David Hill remembers his childhood friend Doug, who contracted polio a decade before the vaccine became available. As summer approached, New Zealand braced itself for a return of the virus. Nearly 1,000 people had fallen ill in the previous wave. Fifty-seven had died. There was no vaccine; no cure. Now hospitals and families waited for … Read more
Siouxsie Wiles explains why she immunises, and the commitment you make to the community when you do. My daughter was just a few days old when she received her first vaccination. She was born in a part of London where the BCG vaccine was routinely given to newborns to protect them from tuberculosis. Holding her … Read more
The measles crisis has thrown into sharp relief how publicising targets reached – and targets missed – can affect the healthcare all of us receive, writes Carl Shuker. The debate around healthcare targets is hot right now because of two things: 1) the very public success – and, significantly for some, failure – of the … Read more
Inside a Facebook group where anti-vaxx propaganda is promoted as information for ‘informed consent’. This story first appeared on The Wireless. It is republished by The Spinoff Parents with permission. Not long after my son was born dry patches of irritated skin began to appear on his face. I lathered the little guy up with … Read more
This week Dr Lance O’Sullivan publicly criticised the film Vaxxed, expressing his despair that screenings are being held in some of New Zealand’s most deprived areas, where immunisation rates are already lower than average. Here The Spinoff Parents’ Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw looks at the current state of immunisation in our country – and explains why … Read more