Vaccine Victory: Parents Stop Unethical HPV Vaccine Push in Indiana
It took exactly one month to the day for an activated Indiana population to turn back efforts by their state’s health department to coerce and pressure parents, outside of law, into having their children receive the potentially dangerous human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV). Independent health journalist Jefferey Jaxen was contacted by two separate families telling of letters they received by their state’s health departments regarding their child’s HPV vaccine status. An article chronicling the incidents was immediately published to raise awareness on October 5th, 2015. Investigation revealed that the official health department letters received did not state whether or not the HPV vaccine was mandatory. This grey area created confusion and anger as many states are currently moving to pass mandatory vaccination laws with potentially severe penalties. What was more striking was the fact that the children, who were named in the official state letters, were found because of their inclusion into a vaccine tracking list. The problem was that the parents never knowingly consented to their child’s participation and inclusion onto this list. Investigations revealed that every state has a vaccine tracking list, or immunization information system, for children. With each step to coerce parents, omit vital information, and unethically push vaccines on children, states are losing major integrity.
