A MOTHER OF TWO wants to start up a childcare centre for children who are unvaccinated.

Juanita “Wanda” Halden, from Tabulum west of Casino, said her ‘No Vax School’ was in response to government changes such as “No Jab — No Play” and the Federal “No Jab No Pay” policy which will strip conscientious objectors of taxpayer-funded family benefits as of next year.

“The No Vacc Child Care Centre is a project idea. R & D will commence in 2016. 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,” she said.

But the idea has appalled the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Leslie Williams.“As a former nurse, I am appalled that a service of this type would be suggested.

“In NSW, we have a ‘no jab, no play’ policy. Services who do not comply face penalties, including prosecution,” Ms Williams said.

Paul Corben, Director of Public Health for the Northern NSW Local Health District, warned that the low vaccination rates in the region were leading to more cases of whooping cough.

“Even so, localities in Northern NSW with low vaccination coverage are experiencing higher rates of whooping cough than their neighbouring communities,” Mr Corben said.

“If you get a lot of unvaccinated children together, it’s like an incubator, 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.”

The far north coast of NSW has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country thanks to misinformation and unfounded fears which Ms Halden perpetuates including the debunked autism link. She cited junk science, Wikipedia and vitamin C for whooping cough papers as her sources.

media_camera Juanita “Wanda” Halden, says parents who would participate in the centre know best. Picture: Facebook

“I am of the opinion that proposed No Vax Child Care Centre participants would be in a position of less susceptibility to serious communicable diseases based on the knowledge that the parents of these children already have,” she said.

“They already know the risks, they already know that the heart of immunity boosting and disease resistance lays (sic) within gut flaura (sic) strengthening and that Homeopathic programs offer a safer alternative than the current multiple injection vaccine schedule.”

NO JAB NO PLAY HAS CAUSED A RUSH TO IMMUNISE

RISKY HIPPIE HOTBEDS OF ANTI-JAB AGITATION

Ms Halden mistakenly believes unvaccinated children are refused enrolment at child care centres which she called “a war crime against humanity”.

“Think anti discrimination, war crimes, crimes against humanity, human rights violations, assault and battery charges and more,” she said.

'Unvaccinated people place this population at risk. It is NOT hilarious' Disgusting. Let's all see these kids go through Whooping Cough, Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pox and come out smiling. Then, what mainstream school will accept them? For my two bobs worth, both my kids are vaccinated, both had chicken pox BEFORE the vaccinations came in. That is ALL they've had. They've been exposed to whooping cough, measles AND mumps and have never had ANY symptoms - BECAUSE they are vaccinated! Sandy Lee Preposterous argument. Where are the medical statistics to back up this ridiculous claim? Alan No parent in their right mind would send their unvaxcinated kids into an environment where no one else is vaccinated. Way too dangerous. My tip is that even those mums and dads claiming the risks of immunisation is too high will not risk their kids in the atmosphere they advocate. Matt Do you understand anything about immunity? Permanent immunity to childhood diseases passed onto the next generation? I think your tin foil hat is a little tight. Tracy Out of all the baby boomers out there, how many have had all their booster shots?" I have and I am not an orphan. Responsible baby boomers know the value of booster shoots, they wouldn't want to infect their newly born grandchildren. AD Take your logic to a third-world nation and ask them if they agree with your anti-vax stance... Amy I caught chickenpox as a 38 year old, before vaccinations were widely available. I would not wish that on anybody... except people who are too stupid to vaccinate. They deserve it. Stacey Anti-vaxxers remind me of all those people who used to swear the world was flat. in 100 years everyone will look back and be glad that we as humans have garnered just a little more intelligence.Right now Anti-Vaxxers are free to believe that immunizations cause autism, That Santa and the Easter bunny are real and that yes the world is actually flat! Daniel

No child is denied access to child care in NSW. Under the new laws, if children have a medical contraindication to vaccination, are on a recognised catch-up schedule for immunisation, or if the parents or guardians are reluctant to vaccinate on religious or other grounds, the parents or guardian will have to produce Commonwealth forms that have been completed by a GP or nurse immuniser before entrance into a childcare centre.

Under the Federal Government’s NO Jab NO Pay law, conscientious objectors will not be able to claim family payments or the immunisation bonus, a policy Ms Halden said was akin to “slavery”.

There has already been a backlash on social media to her plan with a number of readers commenting in shock on the Daily Telegraph’s Facebook page.

Originally published as Mum to set up anti-vaxx childcare centre