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Nurses In Australia Face Punishment For Promoting Anti-Vaccination Messages Via Social Media (medicalxpress.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the belief-systems dept.

HughPickens.com writes: Medical Express reports that nurses and midwives promoting anti-vaccination messages in Australia could face punishment including being slapped with a caution and having their ability to practice medicine restricted. Serious cases could be referred to an industry tribunal, where practitioners could face harsher penalties such as having their registration suspended or cancelled. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia released the vaccination standards in response to what it described as a small number of nurses and midwives promoting anti-vaccination via social media. The statement also urges members of the public to report nurses or midwives promoting anti-vaccination. Promoting false, misleading or deceptive information is an offense under national law and is prosecutable by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. "The board will consider whether the nurse or midwife has breached their professional obligations and will treat these matters seriously," the statement said. However Dr. Hannah Dahlen, a professor of midwifery at the University of Western Sydney and the spokeswoman for the Australian College of Midwives, worries the crackdown may push people with anti-vaccination views further underground. "The worry is the confirmation bias that can occur, because people might say: 'There you go, this is proof that you can't even have an alternative opinion.' It might in fact just give people more fuel for their belief systems."

8 of 656 comments (clear)

  1. About time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Good.
    Implement this in more countries please.

    1. Re:About time. by stealth_finger · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They can do. Just not while they're pretending to be health care professionals.

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    2. Re:About time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm all for freedom of expression and the right to an opinion but when people spread bad advice that isn't backed by science and it hurts other people thats where I draw the line. The worst part about these anti vaxxers is they put those that really can't get vaccinations like the old and sick at risk.

    3. Re:About time. by stealth_finger · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You have three groups

      1-Vaccinated

      2-Can't be vaccinated

      3-Won't be vaccinated.

      The can'ts are protected by the vaxxed. The won'ts put the can'ts in jeopardy because they can carry the disease in and transfer infection, regardless of if they are actually sick themselves or just a carrier. The can'ts usually can't because they are immunosupressed for whatever reason, making catching whatever worse than it would otherwise be. Neither group threaten the vaxxed because they are vaxxed. It's mainly about protecting the can'ts with herd immunity. Won'ts do nothing but weaken that effort while still benefiting from it. So take the won'ts, put them all together somewhere where there is no herd immunity then see how long they last before they start thinking this whole vaccination schtick might not be the worst idea ever. A nice epidemic of polio or smallpox ought to do it.

      The won't threaten the can'ts through their own (or usually their parents) sheer willful ignorance. The can'ts threaten the won'ts because they have no choice, but the won'ts could easily avoid danger by getting vaccinated. That's why people don't like the won'ts but give the can'ts a free pass.

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    4. Re:About time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You have a right to your opinion. however once you join certain professions, in this case medical, you have an overarching responsibility to do no harm and only provide sound medical advise. A doctor can't tell you the cure for Cancer is sitting in the corner and praying and still keep his license as a practising doctor nor should a nurse be able to tell someone they think vaccinations are wrong. If you want to voice opinions that go against science then join a church not a scientific profession that affects the lives of those you are in contact with.

    5. Re:About time. by jabuzz · · Score: 5, Informative

      Clearly you missed the bit about getting it *BEFORE* he was due his vaccination. However that aside the measles vaccination is not 100% effective, so even if you have had it you can still get measles. Its bloody rare but I personally had the misfortune to catch it as a young adult (literally a couple of days before my degree finals started) and I can assure you it is fucking unpleasant, and for me personally disastrous for my career prospects going forward.

      Anti vaxers are the scum of society in my view.

  2. Is that all by DrXym · · Score: 5, Insightful

    WTF is the point of spending years training to become a nurse / midwife if they just decide to ignore evidence of the efficacy of vaccination and promote woo? Anyone pushing antivax nonsense should be barred from practicing as a nurse or midwife. It should be that simple.

  3. Re:Is there any truth to what they're saying? by Nocturna81 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    To quote Isaac Asimov who put it more eloquently than I can: “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”