One woman at the forefront of the opposition to vaccines in Australia is Meryl Dorey. As President of the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN), Dorey speaks for many who are suspicious of vaccines and seek more information than they claim the government or pharmaceutical companies offer.

Dorey says the AVN supports everyone's right to vaccinate or not. "We believe that the government needs to spend more money testing vaccines for safety and effectiveness prior to their licensing."

More info

• World Health Organisation - H1N1 latest news
• Australian Vaccination Network
• Government health website - vaccine information
• View Sunrise viewers' response on facebook

- Her concerns over the H1N1 vaccine include the multi-use vials in which it has been produced. "Drawing multiple shots from the same bottle is a cost-cutting measure," says Dorey. She points out that both medical officials from the AMA and insurers have declared that "using multi-dose vials will lead to an increased risk of cross-infection."

There is also the existence of mercury in this vaccine - something banned from other vaccines used here and considered by some to be linked with a rise in autism in children.

For many years, pregnant women have been told to avoid mercury in all forms," Dorey says. "They are advised not to eat tuna or any other deep-sea fish... Mercury is a known neurotoxin - it kills brain cells. And its effects on a growing foetus are even more severe than on an adult."

"Despite this knowledge, and despite the fact that this vaccine has never been tested for safety during pregnancy, here in Australia, we are planning on injecting pregnant women with vaccines that contain 24.5mcg of mercury - 49 times more than a grown person should get in a day - hundreds of times more than a baby should receive."

Just as Minister Roxon encourages Australians to get the vaccine, especially those in groups most at risk, people such as Dorey encourage Australians to do more investigating.

"People need to do their own research since many times, decisions based on insufficient information have proven to be incorrect after the fact and by then, as we saw in the USA in 1976, it is too late to stop people from being hurt," she says.

"While the government is acting on the best information they have accessed at the time, there is a broad range of scientific details which they have apparently missed."

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From healthemergency.gov.au:

Where do I get vaccinated? How do I get this vaccine?

Vaccinations will be available from 30 September. Vaccination will be available from a range of locations, including GP offices, vaccination clinics, hospitals and health centres. To check vaccination location in your State or Territory, go to:

Health department websites and phone numbers

WA: call 1800 186 815 or visit http://www.health.wa.gov.au/swine_flu/home/
SA: call 1800 022 222 or visit www.flu.sa.gov.au
VIC: call: 1300 882 008 or visit www.humanswineflu.health.vic.gov.au
TAS: 1800 358 362 (1800 FLU DOC) or visit www.pandemic.tas.gov.au
ACT: call 02 6205 2300 or visit www.health.act.gov.au/flupandemic
NSW: visit www.emergency.health.nsw.gov.au/swineflu/vaccination/index.asp, or call 180 2007 for your local Public Health Unit contact
QLD: 13HEALTH (13 43 25 84) or vist www.health.qld.gov.au/swineflu/html/vacc.asp
NT: call 08 8922 8044 or visit www.swinefluvax.nt.gov.au