Antivaxer boasts of lying to procure fraudulent immunisation medical exemption and Centrelink entitlements

On January 23 2018, in hardcore anti-vaccination Facebook group Anti-Vaccination Australia – yes, the group run by Belgin Arslan, who, with Brett Smith of the discredited Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network, vilified and doxxed an innocent Byron Bay physiotherapist and his family in the erroneous, still-firmly-held belief that this physiotherapist is Reasonable Hank – an anti-vaccination activist from Port Hedland Western Australia admitted to lying to her doctor in order to procure a medical exemption for at least one of her two children – and possibly both – in order to access Centrelink entitlements to which it would appear she is not entitled.

Amanda Hooton: public image courtesy Facebook.

Amanda Hooton planning to deface property with anti-vaccination 
stickers, as shown in this October 16 2016 post by admin Belgin Arslan

Responding to another member’s question, Amanda Hooton boasted on Tuesday that she had told a “white lie” to her doctor in order to deceive her doctor into providing a medical exemption for her second child:

I have a medical exemption form. But your doctor will  only give you one of these if there is a legit medical reason as to not vaccinate! I told a white lie 🤭

Asked to explain how she obtained this medical exemption by deception, Hooton elaborated:

Ok so my oldest daughter had a penicillin reaction and caused really bad hives. I took pictures of them obviously for future reference.
My second child had her 2 month needles and then I went back to the dr with pictures of the allergic reaction and said that’s what happened from the needles and pretended it was her instead of my older child.
She recorded it on the state system and wrote her off on any other immunisations.
She referred us to an immunologist and I ‘forgot’ about the appointment and have never looked back. She now starts school next week and is the healthiest kid ever

Hooton then published photos of her older child’s “penicillin reaction”, which, as we will see, were originally taken in 2016:

Hooton stated:

Bad I know but it was the only way I could survive. 🙁

I will be removing these comments in 15 mins haha

Indeed, Hooton deleted the damning comments. The post now appears like this:

Hooton has history in the Anti-Vaccination Australia group; she has posted the photos of the “penicillin reaction” before.

Hooton joined the group in January 2016, under the guise of her child having a “reaction” at that time:

In February 2016, Hooton provided a different explanation for what she now claims was a “penicillin reaction” which caused “really bad hives”; the photos are the same ones she provided yesterday:

I got a medical exemption for my 19 month old after being bullied into giving her her first immunisations ever at 19 months. She came out in an awful rash, was screaming high pitch, fever over 38 and wouldn’t even let me touch her or bfeed her 🙁
she went to hospital and was told it was a reaction to the immunisations. Went back to the gp and she wrote her off vaccines for ever. Said next time it could be anaphylaxis.

Hooton added:

Lucky enough she is well and happy now. Back to her normal self. It could have been worse 🙁 I have the worst guilt ever but in a cruel to be kind scenario, I’m glad it happened now as we are now medically exempt 🙂

Hi Laurette it was the 2 month immunisation, the doctor said she thinks it may have been the preservative but couldn’t be sure so wrote off all vaccinations. My daughter has been referred to an immunologist as the preservative could be one that she will be exposed to in the future just in her diet

In July 2016, in reply to another member, Hooton reiterated her story, this time offering up her photographs for others to use to defraud Centrelink:

Hooton stated:

This was my daughter’s rash after we gave her the 2 month needles at 18 months. She is now medically exempt

And:

Katie I was against vaccinations. I just haven’t done enough research to trust that they are safe. My gp finally talked me into it and I’m so happy but totally pissed that she did because now we are medically exempt

I’m I’m WA. My gp put it down as severe anaphylactic as she thinks that another dose might cause this and I sent it through to Medicare and it was approved.

Feel free to use my pictures to convince a gp that your child had a reaction. This stuff is potent. It could have killed my baby.

In February 2017, Hooton posted again stating that her child was in Port Hedland hospital on intravenous antibiotics:

The admissions from Hooton, combined with her changing story regarding the cause of her child’s reaction, as depicted in the photos, gives due cause for Centrelink to investigate Hooten for obtaining benefit by deception in at least one instance. There appears to be enough here to investigate both medical exemptions granted to her children.

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Postscript

On January 24 2018, Hooton posted a message in Anti-Vaccination Australia, from The West Australian Health Editor Cathy O’Leary, including Cathy O’Leary’s phone number. Members of the group contacted Cathy O’Leary, with Hooton’s blessing; one AVA member – Jaye Son Sheild – even impersonating a “legal representative”:

Hooton accused those who took the original screenshots of photo-shopping her comments:

Jaye Son Sheild impersonated Hooton’s “legal representative”:

Amanda Hooton so i just contacted her and i said I was your legal representative, she was talking about your posts regarding a way to recieve payments and not vacinate. I informed her that to force a parent to forcefully vaccinate a child under a direct threat is extortion, and we the people will be taking this further to parliament and have our concerns adressed. She refused to answer who she worked for. she kept coming back to the fact you posted something regarding a loop hole in the law in order to recieve payments after a refusal to vaccinate, and i reminded her that the law is not black and white, and if there is a loop hole, than that is lawful and there is absolutely nothing illegal about giving infomation out to the public. she wants to discuss this with you directly, I wouldnt bother

Other comments from a very long thread containing abuse of Cathy O’Leary:

Hooton claims that her medical  exemption is “legal and binding”:

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Huge thanks goes to my friend who was quick enough to capture Hooton’s boasts and other posts in Anti-Vaccination Australia. 

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Update January 29 2018

Antivaxers in Anti-Vaccination Australia have advocated paying to have me  killed. Twelve antivaxers liked the idea:

Jasmine Wood Wtf…thats defamation..i would be getting lawyer. Or payimg someone to just kill fuckwithank

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