The Australian Vaccination Network lobby group says more testing of the swine flu vaccine needs to be done before it is given to the public.
The Federal Government has ordered 21 million doses of the vaccine developed by CSL.
A national vaccination program – the largest the country has seen – will start at the end of the month, initially targetting frontline health workers, pregnant women, Indigenous people and those with chronic health conditions.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) yesterday announced the vaccine is safe for those over the age of 10, but a decision has not been made on whether children aged nine or under will be able to receive it.
Australian Vaccination Network president Meryl Dorey has previously urged the Government not to make vaccinations compulsory for children.
She says the H1N1 vaccine could prove more dangerous than the disease itself.
“If we find that swine flu is milder than normal seasonal flu, and we have normal seasonal flu every year, and all the government does is simply offer a vaccine for those who want it, why should this flu be treated any differently,” Ms Dorey said.
“Why are we spending hundreds of millions of dollars on this vaccine?”
The Australian Vaccination Network was last month subject to an advertising campaign by the Australian Skeptics, which argued the network was spreading misinformation.
Since swine flu reached Australia in April, 172 people have died and thousands have been hospitalised.
There are 303 people in hospital with swine flu and 56 of those are in intensive care.
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