| WA & NJ Families Stand Up For Vaccine Choices by Barbara Loe Fisher The online Advocacy Portal launched by the National Vaccine Information Center in November 2010 is helping Americans organize and fight to protect the integrity of the medical, religious and conscientious belief exemptions to vaccination in state health laws. In two states - Washington and New Jersey - well heeled and politically influential medical trade organizations promoting forced vaccination, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), have joined with government health officials and pharmaceutical companies to put the squeeze on state legislators to take away or severely limit the ability of citizens to make voluntary vaccine choices. The Advocacy Portal at www.NVICAdvocacy.org is a unique interactive online education and communication tool created by Dawn Richardson, NVIC's director of advocacy, and is provided as a free public service for all Americans to keep up to date and learn how to counteract coordinated, serious attacks on state vaccine exemptions. In the past several months, NVIC has worked with families using the Advocacy Portal in both states to help them voice legitimate concerns about medical personnel inside and outside of government, who are aggressively taking steps to force all citizens to use an ever-increasing number of vaccines. WA: Nearly 100 Try to Testify on March 9 On Feb. 13, 2011 NVIC sounded an alarm that legislation was being rammed through the Washington state legislature that would require parents to get a doctor, nurse or other designated medical personnel to sign a religious or philosophical belief exemption to vaccination for their child stating that the parents have been fully informed about the benefits and risks of vaccination. Forcing Families Into "Medical Homes" To Block Vaccine Choices The Senate bill (SB5005), which was introduced by state Sen. Karen Keiser (D-33rd District) and has 11 sponsors, and the House bill (HB1015), which was introduced by state Rep. Barbara Bailey (R-10th District) and has 16 sponsors, enjoys the strong backing of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Washington State Nurses Association, state public health officials and other trade organizations representing medical personnel, who are seeking to force families into "medical homes" and reduce the numbers of non-medical vaccine exemptions in the state of Washington. Nearly 100 Came to Olympia To Object & Testify After quickly organizing Washington state residents signed up as users of the Advocacy Portal, Dawn Richardson scheduled an educational webinar to help families in Washington prepare to give testimony at a hearing on the Senate version of the bill in the House Health and Wellness Committee. On March 9, nearly 100 mothers, fathers, and grandparents, babies and children came from all over the state to Olympia to send a clear message to legislators... click here to read more. New Vaccine Film Premieres in Dallas The World Premiere of a new feature documentary on vaccination, "The Greater Good," will be held in the Angelika Film Center at the Dallas Film Festival on April 2 and Sunday, April 3, 2011. On Sunday at Noon, there will be a special panel roundtable discussion on a proposed Texas state bill mandating meningitis vaccine for all college students. The 82-minute movie has been produced by award winning film directors, editors, animators and photographers and has been nominated by the Dallas Film Festival for the Silver Heart Award and the Target Documentary Competition. The film will also be screened at Arizona International Film Festival in Tucson on April 12; at Lincoln Center in New York City in May and at Autism One in Chicago on May 26. Bringing the Bigger Picture Into Focus The storyline for "The Greater Good" movie centers on three families, whose lives have been changed by vaccine reactions, and features interviews with pediatricians, public health officials, scientists, consumer activists, attorneys and vaccine developers. NVIC's work and perspective on vaccine safety and informed consent issues is included in the film. In a statement of purpose, film producers Leslie Manookian Bradshaw, Kendall Nelson and Chris Pilaro, said "These days, vaccination ranks alongside religion and politics as one of those subjects "not to discuss around the Thanksgiving table." The Greater Good aims to change that. The film takes a step back from the recent divisiveness, discusses the issue's complexity and nuances, and brings the bigger picture into focus. We strive to create a safe space to bring rational and reasonable ideas back to this important discussion." Click here to read more. |
0 comments:
Post a Comment