Australia's anti-vaxxer capital: The disease-ridden hippie town near Byron Bay where only half of children are immunised
- The town Mullumbimby just north of Byron Bay is said to shun modern medicine
- 52 per cent of five-year-old's were vaccinated with 92.9 per cent the average
- Residents even report doctors heavily questioning their choice to vaccinate
A small town where only half the children are immunised has been labelled the anti-vaxxer capital of Australia and is said to be riddled with disease.
The town known as Mullumbimby, just north of Byron Bay, has shunned modern medicine, with some doctors even questioning vaccinations.
Dr Rachel Heap from Lismore Base Hospital, south-west of the town, said the hospital has seen an alarming amount of preventable disease in the Northern Rivers area.
The town known as Mullumbimby, just north of Byron Bay is said to be a community that has shunned modern medicine
'I've seen more vaccine-preventable diseases since working in the Northern Rivers than I saw in 10 years of working in remote Aboriginal communities,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Dr Heap said the small town of only 3,600 people has formed a cultural attitude that dismisses anything to do with mainstream medicine and the government.
The doctor, who lives in Mullumbimby, was so concerned about the issue that she helped form Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters but with only 250 members she said the group is struggling to make an impact.
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In 2015 to 2016, residents of Mullumbimby only vaccinated 52 per cent of five-year-old children in stark contrast to the national average of 92.9 per cent.
The town attracts a large variety of natural health focused tourists who travel there to find support for home birthing and ways to live more harmoniously with nature.
A local newspaper in the area known as the Echo Net Daily said opposition has increasingly become fierce around the issue.
'Any time we do anything on vaccination, our Facebook page goes nuts,' reporter Eve Jeffery said.
'It gets to the stage where we have to stop people threatening to kill one another.'
Dr Rachel Heap from Lismore Base Hospital that is south-west of the town said the hospital has seen an alarming amount of preventable diseased in the Northern Rivers area
One woman said when she went to consult a doctor about getting her second son vaccinated, she unexpectedly faced a barrage of questions about why she wanted to do it and if she had really researched the effects of vaccines.
The anti-vaccination movement has been a growing issue with the World Health Organisation adding the anti-vaccination movement to its Top 10 Threats To Health In 2019.
In Australia the movement has grow with celebrity endorsement from football WAG Taylor Winterstein and of Anthony Mundine fuelling distrust of life-saving vaccines.
It comes as Australia experiences a horror flu season with health organisations begging people to get a flu shot with more than 139 people dead this year including several children.
Recently a mother from Perth pleaded with parents to give their children the flu shot after her unvaccinated 10-year-old boy died of influenza in a matter of hours.
The progressive focused town of only 3600 people near Byron Bay, consists of a large variety of alternative medicine, organic food and natural living stores
