On Vaccination.

The Immunisation Awareness Society is New Zealand's very own, home grown anti-vaccination organization. They play all the usual cards of the anti-vax crowd. They say things like;
"The Immunisation Awareness Society Incorporated (IAS) is a voluntary, non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting informed choice." 
The IAS "...aims to maintain up-to-date international information on vaccines, and the perceptions and positions of medical professionals on vaccination."
"IAS does not advise people not to vaccinate but facilitates an informed decision making process. The decision about whether or not to vaccinate is a personal one that should be made after much research and consideration. IAS provides support to people who choose not to vaccinate, people who sometimes come under considerable pressure from health professionals, and often members of the community, to vaccinate their children."
"The majority of IAS members have made an informed decision not to vaccinate themselves or their children*. This difficult decision is generally made after considerable research and much soul searching. It is a decision that is not made in isolation but is part of a broader philosophy which sees IAS members taking responsibility for their health and the health of their children."

I mean it all sounds rather good doesn't it? These are a reasonable group of people who evaluate the evidence and make an informed choice about the health of their children. Right?
Wrong.

The information provided by the IAS on their website is out of date, incorrect and in some cases just lies.

Here are some of the claims put forward in support of not vaccinating. Are they true?
Let's have a look at the evidence.

The claim:
Thiomersal in childhood vaccines contains mercury that is causing autism.  

The evidence:
Thiomersal was used in childhood vaccines up until 1997 when the American FDA ordered it removed as a precaution. Since 2002 there has been no childhood vaccines containing thiomersal. Yet since this time autism rates have continued to rise. There is no connection between thiomersal and autism.
Thoimersal contains ethyl mercury. Ethyl mercury is naturally expelled by the body and cannot build up to toxic levels. Methyl mercury is not easily expelled by the body and can build up and cause toxicity. But thiomersal contains ethyl mercury, not methyl mercury.

The claim:
The vaccinations given to children expose them to hundreds of times the safe levels of mercury.

The evidence:
There is more mercury in a delicious tuna sandwich than there is in all the vaccinations containing thiomersal. Tho this point is mute since childhood vaccines no longer contain thiomersal. Mmmmm Tuna.

The claim:
Properly supported, natural immunity is always superior to artificial immunity.

The evidence:
This is bunk for two reasons. "Natural" immunity in this case is not based on any understanding of how the human immune system works. The immune system is basically an attack and response system. When in senses an attack by a foreign organism. It responds by attacking it. there is not other way to train an immune system to fight a particular invasion than for it to be exposed.
The concept of "artificial immunity" stems from the same lack of understanding. A vaccine works by introducing some element (a protein, dead organism or weakened organism) of the pathogen into the body in order to train the immune system to recognize the threat and deal to it. This is exactly the same way that immunity is conferred naturally. Only in the case of a vaccine. There is a very small, or zero, chance of getting sick and dieing.

The IAS promotes the use of Naturopathic and Homeopathic remedies in order to treat and prevent illness. They claim this is safer and more effective than "artificial immunity". These kinds of statements give an insight into the behind the scenes workings of the group mind. Any person that would trust magic to protect and help their children rather than scientifically proven medicine has made some serious errors in thinking. The tendency to turn to so called complementary and alternative medicine. Is usually associated with a distrust of the medical profession. I could find no definitive evidence of this on the IAS site other than comments left by visitors. But I would be willing to bet that more than a few of the IAS members subscribe to this kind of thinking.      

To Conclude.

Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children endanger the lives not just of those children, but many others as well. An unvaccinated child can be a carrier of a deadly infection. The child in some cases may not even become ill. But they could pass that infection on to another. A baby that is too young to be vaccinated or an elderly person who is immuno compromised and unable to fight off the attack.
Some people, for various reasons, simply cannot be vaccinated. These few are relying on the rest of the population for protection. When vaccination rates in a population fall below certain levels. Herd immunity is lost and out breaks become possible. No medical intervention can ever be proven to be 100% safe. A very few people will have a bad reaction to a vaccine. And vaccines are not 100% effective. But they have saved hundreds of millions of lives. And haven't been linked to a single case of autism. Death by a vaccine preventable cause is a tragedy. And the blame lies on those who would promote nonsense and fear.