Australian doctors still administering banned flu vaccine to children

Saturday, April 21, 2012 by: Meryl Dorey
Tags: flu vaccine, banned, children

(NaturalNews) Two years to the day after CSL's Fluvax was banned for use in children under the age of 5, news has emerged that Australian doctors are continuing to administer this shot to infants and toddlers despite the fact that there are four other vaccines that are licensed for use in this age group.

Originally, it was discovered that the rate of febrile convulsions following Fluvax was 10 times higher than the 'expected' rate and was causing seizures in 1 child in 100. As a result, the Chief Medical Officer of Australia, Jim Bishop, banned the vaccine for use in children under five and current recommendations state that it should only be used in children between five and 10 years of age if no other vaccination is available.

Initial reports have now found that 25 children in Western Australia (WA) were given the Fluvax in error so far this year, but follow-up investigations stated that errors in data entry were responsible for an over-reporting when in fact, 'only' seven children had gotten this shot.

The report states that Fluvax has been given to children across Australia but it is hard to know how many babies have been improperly vaccinated since at least 70 percent of the entries by doctors have been found to be incorrect.

Out of date shots

As if it weren't bad enough to be administering a vaccine to babies that has already caused permanent disabilities and death, it appears that the vaccines being administered may also be out of date. Dr Terry Nolan of ATAGI, quoted on the ABC Program, the World Today, says that Fluvax Jr is no longer available and any stock that is still around would be out of date. So either doctors are administering out-of-date shots or they are giving children adult vaccines which are twice the potency. Either way, it's a very bad situation!

How did doctors make such stupid mistakes?

This begs the question - how is it possible that doctors can make errors 70 percent of the time when reporting this vital information to the government? Also, if they make such a large number of errors when there is already increased scrutiny due to the risks of the flu vaccine for this age group, how many other mistakes are occurring that we are as yet unaware of?

A spokesperson from the WA Health Department said the Department had sent immunization providers five reminders since February, by fax, email and mail, telling them not to use Fluvax in the under-fives. In addition, providers who ordered flu vaccines by fax or online were automatically reminded that Fluvax is "NOT for use in children." Despite this, an untold number continue to ignore the warning and children's lives may be at risk as a result of their negligence.

Banned Fluvax given to infants

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About the author:
Sceptics are generally considered to be people who take nothing at face value. They want to see the proof for themselves and don?t accept what they are told unless they can see the evidence with their own eyes.

In today?s society, conflicting opinions, vested interests and the rule of law seem more likely to be governed by an unquestioned, all-powerful scientific elite than by evidence and transparent access to information. There are many who feel that democracies have become scientocracies ? where ?scientists? enact and determine legislation for their own reasons ? rather than the benefit of citizens.

In a climate such as this, it is so important to be a sceptic and to be able to recognise the difference between REAL scepticism and, what is far more common, pseudo (or false) scepticism.

REAL sceptics take responsibility for themselves and their families by doing their own research and making their own choices. These choices are unaffected by popular beliefs and unswayed by the mob mentality evident in so many government and medical community decisions today.