Friday, July 8, 2005
Press release
CONSENT Hawke's Bay, the newly-formed parent advocacy group, wishes to remind parents that any adverse reactions to the
MeNZB vaccine should be reported to CARM, the Centre for Adverse Reaction Monitoring in Dunedin. It’s also worth noting
that unexpected reactions may be suffered, ones that aren’t listed in the MOH information or that surface outside the
set time-frame.
Parents may also be interested in the website that’s been set up by a Wellington mother concerned about the current
campaign. It’s accessible at www.menzb.choice. A further website, www.scoop.co.nz/stories provides press releases from
Ron Law and Barbara Sumner Burstyn who co-authored The Meningococcal Gold Rush, as well as other relevant articles.
Sally Beale, a mother of two, has written a well-researched article that’s just appeared on this website. A trained
naturopath, Sally says she is certainly not against orthodox medicine. She believes in truly informed choice regarding
all medical decisions.
Sally looked up the MOH roll-out dates for the MeNZ-B vaccine and discovered, time and again, the start of a campaign
preceded an ‘epidemic’ of illness in the particular region. While many North Island regions struggled with influenza,
the South Island was free from this epidemic until recently, following the beginning of the MeNZB campaign there.
The address for reporting vaccine reactions is: Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring, Box 913, Dunedin, using Form
H1574 (available from your doctor or www.medsafe.govt.nz). CONSENT Hawke's Bay is also interested in hearing from
parents whose children have suffered adverse reactions. Please feel free to send an e-mail to consenthb@kol.co.nz.
ENDS