DIS: MMR Vaccination campaign in UK

[Ged haydon]

Hi
In the UK at present is a Government backed campaign to get all chidren 
between the ages of 5 and 12 to have the MMR vaccination.

Parents have been told that there is an epidemic on the way and (as usual) 
that the risks of side effects is minimal.

It appears that the risks are not properly quatified and that there are many 
possible side effects.  One of which is a form of encephalitus that can leave 
children permanently damaged. 

On top of this there is inadequate (in my opinion) compensation for children 
who have been damaged as a result of a vacination and the law in the UK 
requires *proof* that the damage was caused by the vacination. Even then I 
believe the amount of compensation is limited to £30000.  

Obviously no amount of money can make up for a child suffering in this way, 
nevertheless I think compension should be more adequate and easier to obtain.


Schools are involved in the campaign, sending consent forms for parents to 
allow their kids to be vacinated at school.

There is at least one case where a child has been vacinated even though the 
parents did not consent. The parents concerned are slightly furious.

I have a few questions:

1) I heard that the follow-up of vacinated children has not been what it 
should be ( 2 out of every 28). Who has produced the statistics with regard to 
adverse effects and on what are they based ?

2) This "epidemic" has been approaching for some months now - how do the 
powers that be know ?

3) I've heard that some countries have banned or restricted MMR vaccination - 
any info ?

4) A bit paranoid this maybe - Are vaccination campaigns ever driven by 
financial interest ? - Presumably the manufacturers of the vaccines stand to 
make some money ! and..
We've been hearing about how cheap and easy it is to produce biological 
weapons of mass destruction, and that they are relatively easy to deliver. 
Would a goverment try to take similar steps against a potential biological 
threat - Saddam Hussein springs to mind.

All parents want their children to be safe and happy - the way the current 
campaign is run is causing Parents a lot of worry and some have worried, then 
allowed the vaccination and then seen the worst happen - how must they feel ?

I hope this message stimulates some discussion and I would be grateful if 
people would post it to any other newsgroups that they think are relevant.

Regards
Ged Haydon
G.W.haydon at surveying.salford.ac.uk