App for new mothers Mush is cracking down on the 'anti-vaxx brigade'

New-mother app Mush is cracking down on the 'anti-vaxx brigade' and will BAN users who spread the fake news that jabs are dangerous Mush removed 40 posts in the past two weeks for spreading anti-vaxx messages Will send formal warnings to those writing anti-vaxx comments on other posts  Concerned about the dwindling rates of jabs in the UK, particularly measles  

By Alexandra Thompson Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline

Published: 17:36 GMT, 8 February 2019 | Updated: 17:48 GMT, 8 February 2019

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The app Mush has vowed to crack down on the 'anti-vaxx brigade'.

Mush matches 'like-minded mums with kids the same age' who live close-by, allowing them to become 'part of their local community'.

Although it sounds like a harmless way of making new friends, the social forum has removed 40 posts in the past two weeks for spreading the fake news that jabs are dangerous.

Concerned these posts will put mothers off vaccinating their children, Mush has announced it will permanently ban users who spread the anti-vaxx message.

The app Mush (pictured) has vowed to crack down on the 'anti-vaxx brigade'. It matches 'like-minded mums with kids the same age' to help them become 'part of their local community' 

The app Mush (pictured) has vowed to crack down on the 'anti-vaxx brigade'. It matches 'like-minded mums with kids the same age' to help them become 'part of their local community' 

Vaccination fears soared following a study by disgraced gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab can lead to autism in 1995. 

His controversial views have since been widely discredited and Wakefield has been struck off - but vaccination rates plummeted in the wake of the study. 

The brains behind Mush first became concerned when they noticed nervous mothers were posting on the app, looking for reassurance as their little ones started having jabs.

But rather than users pointing out how life-saving vaccinations are, parents were 'bombarded with questionable links and judgment from a growing tribe of mums who’ve opted not to vaccinate their kids'. 

Mush acknowledges vaccines can be distressing for both a mother and her newborn, with red-faced, confused babies crying out in pain when they get prodded with needles.

'But we also know [this] pales into in significance compared with the alternative – living in a country where children routinely catch serious diseases,' a spokesperson from the app said.

'Diseases like measles, mumps, tuberculosis, polio; diseases we’ve thankfully mainly only witnessed in period dramas due to the fantastic scientific advances of the last century.'

The site blames 'online scaremongering' for the falling rates of vaccinations around the UK, particularly for measles, despite there being 'no scientific evidence to back up any of their fears'.

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