INDEPENDENT NEWS

Parents’ choice website proves necessary

Published: Mon 13 Jun 2005 09:27 AM
Parents’ choice website proves necessary
The www.menzbchoice.com website started by a Wellington mother of three has been inundated with emails in the past week – from other parents wanting to know more about the controversial MeNZb vaccine.
Caren Inwood, author of the site and organiser of two Wellington meetings in the past month, says strong interest in the site warrants its being there.
“I set up the site because parents asked for more information, in fact one of the parents who attended the first Wellington meeting offered to build the site. I just collated what it contains,” Ms Inwood says.
She says the site includes resources for parents in relation to the controversial issue of consent and possible coercion over the meningococcal B vaccine and it also gives concerned parents the opportunity to join a vaccine aware email database.
“More than 200 parents from around Wellington have voluntarily joined up and I find it hard to believe that only 400 New Zealand parents have declined to have their children vaccinated with what is an experimental vaccine (as said on National Radio today by the Minister of Health, Annette King). If the Wellington interest is anything to go by I would expect that figure to in fact be over 1,000 parents.”
Ms Inwood says it is an insult to parents’ intelligence to expect all New Zealand parents to accept the glossy Ministry of Health Publicity material at face value.
“Give us some credit. Give us the facts. Give us a choice. You need to rethink your decision to run this campaign through scare tactics in schools. This is not informed choice.
“When our kids come home saying they will die or loose their limbs without the vaccination then this becomes coercion. When parents describe the vaccine as a ‘cure’ for Men B (TVNZ, June 9) then it becomes obvious to me that the MoH needs to be more transparent about the legislation under which this vaccine was introduced – i.e Section 23 of the Medicines Act, which incidentally is for limited use in experimental vaccines.”
Ms Inwood said she was uncomfortable with being lobbied by her children and set up www.menzbchoice.com and organised the meetings to let parents know there was more to the vaccine than meets the eye – What sort of government leaves parents to do their own research, to dig deeper – and what kind of government puts its innocent children up to bat for a vaccine they have admitted has not even passed full efficacy tests?
ENDS

Next in Lifestyle

Ministry Of Education Cuts Will Disproportionately Affect Pasifika
By: NZEI Te Riu Roa
Empowering Call To Action For Young Filmmakers Against The Backdrop Of Funding Cuts And Challenging Times Ahead
By: Day One Hapai te Haeata
Three Races For Top Three To Decide TR86 Title
By: Toyota New Zealand
Wellington Is All Action Stations For The Faultline Ultra Festival
By: Wellington City Council
Local Playwright Casts A Spell Over Hamilton
By: Melanie Allison
New $12M Wellness & Diagnostic Centre Opens In Hamilton ‘Disrupting The Historic Continuum’ For Māori
By: Te Kohao Health
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media