghold of the anti-vaccination movement" in Australia and is subject to widespread criticism from medical professionals, scientists and other proponents of vaccination.] It has also been criticised for harassing the parents of a victim of vaccine-preventable disease, and for promoting the false idea that shaken baby syndrome
Shaken baby syndrome (SBS), also known as abusive head trauma (AHT), is the leading cause of fatal head injuries in children younger than two years. Diagnosing the syndrome has proved both challenging and contentious for medical professionals, ...
is actually vaccine injury.
On 14 October 2010, the organisation's right to raise funds was stripped from it by the New South Wales Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing
Liquor & Gaming NSW is an agency of the Government of New South Wales, that is part of the Customer Service cluster. Liquor and Gaming NSW is responsible for the development, implementation and integrity of the regulatory framework for liquor sa ...
, stating that its appeals had "not been conducted in good faith for charitable purposes". In December 2012, the New South Wales Office of Fair Trading issued an order for the group to change its name within two months or be de-registered. The department described the group's name as being "misleading and a detriment to the community". The group changed its name in February 2014. In July 2018 the group changed its name to Australian Vaccination-risks Network Inc. citing that many in their group ''"did not feel comfortable with having the word 'skeptics' in"'' their name as the reason for the change. The group decided that the word "skeptic" too closely aligned them with Scientific Skepticism
Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refe ...
organisations such as the Australian Skeptics
Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies. This page covers all Australian ...
.
Organisation
The Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network was formed in 1994 as the Vaccination Awareness Network by Meryl Dorey, a medically unqualified American who moved to Australia with her Australian husband, saying she got involved after her eldest son was allegedly adversely affected by DPT DPT may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Dpt (unit) (dioptre/diopter), most commonly a unit measuring refraction and power in a lens or curved mirror
*Dermatopontin, a human extracellular matrix protein
* Dipropyltryptamine, a psychedelic tryptami ...
and MMR vaccine
The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles), abbreviated as ''MMR''. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, ...
s administered when he was a child.
The group applied for tax-deductible charity status through the Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...
and finally obtained it in 2002; it lost that status in 2007 by allowing it to lapse, and obtained it again in 2009. In 2010 the group's tax-exempt status was revoked by the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing after an audit of the organisation finding that AVN fundraising appeals had not been conducted in good faith for charitable purposes, had been improperly administered and were not in the public interest.
In July 2009, the AVN claimed it had more than 3500 members; however, in a constitutional change voting proxy form published in March 2010, the AVN revealed the actual membership is considerably lower, at around 1867 financial members. The AVN is headquartered in Bangalow, New South Wales
Bangalow is a small town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia in Byron Shire. The town is north of Sydney and south of Brisbane, just off the Pacific Highway. The town's name appears to have been derived from an Aborig ...
.
In February 2010 Dorey announced that she was resigning, but held the position of President until 1 January 2013, when she was replaced by Mr Greg Beattie. Ms Dorey remains with the AVN as "Public Officer and spokesperson".
In addition to its website and associated blog AVN published a quarterly magazine called ''Informed Voice'', later renamed ''Living Wisdom'' and offered as a digital publication. ''Living Wisdom'' ceased publication in January 2013. The AVN's paid-for memberships formerly included a quarterly insert called ''Inside Edition'' which contained "12 pages of current news from around the world regarding vaccination".
Beliefs
The group is strongly against any form of compulsory vaccination, but Dorey disputes that the group is an anti-vaccine organisation. "We don't believe we have the right to tell people whether or not to vaccinate", says Dorey who adds, "but neither does the government." She says the group is just trying to fill "the information void" created by a pro-vaccine government and medical community that ignores negative information. Dorey considers herself, "pro-information and pro-choice".
Independent commentators generally reject these claims and point to numerous errors and distortions in AVN's statements about vaccines. Julie Leask from the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
, challenges AVN's claim that it is not anti-vaccination, by referring to the numerous examples of anti-vaccination rhetoric published by the AVN. In 2009, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
described the AVN as the "stronghold of the anti-vaccination movement" in Australia. In 2012 the AVN website promoted the anti-vaccination children's book '' Melanie's Marvelous Measles'' as well as T-shirts with "Love Them, Protect Them, Never Inject Them" printed on them.
The NSW Northern Rivers region, where the AVN is located, in 2007 had a childhood vaccination rate of only 70% compared to the national average of over 90%. In 2016 a recent National Health Performance Authority report showed the region's average vaccination rate for 5 year olds was reportedly still the lowest in the country at 89.2%. The North Coast Assistant Public Health Director warned "Pockets of unvaccinated people in the region was the cause for the rise and fall in whooping cough cases... because we do not have herd immunity to the illness on the Northern Rivers".
The Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network believes that vaccines contain a variety of toxic ingredients that have no place in the human body. The group argues that these alleged toxins can cause autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
, ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
, brain damage, and cancer, among other serious side effects. In response to medical and scientific research that shows few side effects to most vaccines, Dorey argues that doctors are very hesitant to report adverse reactions and thus the data is highly skewed. These claims are considered false: 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. and the purported link to autism is refuted.
Former president Meryl Dorey claimed that most doctors are not fully informed about vaccination research and that the medical community as a whole relies on "selective evidence
Cherry picking, suppressing evidence, or the fallacy of incomplete evidence is the act of pointing to individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position while ignoring a significant portion of related and similar cases or data th ...
" to back its argument. She says there is a "very, very strong effort" by the government and mainstream medical community to suppress any information that may cause parents to question the safety of vaccines. Consequently, Dorey argues, doctors often don't adequately warn patients of potential vaccination risks. Several critics have pointed out that AVN itself is guilty of ignoring evidence not favourable to the anti-vaccination point of view and the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) found that the AVN routinely ignore information that is not favourable to its anti-vaccination position. The HCCC accused the AVN of deceptively removing selected parts of stories when they report on them, and the misrepresentation of the conclusions of reliable studies. Dorey countered that she was not guilty of selective reporting, and that she "simply quoted the sections that hefelt were important".[ In reality, doctors have access to extensive information on vaccine safety and the medical literature includes all known significant potential adverse reactions.]
The 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. Dorey has argued that infection rates were already on the decline before vaccines were invented and that effectiveness has "never been scientifically tested." Scientific evidence disputes this opinion by AVN. Dorey has also stated that the "vast majority" of people who contract disease have previously been vaccinated. Infectious disease
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
specialist Paul Goldwater acknowledged a few vaccines are not completely effective, but said others were nearly 100% effective. In all cases, he said, "the benefits certainly outweigh any risks." The group has also expressed doubts about the cost-benefit ratio and effectiveness of flu vaccine
Influenza vaccines, also known as flu shots, are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year, as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While their effectiveness varies fro ...
s. AVN's arguments are well-known and long debunked anti-vaccine tropes.[Kata, A (2012)]
Anti-vaccine activists, Web 2.0, and the postmodern paradigm - an overview of tactics and tropes used online by the anti-vaccination movement.
in ''Vaccine (journal)
''Vaccine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal, published by Elsevier. It is targeted towards medical professionals who are interested in vaccinology, vaccines, and vaccination. The official journal of the Edward Jenner Society and the Japanese ...
, Vol. 30, 2012.'' Also cited b
UNICEF
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Dorey has written that "passing through a measles infection is sometimes required, for whatever reason, to strengthen some part of a person's vital force", and that diseases such as measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
, mumps
MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gener ...
, rubella
Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...
and chicken pox
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab ...
are benign conditions that do not kill children in industrialized countries. During a studio debate on Channel 7's ''Sunday Night'' current affairs program covering the death of a four-week-old baby from whooping cough
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or ...
, Dorey claimed that no one ever dies from the disease,["Sunday Night" archive footage for "Fear and confusion" (4 May 2009) and "A mother's choice?" (26 April 2009)](_blank)
''Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
TV''. Archived a
dilutedthinking.com (pt1
dilutedthinking.com pt2
dilutedthinking.com amc
and described her own children's case of the disease as a "storm in a teacup" that was easily handled with natural remedies. The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission criticised the AVN's position, saying that it "ignores the risks of exposure to, and the adverse effects of childhood illnesses".[ Independent data shows that measles causes the most vaccine-preventable deaths of any disease.] It resulted in about 96,000 deaths in 2013. Before immunization in the United States between three and four million cases occurred each year, and the fatality rate is approximately 0.2% of those infected. Most of those who are infected and who die are less than five years old.
Infectious disease specialist Peter McIntyre has accused the group of manipulating research and statistics in order to make its case. "It's been a real characteristic of the anti-vaccine movement ... o claimto be looking very extensively at the scientific evidence," says McIntyre, " ut their conclusions arereally a complete misinterpretation." Paediatrician
Pediatrics (American and British English differences, also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United King ...
Chris Ingall says that the AVN's efforts are "negative, destructive and ave
''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
no scientific basis." Australian Medical Association
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not regul ...
SA state president Andrew Lavender states that groups like the Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network " cton very little information and ... osea risk to others."
Dorey argues that scientific studies cannot be trusted because they are usually funded, she claims, by biomedicine and pharmaceutical companies that develop and manufacture vaccine products, and that doctors have "financial incentives" to push vaccines. In fact, paediatricians often lose money on vaccinations.
According to ''The Panic Virus'', by Seth Mnookin
Seth Mnookin (born April 27, 1972) is an American writer and journalist.
As of 2017, he is a Professor of Comparative Media Studies/Writing at MIT and the Director of Institute's Graduate Program in Science Writing. He is also the media reporter ...
; then AVN President Meryl Dorey signed a petition claiming "that the "AIDS industry and the media" had tricked the public into believing that the HIV virus causes AIDS".
When during a government inquiry in 2015, Greens Senator Di Natale asked AVN why they still referred to themselves as the "Australian Vaccination Network", a name they have been legally instructed to cease using, AVN member Brett Smith accused Di Natale of being part of a Murdoch
Murdoch ( , ) is an Irish/Scottish given name, as well as a surname. The name is derived from old Gaelic words ''mur'', meaning "sea" and ''murchadh'', meaning "sea warrior". The following is a list of notable people or entities with the name.
...
media conspiracy. Journalist Bernard Keane noted this is the first time anyone had suggested a conspiratorial link between The Greens and a media organisation that has been highly critical of the party.
In April 2007, Meryl Dorey compared a NSW Health
The New South Wales Ministry of Health, branded NSW Health, is a ministerial department of the New South Wales Government. NSW Health supports the executive and statutory roles of the Minister for Health, the Minister for Regional Health, an ...
policy change requiring immunisation for its workers to Nazi concentration camps
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
saying "these are the sorts of mmunisationtactics 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 some civil libertarian
Civil libertarianism is a strain of political thought that supports civil liberties, or which emphasizes the supremacy of individual rights and personal freedoms over and against any kind of authority (such as a state, a corporation, social nor ...
and health-care groups, but the NSW Nurses' Association noted that "vaccinations have always been compulsory for health workers" and that the change was only a minimal update to the existing policy.
Activism
The Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network has regularly spoken out against vaccine-related positions adopted by the Australian government and defended controversial and discredited research. AVN also distributes literature, sponsors seminars, and collects adverse reaction reports.
In a 1996 editorial, AVN spoke out against a proposal to add vaccination centres to some shopping centres. Writing on behalf of AVN, Susan Lindberg called the idea "downright dangerous," asking "what if a baby has a fit or major reaction?" She also added that parents are under enough pressure to vaccinate already.
In response to a 2002 proposal to extend free vaccination programs, Former AVN president Meryl Dorey argued that the Australian government should first do independent tests of the new vaccines. She said that she had doubts about the accuracy of the existing studies that were "funded ... by the pharmaceutical companies." A member of the government's immunisation advisory group countered that they always assess all available scientific data.
In August 2004, AVN spoke out against combination vaccines being considered by health authorities. The organisation claimed that there were too many untested variables and that it was irresponsible to keep combining vaccines without knowing the effects. In 2006, Meryl Dorey continued the attack on combined vaccines, claiming it was un-natural, as "It is a fact that umanswill only ever contract one disease at a time." According to the British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...
combined vaccines have actually shown reduced side effects, and it is quite common for humans to suffer simultaneously from several infections.
In 2011 social scientist Brian Martin wrote an essay "Debating vaccination" in ''Living Wisdom'', on "attacks" and "suppression" AVN members faced. In a media release the University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...
stated vaccination "should be freely debated" and that the 20,000-word paper was "intended to assist readers - especially members of the AVN itself", in ways to respond to criticism and better understand scientific controversy. Martin is a former member of the AVN.
Adverse reaction reports
In December 1996, AVN presented Federal Health Minister Michael Wooldridge
Michael Richard Lewis Wooldridge (born 7 November 1956) is an Australian doctor, company director, and former politician. He served as deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1993 to 1994, under John Hewson. In the Howard Government he held mi ...
with reports on 150 cases of children claimed to have been injured by vaccines that dated back to 1991; Dorey claimed that the collection of previously unreported reactions represented the largest single collection ever presented to the Australian Government. Dorey states that many of the parents involved had previously tried to have their cases looked at, but had been told by health authorities their cases couldn't proceed because the parents lacked necessary documentation. Gavin Frost, a government vaccination adviser, said he supported increased medical reporting of vaccine side effects but doubted claims of permanent damage caused by vaccines. A published government report shows that over the 33-month period from 1 January 2000 to 30 September 2002, the AVN made a total of 11 unspecified adverse event reports, which equates to approximately one report every three months.
In July 2010, the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission criticised the AVN's adverse event reporting system as being "anecdotal and misleading".[
]
Views on vaccination incentives
In 1997 Susan Lindberg spoke on behalf of AVN opposing the announcement of a government plan to cut child care and maternity payments to parents who didn't vaccinate their children and to give incentive payments to doctors to give vaccines; she also called for creation of a vaccine registry and adverse event reporting system to be created.
In May 2000, Meryl Dorey spoke out against cuts in child care payments for 9000 families who failed to get their children vaccinated. She called the legislation a type of "civil conscription
Civil conscription is the obligation of civilians to perform mandatory labour for the government. This kind of work has to correspond with the exceptions in international agreements, otherwise it could fall under the category of unfree labour. Th ...
" and said the program was likely in violation of the Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
. Wooldridge responded that the claim was "nonsense" because the requirement was "simply a condition on government financial assistance" and that families had the choice to accept it or not.
In July 2007, AVN spoke out against the government's practice of giving pediatricians bonus incentives for immunising their patients. Dorey argued that the practice was unethical and led to doctors making decisions based on their pocket book rather than their conscience. She would later liken the payment to a bribe noting that doctors aren't paid extra for prescribing antibiotics, for example. Dorey further argued that the government began the practice in order to meet World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
mandates on vaccination percentages and thus was more interested in playing a numbers game rather than doing what was right for the nation's children. The payment was discontinued in October 2008.
The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission criticised the AVN for casting medical practitioners in a negative light as "unethical and untrustworthy without providing any cogent reasons or evidence for making such an assertion".[
]
Defense of Andrew Wakefield
In February 2004, AVN defended Andrew Wakefield
Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born September 3, 1956) is a British anti-vaccine activist, former physician, and discredited academic who was struck off the medical register for his involvement in ''The Lancet'' MMR autism fraud, a 1998 study that ...
's 1998 study that suggested a possible link between autism and MMR vaccinations, implying that Wakefield had been treated unfairly and that he lost his job for " efusingto lie." Less than a month later, ten of the twelve scientists associated with the study retracted their conclusions. In February 2010, ''The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles, ...
'' formally retracted Wakefield's original 1998 article following an independent investigation that concluded Wakefield had been "dishonest, violated basic research ethics rules and showed a 'callous disregard' for the suffering of children involved in his research".
On 24 May 2010, immediately following the striking-off of Mr. Wakefield by the British General Medical Council
The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...
for "gross misconduct" and "bringing the medical profession into disrepute", the AVN continued to support him, issuing the following statement: "Dr Wakefield knows that he has the love and respect of tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of parents around the world. Whether or not the GMC which is stacked with corrupt influences strikes him off is of no consequence. He will continue his work and autistic families everywhere will benefit as a result." In a statement following the ruling, Wakefield said "I never made the claim at the time, nor do I still make the claim that MMR is a cause of autism."
Actions against the Australian Measles Control Campaign
Prior to the commencement of the 1998 Australian Measles Control Campaign, the AVN initiated a campaign against it, for example accusing the Federal Government of using bullying tactics, overstating the effectiveness of the vaccine and understating the potential side effects. In July AVN said that they were instigating a Federal Court injunction
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
against the campaign, to try to force it to change the information booklet and to simplify the forms required to obtain an exemption. The AVN's statements prompted the Federal Minister for Health to describe the group as "deceitful crackpots", while the results of the campaign showed there were just 89 adverse reactions, and that the campaign resulted in a large increase of measles and rubella immunity levels.
At a Perth anti-vaccination seminar on 1 June 2010, Dorey was critical of the government's introduction of the measles vaccine
Measles vaccine protects against becoming infected with measles. Nearly all of those who do not develop immunity after a single dose develop it after a second dose. When rate of vaccination within a population is greater than 92%, outbreaks of ...
to Australia in 1970, saying "We introduced a vaccine for a disease which was killing almost nobody and one has to ask, why?" Mortality data shows that during the decade 1966 to 1975, there were 146 certified deaths from measles in Australia while in the decade 1996 to 2005, there were zero deaths directly attributed to measles, and one death due to the measles complication SSPE. The decline in mortality is attributed to Australia's high measles vaccination rates achieving the elimination of endemic measles transmission in Australia.[
In 2014 Australia was declared by the WHO as having eliminated local strains of measles. But as of 2015/16 deadly measles cases had returned to Australia.]
Campaign against the meningococcal vaccine
The AVN campaigned against the introduction of a meningococcal vaccine
Meningococcal vaccine refers to any vaccine used to prevent infection by ''Neisseria meningitidis''. Different versions are effective against some or all of the following types of meningococcus: A, B, C, W-135, and Y. The vaccines are between 85 ...
to Australia in 2002. Meryl Dorey accused the government of wasting 41 million on the vaccination program, claimed that the vaccine had shown a large number of adverse reactions in the United Kingdom and had never been tested for effectiveness. However the vice-president of the AMA, Trevor Mudge, refuted her claims, pointing out that meningococcal disease
Meningococcal disease describes infections caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria meningitidis'' (also termed meningococcus). It has a high mortality rate if untreated but is vaccine-preventable. While best known as a cause of meningitis, it can al ...
is extremely dangerous and that "Vaccination really is the only strategy for this condition that is likely to work". He said the vaccine had been extensively tested and contrary to Dorey's claims had been found to be safe and highly effective in the UK. During an online debate covering meningococcal vaccination in 2005, Australian infectious disease specialist Peter McIntyre warned parents "not to be fooled by the limited and biased information from heAVN website."
The rate of invasive meningococcal disease in Australia fell by more than 60% between 2002 (when vaccination commenced) and 2009, after doubling during the previous decade. Mortality data from the UK shows that meningococcal deaths decreased from 67 to 5 in the two years following implementation of the vaccine. The NSW HCCC criticised the AVN for selectively using information to support its position, when there is no evidence to support their claims, and that the evidence suggests that the most effective meningococcal strategy is to widely vaccinate.[
]
Campaign against the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine
Following the death of four-week-old Dana McCaffery from pertussis (whooping cough) in March 2009, and the subsequent government campaigns to improve pertussis immunisation, the AVN launched a campaign against the pertussis vaccine, using the death of the child in the campaign materials, claiming that the she did not die from pertussis.
The AVN's public campaign against the pertussis vaccine began with an article in the May 2009 issue of ''Living Wisdom'' written by Meryl Dorey, which questioned the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and the dangers of whooping cough itself. Critics pointed out that Dorey's article contained numerous errors of fact and omission. While the article correctly stated that Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
had previously withdrawn pertussis vaccination in 1979 due to research showing it was ineffective, she failed to reveal that the vaccine then used in Sweden was different to the effective vaccine used in other countries such as Australia, nor did she reveal that Sweden reintroduced pertussis vaccination in 1996 and this had resulted in huge incidence reduction, with cases falling by 80–90% within 3 years. In the article, Dorey claims that "Whooping Cough is not a vaccine-preventable disease". Critics point out that evidence has shown that the acellular vaccine is 84% efficacious, and prevents 99.8% of infant hospital admissions after a completing a full course of three doses of the vaccine.
Their campaign against the vaccine continued during two Channel 7 ''Sunday Night'' television programs, where Dorey made the claim that "no-one ever dies of Whooping Cough". During the debates, the facts surrounding the death of Dana McCaffery from whooping cough were disputed by Dorey and other AVN members, and it was alleged that the infant's parents had received hatemail from AVN supporters for their public pro-vaccination stance following the death of their daughter. The filming of this program was the catalyst for the formation of the ''Stop the AVN'' group.
AVN members continued to harass the McCafferys through to July 2010 by sending emails, letters and AVN brochures to the family.[ Former AVN president Meryl Dorey wrote another blog disputing the McCafferys' version of events, the treatments and effects Dana suffered and the diagnosis of pertussis. Dana's mother attempted to get the government intervene, to stop the harassment.][ In a subsequent television interview for ABC '']Lateline
''Lateline'' was an Australian television news program which ran from 1990 until 2017. The program initially aired weeknights on ABC TV. In later years it was also broadcast internationally throughout Asia and the Pacific on the Australia Plu ...
'', Dorey admitted she had accused the McCafferys of "turning their daughter into a martyr because she supposedly died of whooping cough".[
In 2012 the AVN continued to target the McCafferys. AVN member and ]University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...
researcher Judy Wilyman was published on AVN's website accusing the State Government of using the imagery of four-week-old Dana's death to push the vaccine stating it was the "Government and the media who have been using the McCafferys to promote a vaccine". She also questioned whether the McCafferys had been paid to promote the whooping cough vaccine. The McCaffery family vigorously denied these claims. In March 2016 Wilyman continued to repeat that such child deaths are "anecdotal"[ and provoke the parents of the deceased children saying they are "promoting the death of their child to whooping cough, and lobby groups ... have provided awards to these parents for their efforts ndthey receive financial rewards from pro-vaccine lobby groups for their efforts".]
Campaign against the swine flu vaccine
In September 2009, AVN campaigned against the swine flu vaccine
The 2009 swine flu pandemic vaccines were influenza vaccines developed to protect against the pandemic H1N1/09 virus. These vaccines either contained inactivated (killed) influenza virus, or weakened live virus that could not cause influenza. The ...
, calling it "madness" to use a vaccine which they claimed was "laden with toxic mercury." Dorey further argued that more testing was needed on the vaccine before it was offered to the public and that it could prove to be more dangerous than the flu itself. She told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
that the swine flu
Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As o ...
should be treated no differently from the seasonal flu
Flu season is an annually recurring time period characterized by the prevalence of an outbreak of influenza (flu). The season occurs during the cold half of the year in each hemisphere. It takes approximately two days to show symptoms. Influen ...
and that the government was wasting money by spending over a hundred million dollars on the vaccine. Dorey's claims were rejected by the Australian Medical Association
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not regul ...
and other medical experts.
Anti-vaccination seminars and public talks
In May 2010 the AVN announced that they would be hosting a seminar in Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia, to be held at the Uniting Church
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...
In The City (UCIC) on 14 May. However following a campaign by members of the Church, the medical community and members of the ''Stop the AVN'' group, the Church announced that they would not allow the AVN to use their premises for the seminar, as they were "concerned that there may be a public perception that the UCIC does not support childhood vaccinations due to the AVN seminar being held at UCIC's rooms". The AVN rescheduled and relocated the event for 1 June at the State Library of WA. The decision by the Library to allow the AVN to use their premises was widely criticised by the medical community and politicians, with the president of the Australian Medical Association saying he "was worried the use of the venue could give the group credibility" and the Shadow Arts Minister, John Hyde, saying "Why should a group that endangers the lives of WA children be allowed to speak and promote their cause at a taxpayer-funded venue dedicated to learning?"[ Two days after the event, ]Fiona Stanley
Fiona Juliet Stanley (born 1 August 1946) is an Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, her research into child and maternal health as well as birth disorders such as cerebral palsy. Stanley is the patron of the Telethon Kid ...
AC was interviewed by Perth Radio about the seminar, describing the views presented by the AVN as "bizarre", and "so misinformed that it is scary".
In Dec 2011, organisers of the Woodford Folk Festival
The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural events of its type in Australia. Every year ap ...
were criticised for inviting Meryl Dorey to speak. The Queensland Health Minister Geoff Wilson advised attendees "not to take orey'snonsense too seriously". The Australian Medical Association described the group's views as "dangerous", and said organisers "had a responsibility to add speakers who could provide the medically approved side of the argument" so the audience were aware of "the risk of the information being presented y Dorey. Community pressure intensified resulting in Andreas Suhrbier, head of the immunovirology laboratory at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research
The QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (QIMR Berghofer) is an Australian medical research institute located in , Brisbane, in the state of Queensland. QIMR was established in 1945 by the Government of Queensland through the enactment of ...
, to appear and field questions from the audience.
Objection to "No Jab No Pay/Play"
AVN have promoted the Church of Conscious Living
The Church of Conscious Living is an Australian anti-vaccination organisation founded in 2015. It was established by anti-vaccinationist Stephanie Messenger and promoted by the Australian Vaccination Network in order to exploit an exemption in ...
, described in the ''Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
'' as a "fake", and in the ''Telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
'' as a "sham" church set up to provide spurious religious exemptions from vaccination. The NSW Health Minister said she was "alarmed that a 'religion' would be created to thwart an important public health initiative." In April 2015 the "no jab, no pay" policy was introduced and the Abbott Federal Government made it more difficult for people to object to vaccination on religious grounds, and required that religions register their objection to vaccination. The policy officially came into effect in January 2016 and reportedly "sparked a rush on vaccines as parents fear missing out" on Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement and childcare subsidies.
AVsN president Tasha David and former president Meryl Dorey both appeared on an "expert panel" at a February 2016 anti vaccine event in Mullumbimby
Mullumbimby is an Australian town in the Byron Shire in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. It promotes itself as "The Biggest Little Town in Australia". The town lies at the foot of Mount Chincogan in the Brunswick Valley about 9 k ...
(which has the lowest vaccination rates in Australia) at which other ways of evading no jab no play/pay rules were discussed, including falsely claiming "hypersensitivity" to gelatin
Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...
or yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...
, in order to obtain medical exemption. It was reported in ''The Daily Telegraph'' that Tasha David and Meryl Dorey were at the event to "prove that Australia was a testing ground for the rest of the world".
In March 2016 the AVN announced its intention to legally challenge the Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
'no jab no pay' laws, with the return of spokesperson Meryl Dorey stating " at the government is doing is unconstitutional, immoral and illegal, and they need to be shown the error of their ways". In one announcement AVN falsely stated that Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is the professional body for general practitioners (GPs) in Australia. The RACGP is responsible for maintaining standards for quality clinical practice, education and training, and re ...
and the National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance also opposed the 'No Jab No Pay' legislation. Both organisations promptly rejected AVN's claim and clarified they supported the legislation. By December AVN had raised AUD$152,000 toward the legal challenge, then on Christmas Day announced it was dropping the legal action, citing a "poor chance of success".
COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2
In 2020, the group suggested SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...
, the virus that causes COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, "is just the common cold", and people have been "fooled" by a "fear campaign on the silly sheep media". Dorey questioned the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
saying: "Are you being lied to?" Requesting that followers "take your phones and pop into the local hospital" and "Let us know how crowded it is - or is not. Is coronavirus really overwhelming our nation or is our nation overwhelming us with lies and killing our economy and us?"
Complaints, investigations and criticisms
The AVN has been the subject of several complaints to (and investigations by) Government departments and medical authorities. Medical professionals, scientists and other proponents of vaccination are highly critical of the AVN.
NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC)
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
Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies. This page covers all Australian ...
'', 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.
In response to the complaint, the AVN submitted a 27-page document which argued that they are not actively providing health care service and therefore are not under the jurisdiction of the Health Care Complaints Commission. Dorey called the complaint vexatious and a nuisance tactic.
Tom Sidwell, a Monash University
Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...
Immunology
Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...
student, conducted a review of the sources and information provided in the AVN's HCCC reply. He submitted to the HCCC that all of the sources quoted by Dorey in the reply were either not from peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
journals as Dorey had claimed, or did not actually support the conclusions she was attributing to them. In an article published in the ''Journal of the Australian Skeptics'', Sidwell wrote:
:"The collection of references is, on the whole, laughable. At best she hasn't read the papers she cites and includes them out of ignorance, and at worst she is being deliberately deceptive."
HCCC ruling
The HCCC concluded their investigation into the AVN in July 2010. The Commission determined that "the health education service provided by the Australian Vaccination Network on its website provides misleading and inaccurate information on the subject of vaccination".[
In addition, the Commission found that the AVN "misleads readers by using reliable and peer-reviewed research, but quoting selectively from it, often in contradiction to the conclusions or findings of the studies themselves".][
The Commission ordered the AVN to permanently place the following information in a prominent place on their website within 14 days:
* The Australian Vaccination Network's purpose is to provide information against vaccination in order to balance what it believes is the substantial amount of pro-vaccination information available elsewhere;
* The information provided should not be read as medical advice; and
* The decision about whether or not to vaccinate should be made in consultation with a health care provider.][
Following the AVN's refusal to display the notice, on 26 July 2010 the HCCC issued a public warning about the group stating
: "The AVN's failure to include a notice on its website of the nature recommended by the Commission may result in members of the public making improperly informed decisions about whether or not to vaccinate, and therefore poses a risk to public health and safety."
The NSW HCCC's ruling was further supported by the Chief Medical Officer of ]Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, who agreed that the AVN "should make it clear what their views are and if it's an extreme view about a certain topic it should be clear that it is their view and that they're not speaking on behalf of for example the medical profession".
Supreme Court appeal
The AVN appealed the HCCC ruling to the NSW Supreme Court, arguing that the HCCC does not have jurisdiction over Meryl Dorey or the AVN. In February 2012, the court ruled that the AVN is a health care provider, and therefore the HCCC does have jurisdiction over their activities. However, it ruled that the original complaints to the HCCC about the AVN were invalid because the complaints did not include evidence that anyone had actually acted on the incorrect advice provided by the AVN. The court did not make a judgement about the validity of the complaints, nor the information contained within them.[
]
Changes to HCCC Act and new investigation
The ruling resulted in a change in the law, allowing HCCC to initiate proceedings based on likelihood of harm, rather than having to wait for actual injury. Following the passage of the Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 by the Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...
, giving the HCCC powers to initiate investigations, and explore medical advice provided more generally than under the previous act, the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell
Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...
announced that the Health Minister has advised NSW Parliament
The Parliament of New South Wales is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New S ...
the Health Care Complaints Commission is launching an investigation into the Australian Vaccination Network.
The HCCC concluded a second investigation into AVN in 2014 and published a new warning statement.[ The second public warning went further by scientifically addressing specific medical misinformation disseminated by AVN and concluded:
:"The Commission has established that AVN does not provide reliable information in relation to certain vaccines and vaccination more generally... AVN’s dissemination of misleading, misrepresented and incorrect information about vaccination engenders fear and alarm and is likely to detrimentally affect the clinical management or care of its readers... the Commission urges general caution is exercised when using AVN’s website or Facebook page to research vaccination and to consult other reliable sources, including speaking to a medical practitioner, to make an informed decision".]
NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) investigation
Following complaints that the AVN had been illegally fundraising without authority between 2 July 2007 and 2 June 2009, and a previous warning relating to the AVN being in breach of its fundraising authority conditions (as it did not have a "mechanism to properly and effectively deal with complaints relating to fundraising"), the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) announced in February 2010 that they would conduct a full audit of the groups fundraising activities.
OLGR Ruling
On 4 August 2010, the OLGR announced that their audit of the AVN had "detected a number of breaches of charity fund-raising laws", including:
* Fundraising without authority;
* Unauthorised expenditure;
* Failure to keep proper records of income and expenditure;
* Possible breaches of the ''Charitable Trust Act, 1993'', which would be referred to the Department of Justice and the Attorney General.
The AVN was given 28 days to respond to the findings. President Meryl Dorey declined to comment on the issue.
=Revocation of authority to fundraise
=
On 14 October 2010, the Hon. Kevin Greene, M.P. revoked the AVN's authority to fundraise, meaning they are no longer permitted to conduct appeals or receive donations from members of the public. Reasons for the revocation were given as breaches of sections 31 (1) a, b and f of the ''Charitable Fundraising Act 1991'':
* Their fundraising appeals have not been conducted in good faith for charitable purposes;
* Their fundraising appeals have been improperly administered;
* Their fundraising activities are not in the public interest.
In response to the revocation, the AVN issued a media release criticising the OLGR's decision as being politically motivated, and difficult to understand given that the "revocation was based entirely upon the questionable decision by the HCCC", rather than upon "the simple errors" detected by the OLGR during their audit of the organisation. Dorey appealed for the public to make donations to the AVN before the revocation took effect on 20 October 2010.
=Supreme Court appeal
=
As part of their appeal to the NSW Supreme Court in relation to the HCCC complaint, the AVN asked the court to invalidate the OLGR's revocation of their fundraising authority, asking them to grant certiorari
In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
. In February 2012, the Court rejected AVN's argument, dismissed this particular complaint, and the fundraising prohibition remained.[
]
NSW Office of Fair Trading name change order
In December 2012, the New South Wales Office of Fair Trading issued an order for the AVN to change its name within two months or be de-registered. The letter of action was delivered to the home of the organisation's president, Meryl Dorey. It described the name as misleading and a detriment to the community. The Fair Trading Minister, Anthony Roberts, said that issue of vaccination was one of life and death and that the organisation's activities endangered people's safety. Mr Roberts has warned other states against the AVN trying to register. Robert Vellar, the NSW Fair Trading Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Enforcement, says the AVN's name has misled parents seeking information. Mr Vellar added that the NSW government intended to change definitions in the Associations Act to prevent groups from using names that were in conflict with their charter. The president of the AMA (NSW), Assoc Prof Brian Owler, said the AVN needed to take responsibility for information it gave to parents. The AVN is fighting the renaming order in the courts.
This order was challenged by the group. The challenge was dismissed, and on 25 November 2013 the New South Wales Office of Fair Trading order was upheld by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. In February 2014 the group changed its name to the Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network.
Comparison of vaccination to rape
In April 2015 the AVN Facebook page drew international attention for publishing a simulated rape photo ad with text saying that vaccinations are "forced penetration" and asking "do you really 'need' control over your own body?" It drew criticism from the CEO of Domestic Violence Victoria, the Federal shadow Minister for Health Catherine King MP,[ the Federal Minister for Health ]Sussan Ley
Sussan Penelope Ley (pron. , "Susan Lee"; ; born 14 December 1961) is an Australian politician who has been deputy leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. She has been member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales seat of Farrer since 2 ...
MP, the president of the AMA, the NSW Rape Crisis Centre, as well as supporters of the group.
Catherine King MP said that "equating doctors with rapists shows how completely unhinged the AVN has become".[ AVN responded: "This post isn't tasteless - it is honest. What truly IS tasteless is our elected government trying to tell us that we have to vaccinate our children even if we don't believe it is best for their health".][ President of the AVN, Tasha David, claimed her organisation did not own or control the page.][ Within days the Facebook group was reported as having been shut down.][ It was not the first time AVN had allegedly used vaccination-rape comparison,] in 2011 it tweeted "court orders rape of a child" in relation to a court ordering a five-year-old girl to be vaccinated.[
]
Other controversies
In March 2007, the AVN made certain erroneous comments on their website, including claims that the Australian Medical Association
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not regul ...
(AMA) received funding from pharmaceutical companies and actively censored information provided to its members. These claims were factually incorrect, and the AMA took legal action against the AVN. The AVN withdrew the claims and issued a public apology on 21 March 2007.
In 2011, the Australian Vaccination Network's advice against vaccination, and their refusal to display the HCCC safety warning on their website, was included in ''Australian Doctor'' magazine's ''Top 50 Medical Scandals of the past 50 years''.
The Australian Skeptics
Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies. This page covers all Australian ...
awarded their Bent Spoon Award
Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using science, scientific methodologies. This page covers all A ...
, "presented annually to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
or pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
piffle", to Meryl Dorey and the AVN in 2009, stating that the award had been earned through their "scaremongering and misinformation about childhood vaccination". In response, Dorey stated that winning the award meant she was "on the right track".
In September 2010, the AVN was accused of numerous copyright breaches relating to their sale of information packs containing photocopies of selected parts of old medical journal articles, newspaper reports and cartoons. After receiving complaints from authors and copyright holders, the AVN withdrew the packs from sale on their website. Several authors stated that they had not given permission for the AVN to reproduce the material and would seek payment for their past use. They also criticised the AVN's use of the articles as they were "old and not based on current information".
Political criticisms
Federal Parliament
Following the AVN's public objections to the Australian Government's 1998 Australian Measles Control Campaign, the then Federal Health Minister Michael Wooldridge
Michael Richard Lewis Wooldridge (born 7 November 1956) is an Australian doctor, company director, and former politician. He served as deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1993 to 1994, under John Hewson. In the Howard Government he held mi ...
issued a media release which was highly critical of the group, writing:
:"I am deeply concerned that media organisations risk giving credibility to the crackpot views of the AVN by publishing, without question, their untrue and deceitful claims. Ultimately, young children who are particularly vulnerable to measles could suffer if their parents were influenced by the anti-science, irrational views of the AVN."
In 2013, Greens Senator Richard Di Natale
Richard Luigi Di Natale (born 6 June 1970) is a former Australian politician who was a senator for Victoria. He was also the leader of the Australian Greens from 2015 to 2020. Di Natale was elected to the Senate in the 2010 federal election. A ...
put forward a motion calling for the Australian Vaccination Network to be disbanded, citing the risks that low-levels of vaccination posed to the health of children in Australia. The motion was passed by the Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...
. Senator Di Natale condemned the organisation, stating in a press release:
:"The AVN have gone so far as to promote measles as a healthy gift from mother nature and not the deadly disease it really is. As a doctor, I saw first-hand the tragedy these easily preventable diseases can cause.
:Today the Senate has joined with the public health community to send a clear and strong message to those who are peddling lies about vaccines - they should pack up and go home."
NSW Parliament
In a response to a parliamentary question about the AVN's statements regarding the MMR vaccine
The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles), abbreviated as ''MMR''. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, ...
, in September 2012 the NSW Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research said:
: "The Australian Vaccination Network has not provided accurate information to parents about the risks and benefits of immunisation. Any link between the measles vaccine and autism has been conclusively discredited by numerous studies and reviews by credible experts, including the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Paediatrics and the UK Medical Research Council."
During the NSW parliamentary debate on the Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2013, the ALP's Andrew McDonald (Shadow Health Minister at the time) warned that the AVN's name and website were "designed to mislead unsuspecting community members to believe that a balanced view about immunisation is being presented" and that "When provoked, Australian Vaccination Network's fellow travellers can and do behave reprehensibly," while a Liberal state parliamentarian, Matt Kean
Matthew John Kean (born 16 September 1981) is an Australian politician, who has served as the Treasurer of New South Wales in the second Perrottet ministry of New South Wales since October 2021. He has also served as the Minister for Energy s ...
, described the AVN as "a group of flat-earthers and wing-nuts who believe that vaccination is unnecessary. Indeed, the group has claimed that vaccination is harmful to individuals, which is contrary to all the scientific evidence." In further debate, members of parliament described the AVN as "placing children at risk", "negligent", "misleading" and "disreputable".
The late NSW Greens MLC John Kaye lobbied against what he called AVN's "voodoo claims and conspiracy theories". Describing AVN as "disgraceful", he said: "Spreading misinformation about childhood immunisation could be deadly".
In the NSW Legislative Council, Peter Robert Phelps described the AVN as "insane", while Trevor Khan
Trevor John Khan (born 12 October 1957) is an Australian magistrate and former politician who served as a Nationals member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 24 March 2007 and 6 January 2022, including for a time as Deputy Pre ...
called the AVN a "danger to public health" for "touting unscientific propaganda".
Anthony John Roberts, the state's Minister for Fair Trading, said that "It is incredibly irresponsible for an avowedly anti-vaccination group to advertise itself as a balanced source of information on vaccination. Such action is not only misleading to the public but also dangerous to those who believe they are referring to evidence-based medical advice..." The Government, the medical community and the Australian Medical Association led by Associate Professor Brian Owler
Brian Kenneth Owler is an Australian neurosurgeon who was elected as president of the Australian Medical Association in May 2014. Prior to taking the presidency of the AMA, Owler was president of the AMA (NSW).
Early life and education
Owler ...
are in agreement that the name Australian Vaccination Network "is unacceptable".
Queensland Parliament
In December 2011 the Queensland Minister for Health, Geoffrey Wilson, issued a media statement criticising the AVN with the following comment, "For the small number of people who might be entertained by what Ms Dorey has to say, Woodford Folk Festival has a place for everyone. Just don't take her nonsense too seriously." To this, Wilson added, "The fact is vaccinations have saved millions of lives. Their invention was a miracle of scientific achievement."
Other criticisms
During 2002 while speaking in the New South Wales Legislative Council about low vaccination rates in the NSW Northern Rivers region, Liberal politician Brian Pezzutti criticised Meryl Dorey:
:"only 60 per cent of children in the Byron Bay area in the 12 to 15 month age group - the very young and most vulnerable - are immunised. That is mainly because of the activities of a woman called Meryl Dorey, who lives in Byron Bay and who has decided not to immunise her children and who regularly claims that immunisation is not necessary. She campaigns against immunisation."
Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith, who had previously run a national ad in ''The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' asking parents to ignore AVN's claims, has been highly critical of the organisation, stating:
: "They are actually anti-vaccination, and they should put on every bit of their material that they are anti-vaccination in great big words. They have every right for that belief but they should communicate it clearly so people are not misled." and
: "I think they're choosing not to vaccinate because they don't understand risk management - they are told that there is a risk with vaccination - now everything in life has a risk. There's a minute risk but it's been proved all over the world that the advantages far outweigh the risk."
Following the AVN's decision to hold an anti-vaccination seminar at the Western Australian State Library, the Shadow Arts Minister John Hyde criticised the state Government for allowing the group to "push its anti-vaccine message", saying:
: "Why should a group that endangers the lives of WA children be allowed to speak and promote their cause at a taxpayer-funded venue dedicated to learning? Their dangerous propaganda which is putting children at risk of polio, smallpox, cholera and other preventable diseases should not be able to gain respectability by using the good name of the State Library."[
During an interview on ABC Lateline in July 2010, the 1997 ]Australian of the Year
The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
and 1996 Nobel Prize for Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...
laureate, immunologist Peter C. Doherty
Peter Charles Doherty (born 15 October 1940) is an Australian immunologist and Nobel laureate. He received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1995, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Rolf M. Zinkerna ...
described the AVN's attempts to reduce the child immunisation rate as a "Crime against Humanity".[
In 2011 skeptic Brian Dunning listed AVN as #4 on his "Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Websites" list.]
In a 2016 press release responding to questions from AVN's Meryl Dorey, the Australian Sex Party
The Australian Sex Party was an Australian political party founded in 2009 in response to concerns over the purported increasing influence of religion in Australian politics. The party was born out of an adult-industry lobby group, the Eros Asso ...
publicly stated:
:"The safety and efficacy of vaccination is not an area of scientific controversy. The claim that governments and scientists are all conspiring to mislead us ... is absurd and irresponsible... The claims of the anti-vaccination movement have been thoroughly debunked. Choosing not to vaccinate your children amounts to medical neglect
In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...
; this is a serious ethical issue... We at the Australian Sex Party would like to encourage parents who are questioning what’s right for their children, to follow the advice of the scientific and medical communities, rather than charlatans and conspiracy theorists".
Stop the Australian Vaccination Network group
In May 2009, immediately after the filming of the second ''Sunday Night'' television program covering the Pertussis death of Dana McCaffery, the ''Stop the AVN'' group was formed by Daniel Raffaele to "challenge the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN)". Members of the group began investigating the information provided by the AVN, and submitted complaints to the HCCC and OLGR.[ The AVN's Meryl Dorey accused the group of "attacking the AVN unfairly".
In November 2010, the ]Australian Skeptics
Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies. This page covers all Australian ...
collectively presented the 2700 members of the SAVN group with the ''Skeptic of the Year'' award, and SAVN members Ken McLeod and Wendy Wilkinson with the ''Thornett Award For the Promotion Of Reason''.
American Airlines cancels an AVN advertisement
In April 2012, American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
pulled an AVN ad that was scheduled to appear on American Airlines' in-flight TV channel. Dorey stated that "We were offered a three minute slot, but because of the controversy from 'Stop the AVN' we lost it."
Founder of the 'Stop the AVN' group, Daniel Raffaele, who initiated the campaign to stop the ad commented, "Basically when it comes to information the AVN provides misinformation."
Therapeutic Goods Administration complaint
The AVN has been the subject of a complaint over the advertising of black salve
Black salve, also known by the brand name Cansema, is a pseudoscientific alternative cancer treatment. The product is commonly classified as an escharotic—a topical paste which destroys skin tissue and leaves behind a scar called an eschar. E ...
, and the complaint was found to be justified by the Therapeutic Goods Administration
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency of the Australian Government. As part of the Department of Health and Aged Care, the TGA regulates the quality, supply and advertising of medicines, pa ...
's Complaints Resolution Panel. The Panel's determination was issued on 3 December 2012. On 16 May 2013, the delegate of the Secretary to the Department of Health and Ageing
The Australian Federal Department of Health and Ageing was an Australian government department that existed between November 2001 and September 2013.
The department was created after the 2001 federal election from the Department of ...
decided to order the AVN to carry out actions as the AVN had not fully complied with the Panel's determination.
Dorey and Leon Pittard (of Fair Dinkum Radio) have been the subject of an additional complaint, which was also found to be justified. Dorey has presented a Freeman on the land
The freeman on the land movement (sometimes spelled freeman-on-the-land or abbreviated as FOTL), also known as the freemen of the land, the freemen movement, or simply freemen, is a loose group of individuals who adhere to pseudolegal concepts a ...
defence in relation to that complaint.
See also
* Misinformation related to vaccination
Misinformation related to immunization circulates in mass media and social media in spite of the fact that there is no serious hesitancy or debate within mainstream medical and scientific circles about the benefits of vaccination. Intentional s ...
- for general misinformation spread by groups such as the Australian Vaccination-risks Network
* Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters
The Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters (NRVS) is a vaccination advocacy group formed in 2013 by people who were concerned about low vaccination rates in the Northern Rivers region of the Australian state of New South Wales. Rachel Heap, one ...
- a non-government advocacy group raising awareness of the importance of vaccination in the Northern Rivers region of the New South Wales
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Official website
Stop The AVN
Anti-vaccination organizations
Conspiracy theorists
Organisations based in New South Wales