Many anti-vaxxers hold the view that vaccinations cause serious harm

As New Zealand grapples with a measles outbreak, questions are being asked about the role of “anti-vaxxers”.

The Government is attempting to contain the disease as concerns grow about it spreading to the Pacific. New Zealand may be losing “herd immunity” and our elimination status with the World Health Organisation is at risk.

So who are the anti-vaxxers? And how do their arguments relate to the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, which entitles people to make informed decisions about their care?

Anti-vaxxer is a term used to describe those who do not accept the value of vaccinations for diseases such as measles.

They hold these beliefs for a range of reasons and many believe that vaccinations cause serious harm.

Anti-vaccination groups advocate for the body’s natural immunity and sometimes for alternative therapies such as high-dose vitamin C treatment and other “complementary and alternative medicines” such as naturopathy and homeopathy.

Some of these groups argue that their position is supported by the code, as health consumers are entitled to make informed decisions about their own care and have the right to reject preventative procedures such as vaccination.

So how do the rights in the code impact on those who wish to advocate against vaccinations?

The code was developed as a result of the Cartwright Inquiry into National Women’s Hospital.

The inquiry took place because women with carcinoma-in-situ were included in an experiment in which they were deprived of conventional treatment — without their knowledge or consent.

Any person offering education or advice on vaccination to health consumers is likely to be subject to the code, though individual cases must be assessed in their factual context.

It is not necessary to be a registered health professional to be subject to the code.

Informed consent is at the very heart of the code.

Right 7 of the code states that every consumer has the right to make an informed choice and give informed consent to treatment. Right 7(7) provides that every consumer has the right to refuse services and withdraw consent to services.

“Consumer” includes a person entitled to give consent on behalf of a consumer who cannot consent for him or herself — such as a child.

In New Zealand, parents/guardians