So, I’m reading a blog entry over at Counterknowledge.com written by Matthew Hartfield. He’s looking at the correlation between the rising outbreaks of measles and the anti-vaccination scare caused by baseless fears that the MMR vaccine was linked to autism. Not unexpectedly, the UK has seen large outbreaks of measles as a result.
But he also looks at the situation in other European countries that have seen outbreaks of measles, notably Switzerland and Austria. And here, he finds an interesting connection with Anthroposophy, developed by "mystic and social philosopher" Rudolf Steiner. His ideas live on in Waldorf/Steiner schools. Some of those ideas might be beneficial to child development, but some are clearly dangerous woo. For example:
Waldorf’s official position on immunization is that there is no official Waldorf position on immunization. Instead, Waldorf says that immunization should be informed by medical professionals, and ultimately parents should decide whether or not to immunize their own children.Typically Waldorf schools do not encourage parents to immunize their children against the following diseases: Hepatitis B; Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis; Haemophilus influenzae Type b; Inactivated Polio; Measles, Mumps, Rubella; Varicella and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV).
So what if your child falls ill, or even dies as a result of a preventable disease?
Don’t be alarmed if your child dies from a preventable disease because he/she is not immunized, it was probably their destiny. It clearly wasn’t their destiny to be immunized.
Hartfield writes: "I’m genuinely speechless". So am I. It’s appalling.
Geoff Coupe's Blog 
Leave a comment