Call for Action: AB 2109 (or: Pro-Vax Parents and Providers Needed!)

Editor's Note: The religious exemption form was released last week. It can be found by clicking here. 

By Dorit Reiss

On September 30, 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 2109, which goes into effect January 2014. This law will require a parent or guardian seeking a personal belief exemption (PBE) from the immunizations required for their child to attend school to first obtain a document signed by a licensed health care practitioner that verifies that the practitioner has informed the parent or guardian of the benefits and risks of immunization and the risks of the diseases we immunize against.

Unfortunately, the Governor, in his signing statement, also instructed the Health and Human Services Agency to add a religious exemption to the form. Several commentators addressed the problems with these instructions and I analyzed the legal implications.

A draft form of the bill had been provided to anti-vaccination group. It includes the following language: “Religious beliefs: I am a member of a religion which prohibits me from seeking medical advice or treatment from health care practitioners. (Signature of a health care practitioner not required in Part A.)”

Anti-vaccination activists are concerned that this language does not go far enough. We should be concerned for other reasons: that it may allow people to be exempt from immunization, leaving their children and others at risk, without good reason.

We should not allow the anti-vaccination voice to be the only parent voice heard. Speak up and let the health authorities know that you want the children of California protected against vaccine preventable diseases. You can contact: 

Ron Chapman, MD, MPH, Director and State Health Officer, at Ron.chapman@cdph.ca.gov

Diana Dooley, Secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency, at: diana.dooley@chhs.ca.gov

Governor Brown's office, at: governor@governor.ca.gov, or by phone, at 916-445-2841, fax at 916-558-3160

Donna Campbell, Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs at CHHS, at DCampbel@chhs.ca.gov (note: only one L in Campbel), or by phone at 916-654-0572

Janne Olson-Morgan, Assistant Secretary, CHHS, at anne.olson-morgan@chhs.ca.gov, or by phone at 916-651-8060

Editor's Note: You do not need to be a California resident to speak out on this issue. Be assured that the anti-vaccine forces responsible for the religious exemption loophole garnered forces from all over the country, as they do in most state immunization rule discussions. 

Dorit Reiss is a professor of law at University of California. She has published writings on administrative law, and recently wrote "Compensating the Victims of Failure to Vaccinate: What are the Options?" Dorit is a member of Voices for Vaccines' Parent Advisory Board.

Will Pro-Vax Blogs Infect Your Computer? Anti-Vax Activists Want You to Think So

Apparently, some anti-vaccine folks are trying to scare parents way from blogs with a pro-vaccine bent by claiming the blogs will infect computers or that they contain some kind of malware. They've even been reporting such sites as malware to malware reporters, creating headaches for the blog owners and wasting everyone's time. When challenged and asked for specifics, they, of course, can provide no evidence of malware or infection.

This is patently false, in case it needed to be said. It wouldn't, however, be the first time such a claim was made (and in this case he is dealing with it yet again).

In some ways I take this level of mendacity to be a good sign--you would never catch a pro-vaccine activist or parent resorting to such tactics, and I like to think you'd only find an otherwise rational human being making up such nonsense because he or she feels the evidence is against her.

That being said, I still find this very sad. Because we're all parents and we all want the best for our children, no matter what our stand on vaccinations. At the same time, as a parent wanting to know more about vaccine safety, it might be good to put this kind of retributive and frankly downright irrational behavior on the scale when you begin making decisions about which parties you find to be reliable sources of information.

Anyway, rest assured, Moms Who Vax is safe, as are the other blogs you'll find under our Links. In case you'd heard otherwise.

Moms Who Vax Newsletter, #1

Parent-to-Parent

We have discovered that, at least in Minnesota, the public health authorities and medical establishment is starting to pick up on the fact that parent-to-parent communication is an effective tool for increasing immunization rates. I recently participated in a panel discussion in front of local media to mark National Infant Immunization Week. On that panel were three eminent pediatricians (including the Head of Pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic), as well as noted public health authorities, me, and the amazing Shannon Duffy, whose daughter died of a vaccine-preventable disease, and not because she was choosing not to vaccine. Take a look at the link for her story. Shannon's story is so profoundly moving and devastating, and it is an effective way to get the message across to new and expecting parents.

After that media event, I stood with these brilliant doctors and talked about vaccine-resistance. They said all the right things, talked about explaining the lack of a link between vaccines and autism, about continuing to press the message in appointment after appointment, but at a certain point, I said: "You know what would have helped make the decision easier for me? If the word 'death' had been used in my discussions with my pediatrician. She allowed me to delay my son's MMR (by 3 months) without fighting me on it at all. Telling me that measles can cause death would have kept me up at night." The doctors looked at one another, but Shannon nodded vigorously. Doctors have become afraid of using the D word, even when warranted. We are warned time and time again of the risk of death from anesthesia, rare as it is. Why do we not hear this, even in passing, in the pediatrician's office? Is it too harsh? I got the feeling from the doctors that it was. But it's all in the delivery, I reminded them. You don't get the James Mason God-voice and boom "Death!" You say, gently, that you are ethically obligated to let them know that the risk of not vaccinating includes serious disability or death. 'Nuff said.

Patient Liaisons

Since the NIIW panel, the Minnesota Department of Health has asked me to be part of two more panels, including one on vaccine resistance. I also noticed that at my son's pediatrician's office, they are looking for volunteers to act as liaisons between the medical community and parents, not just for vaccine issues, but including them. I plan on volunteering for this and would urge anyone in the Twin Cities to volunteer as well. If you don't live in Minnesota, consider offering this service to your pediatrician. It's a given these days that nearly every practice will have some unvaccinated children. It is in our children's best interest to get these kids vaccinated, because an infant in the waiting room is incredibly vulnerable to a sick unvaccinated child. Whooping cough and measles have both recently been spread in this manner. Consider approaching your pediatrician with a proposal to run a few casual gatherings with new parents. Have a doctor present, of course, but as a parent, your experience has much more weight in so many cases (as sad as this is). 

Law Changes

In Minnesota, we are looking to close the loophole that allows conscientious objectors to vaccines to face no obstacles in getting their children admitted to school. We do not know where to begin. If any of the Moms (or Dads) who vax out there have advice, connections, pointers, etc., for us, we'd be grateful. We are targeting our state legislature, and think we may have a representative who will present the bill, if we can only get this thing started. Several of our Minnesota Moms Who Vax feel the anti-vax movement in Minnesota is ramping up again. There is even a new "political party" based on vaccine rejectionism, called the Canary Party. We are looking for advice from knowledgeable folks about how to build this grassroots movement of vaccinating parents, to help vaccinating parents to shake off the complacency and become more active in this fight. Please e-mail us at momswhovax@gmail.com if you have any tips or would like to help.

Success Story

Finally, I just wanted to share this heartening story from our Mom Who Vaxs, Carly. Her cousin comes from a family of non-vaccinators; their father is a chiropractor who has taught his kids that vaccines cause all sorts of horrible things. This person's sister is not vaccinating her new baby because "a friend of mine's child developed Down's Syndrome after being vaccinated." Knowing this as background, Carly's story may brighten your day.

Hi ladies,

I had to share a small piece of good news on the immunization front. My cousin John's baby arrived a few days ago. I went to visit them yesterday at the hospital, and they ARE vaccinating the baby! Their son got the Hep A vaccine at the hospital. John said he spoke to a pediatrician that was willing to sit down and explain everything to him, which he appreciated, and his wife is vaccinated herself and in favor of it. John is also getting himself vaccinated and the doctor started him out with the whooping cough vaccine.

So in this case, a pediatrician taking a hard line and refusing to discuss the immunizations would have turned my cousin off. The soft approach worked better in reaching this "middle of the road" parent.

Hope you both and your kids are well!

Carly

Mom to Mom: Pam's Story

Pam's son Zachary

I received all of my vaccinations on time as a child growing up. My mother was a medical technologist and had taken blood from a patient infected with measles. She had seen these diseases first hand. I began to look more deeply into vaccines when I was pregnant with my first child, during the fall/winter of 2009. I knew the H1N1 flu vaccine was recommended, especially for pregnant women, and I was considering whether I should get the H1N1 vaccine as well as the regular flu vaccine. The first thing I did was talk to family and friends who were pregnant or had been pregnant to find out what they had done. I spoke to people who were pro-vaccine as well as people who were anti-vaccine. My own doctor's strong recommendation as well as hearing about pregnant women who had died from H1N1 led me to get both flu vaccines while pregnant. After my decision to vaccinate myself, I began further research about vaccines for my baby. I found that a lot of what I heard and read from the anti-vaccine side had a strong basis in fear and "what if" thinking. What if vaccines cause autism? What if vaccines are causing the rise in allergies among children? While these possibilities triggered what I would call the "fear mind," my rational mind was able to look at the research available online, much of which I found through Ashley's blog (Science for Sale). I saw that the research overwhelmingly supported the safety of vaccines. I could also see that the pro-vaccine argument was research-based, history proven, and logical. In addition to online research, I questioned pediatricians whenever I had the opportunity. I spoke with 5 different pediatricians who all recommended vaccinating without reserve. They said they vaccinated their own children and grandchildren. They spoke of the dangers of not vaccinating. We decided to vaccinate our son Zachary, and he has received all his vaccinations on time starting from the day he was born. He has been extremely healthy and the only reaction to the vaccines has been a couple hours of being tired and cranky. I do still get nervous when I bring him to get vaccinated. I wish the doctors gave more information about what he is being vaccinated for and the ingredients in the vaccine and the safety of those ingredients. Regarding those details, I had to find out the information on my own. I understand doctors and nurses are busy and weary of the vaccine debate, but I think it would help parents who are nervous about vaccines to have more access to information. 

Regarding my interaction with the anti-vaccine community, I have had a hard time with this because I have three cousins who I was very close with growing up who are not vaccinated. Their father is a chiropractor and for whatever reason did not trust that vaccines were safe. They are now all having babies of their own, and the vaccine issue has surfaced in discussion and emails. The discussion can get contentious, and I don't want to create a bad relationship with family members, so I try to relay the pro-vaccine argument as clearly and objectively as possible. Although I have not expressed my personal fears to my cousins for fear of ruining our relationship completely, I do fear for my son who is almost 11 months and has not received all his vaccinations yet. I want my children to be able to play with and know their cousins, but as a mother I know I have to protect my child in the best way I can. I would feel responsible if he contracted a vaccine-preventable illness from people who I knew were not vaccinated. I know that I'm taking a risk when my son is around these family members and its an issue that I still struggle with. 


If you are a parent who chooses to vaccinate and would like to share your story, please send us your story. We are also always looking for cute pictures of your vaccinated baby or child for our "Cute Vaccinated Kid of the Week"!