Making sense of the misinformation surrounding immunisation seems to require a PhD in chemistry and weeks of research time. Having neither, my search for a reasoned and helpful debate started with my health visitor. I explained to her that it seems illogical to pump industrial-strength chemicals into my four-month-old baby, simply on the off chance that something worse may affect her later.

She gave me one of those looks. "Well, the thing is, we have a lot of foreigners and immigrants in Brent," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste, "and they are bringing bad disease back into our country."

This, I have found, is the favoured way of persuading reluctant mums to get their very young babies inoculated against TB. Like Ann Widdecombe and co, council employees invoke the spectre of the disease-ridden alien to get all non-believers to repent.

Recent hospital admissions in Brent have indeed shown an increase in the number of TB cases, but, I asked her, "Isn't it a bit, er, risky to blame foreigners?"

"No, darlin'," she smiled, "I'm black, so I can't be racist. It's a fact that the immigrants, especially those illegal ones, are bringing illness with them . . . "

My next port of call was Radio 5's Late Night Currie show. In the studio, the ex-tabloid hack Nick Ferrari introduced me by excitedly telling listeners and his guest doctor that I had so far refused the DPT, the BCG and the Hib vaccinations.

The doctor began the "debate" with a barrage of insults. I was being "an irresponsible idiot" who would be single-handedly responsible for an epidemic, because of my selfish, misinformed hysteria.

Worse was to come. A tired and tearful man from the Midlands called to speak to "the woman who won't vaccinate her baby" and tell me about his daughter. "I'm on my mobile outside the hospital. My three-week-old baby girl has whooping cough," he tearfully confided. "It's awful to see her in pain. Take my advice, vaccinate your daughter as quickly as possible."

The next day, I received a leaflet inviting local parents to an open session at a nearby clinic, chaired by a consultant community paediatrician. Here was my chance to have all those confusing (and misleading) statistics explained. Twenty or so very middle-class women nervously listened as a man explained away "sudden paralysis, bronchial asthma, Crohn's disease and autism" as mere blots on the otherwise glorious vaccination landscape.

What were the chances of a serious allergic reaction?

"One in a million," answered the smooth-talking expert.

How many deaths from the actual disease?

The doctor paused for effect and sighed: "As many as one in eight to ten thousand."

Then came the clincher. A local homoeopath had stopped by to try and balance this very one-sided lecture. She pointed out that, because our children are now so well-nourished, childhood diseases are far less potent, reducing the need for immunisation. "That is so," the doctor conceded. "But what about social responsibility? I saw a Somali woman in my practice who lost six of her children to measles. Your children are well-nourished, but they could pass it on to those who are not." Immigrants are both villain and victim in this branch of medicine, it seems.

After weeks of insults, emotional blackmail and internal anguish, I finally decided that Alexandra should have her bloody BCG injection. The day came and, with a heavy heart, I set off for the clinic. The heavens opened the minute I left the house. Trainers caked in mud, hair in rats' tails, baby and handbag dangling from my arms, I stumbled into the clinic's reception. The nurse looked frightened by my appearance and, when I groaned: "BCG please", she nervously replied: "Every second Monday in the month there is no doctor, plus Brent has a shortage of the vaccine at the moment, so you may have to wait some time." She didn't say if this was due to an influx of refugees . . .

Post your comment

Please note: you will need to login or register before you can comment on the website