Outrage as anti-vaxxers tear down hospital vaccination posters

ANTI-VACCINATION vandals are ripping down posters at hospitals and health centres that promote the benefits of life-saving injections.

Anti-vaxxers tear down hospital posters

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ANTI-VACCINATION vandals are ripping down posters at hospitals and health centres that promote the benefits of life-saving injections.

Members of the crazed cult-like following have claimed they are protecting children by removing vital information, even stealing pamphlets from childcare centres, in attempts to prevent parents knowing when and why they should vaccinate their families.

One woman even suggests taking the action even further by printing A5 sheets listing “vaccine-affected deaths” to place on parents’ cars at the childcare centre.

One of the members — an anti-vaccination vigilante Melbourne hospital nurse who says she refuses to immunise patients — is also under review by Australia’s health watchdog after boasting that she has falsified her employment details to hide the fact she is not vaccinated.

The Victorian Government has slammed the anti-vaccine saboteurs as it launches a new smartphone app to alert parents to the times they need to get their children shots.

A shot from the Facebook site.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy hit out at the anti-vaxxer vandals for pulling down hospital immunisation posters.

“I’m horrified that these people spreading lies and mistruths about vaccination are now deliberately removing important immunisation information from our hospitals,” Ms Hennessy said.

“This irresponsible and reckless behaviour is placing the health of young babies and children at risk.

“Refusing to vaccinate your child not only endangers their health, but the health of every other child in our community.”

It comes as the Victorian Government’s no-jab, no-play rules come in on January 1, banning children from childcare whose families do not provide proof of injections.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy. Picture: JANINE EASTGATE

In a closed Facebook forum, Victorian anti-vaxxer supporters have bragged about their efforts in raiding hospitals and health centres to remove materials intended to inform new parents about the importance of vaccinations.

A father last month boasted of roaming through a Melbourne hospital with his sleeping baby while his partner was in a medical appointment.

“I came across the room we actually attended when we did our antenatal classes, as nobody was in there I pushed the pram in and had a look around,” he wrote.

“I soon found the all-­important whooping cough vaccination poster, plastering the false message into the faces of people. I preceded to take it off the wall and hide it under one of the cupboards. One less bull---- sign is a small win.”

A fellow female supporter responded with a photo of stolen and vandalised posters, with the message: “When I was in hospital last week my husband removed quite a few vaccination posters. He took them to the car and edited them but didn’t manage to put the edited versions back up.”

A registered nurse who works at a Melbourne hospital told how she stole the health information from her child’s childcare centre last year.

“These brochures were scattered all over my kid’s childcare ... needless to say I took every single copy. Here it was mission impossible ... but pretending to look at other brochures I just grabbed them ... there were 40-50 of them ... and I’m the president of the committee lol (sic).”

Ms Hennessey will today launch the VaxOnTime smartphone app for parents. The app has been developed because an estimated one in five parents are forgetting when their child is due for a vaccination.

As well as a prompting parents with an immunisation due date reminder, the app is designed to identify the nearest immunisation provider, make an appointment and link families to information on the Better Health Channel.

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