by Barbara Loe Fisher

More than 1.2 million people in the United States are infected with HIV but government officials do not ban HIV infected children and adults from attending school, receiving medical care, being employed, or otherwise participating in society. In fact, there are anti-discrimination laws that guarantee civil rights protections for Americans infected with HIV or living with AIDS.

Full Scale Assault on Civil and Human Rights

But in 2015 after a handful of measles cases were identified at Disneyland, suddenly Americans are being asked to surrender civil liberties. We are being asked to discriminate against and condone extreme societal sanctions against fellow citizens… How did a handful of measles cases at Disneyland turn into a full-scale assault on civil and human rights in America?

Bill in 12 States to Eliminate Non-Medical Vaccine Exemptions

Why have politicians in 12 states (CA, MD, ME, MN, NJ, OK, OR, PA, RI, TX, VT, WA) already filed legislation to eliminate non-medical vaccine exemptions, leaving only a very narrow medical exemption that most people cannot get?

Censorship of Speech, Imprisonment

Why are editorials calling for censorship of speech and for parents with unvaccinated children to be hunted down and publicly identified, sued, criminally prosecuted and imprisoned, and for doctors who criticize vaccine safety to have their medical licenses revoked?

What is happening right now in America is not about measles or the public health…

Watch and read this referenced commentary or make a comment here.

State Vaccine Legislation Emergency

The war on families defending the right to make informed, voluntary decisions about vaccination continues to rage in state legislatures across the country. There are well over 100 bills in 35 states that have been introduced due to heavy pressure from the well-funded Pharma/Public Health/Medical Trade lobby that either:
1.remove and restrict non-medical (religious and conscientious belief) vaccine exemptions;
2.restrict medical exemptions so the only medical reason that qualifies is a federal government approved contraindication;
3.require employers to mandate federally recommended vaccines for health care and day care workers, as well as teachers and all school staff;
4.require schools to publicly post vaccine exemption and vaccine coverage rates to create community peer pressure to force children and teachers to get all federally recommended vaccines;
5.allow minor children aged 14 years and older to be given government recommended vaccines without parental knowledge or consent;
6.expand the numbers of federally recommended vaccines required for school attendance or employment;
7.expand and enforce the electronic tracking of the vaccination status of all citizens; and
8.expand police powers of government health officials to allow citizens suspected of exposure to infectious diseases to be detained.

The bills are moving forward and the status of bills are continually changing, including dates and times for public hearings. NVIC monitors these bills 24/7 and posts their status on the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal with instructions on how you can take action.

REGISTER TODAY for the NVIC Advocacy Portal so you can frequently check it on a daily basis in order to stay on top of what is happening in YOUR state. This will allow you to take immediate action by visiting, emailing or calling your own legislators or showing up at public hearings in your state Capitol to make your voice heard.

Please urge everyone you know to sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal and take action TODAY!

Your Comments Needed on National Adult Immunization Plan

The National Vaccine Program Office has extended public comment on the National Adult Immunization Plan to March 23, 2015. The goal of this federal plan to ensure that all adults comply with the Centers for Disease Control’s Recommended Adult Vaccine Schedule. The new Plan promotes use of all federally recommended vaccines by all adults; creates incentives for doctors to ensure that adults comply with the federal government vaccine schedule; and partners with employers, community groups, churches and other religious organizations to promote adult vaccination. NVIC has submitted public comment and encourages everyone to read the plan and submit public comment by Mar. 23.

NVIC Launches New Pinterest Boards

Alert to Pinterest fans! NVIC has launched two new boards for you to pin. Check out our Measles & Measles Vaccine board and our Vaccine Risks, Choices & Forced Vaccination board at Pinterest.com/NVIC/YourChoice.

Report and Share Your Vaccine Experiences

If you or your child have gotten vaccinated and the vaccine failed to work or caused harm or you have been threatened or punished for declining one or more vaccines, you can report and also choose to share your experiences with others on NVIC.org here.

NVIC in the News

More Parents Are Refusing to Vaccinate Their Kids. Doctors Say They Want Stricter Laws. “We consider this an assault on human rights,” said Barbara Loe Fisher, director of the National Vaccine Information Center, a Virginia-based nonprofit that monitors vaccine legislation. “You should have the right to make a fully informed, voluntary medical decision without being punished for it.” Fisher has called the last eight weeks “unprecedented” in terms of vaccine-related legislation, and said that rhetoric about “the greater good” is actually adversarial and discriminatory when it comes to singling out unvaccinated children, whose parents may have legitimate reasons for refusing to vaccinate them.You cannot say that one child’s life is more important than another’s,” she said.” Times Free Press (TN) Mar. 8.

States Move To Toughen Vaccination Laws in Wake of Measles Outbreak. “I do think we’re in danger here of having a country that is committed to forced vaccination,” says Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, which lobbies for exemptions and for parental choice around vaccines. “We consider this an assault on both civil liberties and human rights.” Christian Science Monitor Mar. 3.

US Parents Pressure Doctors to Spread Out Kid Vaccinations. Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, a Sterling, Virginia, nonprofit that supports parents who don’t vaccinate or who question the recommended schedule, said increasing numbers of parents call her organization to complain that doctors refuse to treat their children if they insist on delaying injections. “They are trying to find ways to vaccinate that they’re comfortable with and I think doctors are making a big mistake treating parents disrespectfully,” Fisher said. Bloomberg News Mar. 2.

What Experts Say About Vaccination. “Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, a nonprofit charity she co-founded with parents of vaccine injured children, said public health officials underestimate the risk of vaccine injuries because they haven’t studied the effects of combining so many vaccines in single patient visits. Under the current immunization schedule recommended by the CDC, Fisher said a child could get 25 to 35 vaccines in its first year of life. “It’s one thing to make a risk estimate for a single vaccine,” she said. “It’s very different to make a risk estimate based on the recommended schedule, which sometimes includes 8 to 10 vaccines given on the same day.” Fisher said she has been asking for years for a long-term study of health outcomes in children who get all the government-recommended vaccines compared to those who don’t.” Charlotte Observer Feb. 28.

Amid Measles Outbreak, Few Rules on Teacher Vaccinations. “Barbara Loe Fisher, of the National Vaccine Information Center, a Virginia-based nonprofit that favors letting parents decide whether to vaccinate, said the discussion on vaccination requirements has started to expand from schoolchildren to certain adult professions. She said her organization has a number of concerns about requiring teacher vaccinations, including safety and job protection for those who cannot or choose not to be immunized. “I think at the end of the day, the most important principle to protect is the right to make an informed voluntary decision, and that includes teachers,” she said.” Associated Press Feb 16.

Live Debate on Voice of America about vaccine choice with Barbara Loe Fisher and Dr. Georges Benjamin, APHA (at 13 minute mark). Dr. Benjamin agreed with Barbara that parents should be informed, doctors should be partners with parents in making health care and vaccination decisions for children, nobody should be “demonized,” and there needs to be more vaccine safety science. Hashtagvoa, Voice of America, Feb. 10.

Live Debate on Newsmax-TV with Barbara Loe Fisher, Nick Tate, Ellis Henican on vaccine choice.(at 1 minute mark) Moderated by former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth. America’s Forum, Newsmax Feb. 6.

Debate Over Vaccine Requirements Forges Strange Alliance. “Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccination Information Center said she sees no partisan divide. “This has always been a bipartisan issue,” said Fisher, whose organization fights vaccine mandates. “The demographic spans the political spectrum.” The main difference, she said, is that her side has far less money than the pharmaceutical companies and medical groups that she blames for the push to tighten vaccination requirements.” Associated Press Feb. 6.

Can You Handle the Truth About Vaccines? Fisher explains what the federal protection means for the companies: “Nobody who makes or profits from the sale of the vaccine, nobody who regulates the vaccine, who promotes the vaccine, who votes to mandate the vaccine-nobody is accountable or liable in a civil court of law in front of a jury of our peers when we get hurt because we’ve been tol.d we have to take it, or when the vaccine fails to work.” Accuracy in Media Feb. 4.

Colorado Kindergarten Children Have Lowest Measles Vaccination Rate in the Nation. “It’s a parent’s right to decide what medical procedure and products are used on their children,” said Theresa Wrangham of Louisville, executive director of the nonprofit National Vaccine Information Center. “If people want to use vaccines, they should have access to them. Vaccines should be safe as possible, but they are not totally 100 percent safe.” Denver Post Feb. 3.