In a controversial move a New South Wales mother has planned to start a “No Vacc Child Care Centre” designed especially for unvaccinated children.
Juanita “Wanda” Halden, from Tabulum west of Casino, is flying the anti-vax flag high in response to changing government policy cracking down on those who refuse to vaccinate their children.
The mother of two believes the “No Jab-No Play” government policy; where she says unvaccinated children are refused enrolment at child care centres, is a “war crime against humanity”.
“Think anti-discrimination, war crimes, crimes against humanity, human rights violations, assault and battery charges and more,” she said.
While beginning next year the Federal “No Jab-No Pay” policies will leave anti-vaxers out of pocket when taxpayer-funded family benefits are denied to families who choose not to vaccinate, no child in New South Wales will be refused entrance to a child care centre.
The “No Jab-No Play” law will allow children who are on a vaccination catch-up schedule, who medically react to vaccination and those whose parents refuse on medical or other grounds to vaccinate, to attend care if medically backed forms are provided.
Halden’s “No Vacc Child Care Centre” has the support of surrounding anti-vaxer parents -residents of the far north coast of New South Wales who live in an area with some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
“I have been approached by a small number of mothers and I continue to receive messages and online comments from parents in support of this stance,” the mother of two said about her plans to open the “project idea” next year.
Areas that have low rates are often attributed to misinformation in the community that spikes fear in the unproven link between vaccination and developed autism in children.
Paul Corben, public health director of the Northern NSW Local Health District, believes these instances of low vaccination are leading to more cases of whooping cough.
“If you get a lot of unvaccinated children together, it’s like an incubator,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “A lot of vulnerable people together which supports the rapid transmission of vaccine-preventable diseases – it’s like throwing fuel on a fire, so it’s not a clever idea.”
Others in the medical profession have agreed by slamming the idea as dangerous and stupid.
“I can only think that this is one of the more stupid ideas I’ve ever heard of,” member of Stop the Anti Vaccination Network orthopaedic surgeon Dr John Cunningham told ABC news. “A child care centre full of unvaccinated children would serve as a haven for disease. Certainly if there was any outbreak of disease that is certainly where it would come from or where it would go to very quickly.”
Halden, who cited Wikipedia and papers on “Vitamin C for Whooping Cough” as her sources, believes children at her proposed centre will be less susceptible to serious communicable diseases due to their parent’s knowledge.
“They already know the risks, they already know that the heart of immunity boosting and disease resistance lays”¦within gut flaura”¦strengthening and that Homeopathic programs offer a safer alternative than the current multiple injection vaccine schedule.”
Halden’s minority view has taken a flogging on social media.