International Medical Council on Vaccination

Comment and Opinion

International Medical Council on Vaccination (This pack of liars used to call themselves the Medical Voices Vaccine Information Center, but changed their name to hide their real purpose. What else would be expected of liars.)

HONcode (5/12/2009)
The Health On the Net Foundation operates a system of certification of web sites based on the quality of the medical information they contain. This site is certified, and it is not simply a matter of filling in a form and asking for certification. I had to make some of my statements about funding, advertising and medical qualifications more clear before I was able to get certification, and sites are checked each year by the HONcode people before certification is renewed.

I was rather surprised, then, to see some anti-vaccination liars gloating about a site called Medical Voices Vaccine Information Center getting its HONcode certification. This news generated an immediate Kind and Gentle email from me to HONcode. I will report the results as soon as I hear something.

From: "Peter Bowditch"
Date: Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:38:56 +1100
Subject: Anti-vaccination web site gains HONcode accreditation

Various anti-vaccination campaigners have been gloating that the web site "Medical Voices Vaccine Information Center" at http://medicalvoices.org has become HONcode certified.

> Medical Voices Vaccine Information Center
> http://www.medicalvoices.org
> Your personal HONcode ID number is: HONConduct385376

As this site exists solely to oppose vaccination and to both deny the effectiveness and safety of vaccines and to spread fear and lies about vaccines I feel that it is not an appropriate holder of HONcode certification. I notice that the site is not displaying the HONcode logo on its front page, so perhaps they feel that talking about it is all that is necessary.

I proudly display the HONcode logo on two of my sites and I do not like the idea that the logo and HONcode should be tainted by being associated with a site devoted to opposing one of the greatest life-saving medical advances of the last two centuries.

Please revoke the HONcode certification for Medical Voices Vaccine Information Center.

Thank you.

We don't always lose (10/7/2010)
Last December I complained to the Health On the Net Foundation that an organisation called Medical Voices Vaccine Information Center was claiming HONCode accreditation while simultaneously running a strident campaign against vaccination, in direct violation of the HONCode principles. I was reminded of that site this week when they changed their name and I can report that there seems to be no mention of HONCode on their site now and a search of the HONCode site doesn't show the anti-vaccination liars as a registered site.

And I call that a WIN! Of course, there is always the possibility that they were lying when they first claimed accreditation. Liars are like that, and they assume that nobody can or will check.

Liars don't give up (14/8/2010)
Anti-vaccination liars are like toadstools, when you remove the poisonous fruit the corruption continues under ground and unseen. In December last year I complained about an anti-vaccination outfit called Medical Voices Vaccine Information Center which was claiming HONCode certification in clear violation of HONCode principles. Shortly afterwards they changed the name to the much more innocuous International Medical Council on Vaccination and all mentions of HONCode seemed to disappear. Now I find that fungus caps have been popping up in various places and at least one of them, the Wisconsin outlet, is showing the HONCode symbol.

It seems that my work here is never done, but that's that freedom and eternal vigilance thing again. I have submitted a complaint to HONCode which you can read here. I hope I have as much success as I did the last time I had to complain to HONCode about this execrable group, but somehow I think that the anti-vaccinators will just keep on trying to attach themselves to the credibility of sites which actually deserve the HONCode certification. There is nothing a quack likes more than being seen standing beside someone reputable, waiting for the credibility to rub off on them.

Another victory for common sense (25/9/2010)
In August I mentioned that I had notified the Health On the Net Foundation about an anti-vaccination liar web site that was displaying the HONcode symbol in clear violation of HONcode principles. I had managed to get the vermin to remove a previous claim to certification, but as liars do they tried again. Here is an email I received from HON.

Subject: In response to your complaint regarding the site : http://www.wisvic.orgbr>Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:45:22 +0200

Dear Sir,

We would like to thank you for contacting the Health On the Net Foundation (HON) regarding the site : http://www.wisvic.org we apologize the delay of this response.

We are taking care of your complaint. A member of the HONcode team has contacted this site about this matter.

Thank you for contributing to the improvement of the quality of health related web content. Please do not hesitate to contact us again in the future.

Best regards,
The HONcode team.

Winning is the way to go (4/12/2010)
Another anti-vaccination lying web site has its feet cut out from under it. My next Australasian Science column (which will appear here in January after the magazine comes out) deals with the way that quacks and pseudoscientists like to be associated with good things in the hope that the goodness rubs off. I have made it a policy to report any quack or anti-vaccination site I see showing the Health on the Net HONCode logo. Sometimes it can take some time for the HONCode people to take action (they have real jobs, just like the rest of us), but it is gratifying when emails like this come in.

Dear Sir,

We would like to thank you for contacting the Health On the Net Foundation (HON) regarding the site : http://www.wisvic.org

as the result of your complaint the site http://www.wisvic.org is not anymore an HONcode certitifed website.

Best regards,

The HONcode team.