Group wants choice on vaccination mandate

John Howell
Posted 7/30/15

Linda McLaughlin and Joan Lowder have grandchildren who were classmates at Lippitt Elementary School. The two grandmothers are bothered by the state edict that their grandchildren wouldn’t be …

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Group wants choice on vaccination mandate

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Linda McLaughlin and Joan Lowder have grandchildren who were classmates at Lippitt Elementary School. The two grandmothers are bothered by the state edict that their grandchildren wouldn’t be allowed to attend Gorton Junior High School this fall unless they received an HPV vaccination.

McLaughlin and Lowder have discovered something else in common. They are activists, and they suddenly have a lot of followers from across the state.

Soon after learning about the state mandate, they rallied their friends and collectively agreed they wanted answers. McLaughlin started a Facebook page – Rhode Island Against Mandated HPV Vaccinations – that has a growing number of friends. As of Wednesday, it had more than 500 followers.

That promises to be just the beginning, as more join the cause.

At Lowder’s request, state Department of Health representatives attended a meeting at the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company hall in Warwick Monday. About 60 people, mostly women, attended. They had done their homework. They had researched the HPV virus, where else the vaccine is mandated – Virginia and Washington, D.C. – and what medical studies in this country and in other countries say about the vaccine to combat the sexually-transmitted human papillomavirus and its side effects.

As of this fall, all seventh-graders, male and female, are required to have one dose of HPV vaccination. Next year, when they become eighth-graders they are expected to have two doses of the vaccination, and by ninth-grade they are to have completed the sequence with a third dose.

The health department came to the meting with a PowerPoint presentation, which Dr. Anne Devi Wold followed, but not for long. She talked about the high morbidity rate of those with cervical cancer and that cervical cancer is “just the tip of the iceberg” in terms of the effects of the virus. And she sought to placate concerns about the vaccine, observing that it is constituted of a dead virus that creates the antibodies.

“We don’t need to be educated on it; we already know,” protested one mother who is also a nurse. Her remark was greeted by nods and applause.

Wold continued. She said the vaccine has been administered to millions with no side effects.

There was disagreement, and another member of the audience said the universal application of the vaccine has been stopped in Japan and is being questioned in Denmark. She handed over a ream of papers to Wold.

“We’re not talking about the measles and chickenpox,” said another mother. “If I want to give it to my children, it’s my option.”

“We know what HPV does to women. There’s tons of stuff out there. We’re seeing women that are damaged by this,” said Tricia Washburn, chief of the health department’s Office of Immunization.

Shawna Lawton of Cranston accused health officials of scare tactics by saying the vaccination will protect against cancer, “which is not true.”

“You’re marketing it as cancer protection,” she said.

“That’s what it is,” Wold responded.

“It’s not,” came a responding chorus from the audience.

Questions were raised on what data is available; whether it is provided by the pharmaceutical companies; and whether it can be trusted.

It was news to health department representatives that some school medical forms lack information that there are medical and religious exceptions to mandated vaccinations. Lawton is especially concerned by legislation that would do away with the religious exemption, as has been done in California. The bill didn’t make it out of committee in this session.

In an email Tuesday, Lawton wrote: “The issue that concerns me is the State of RI taking away parents’ rights to choose how we care for our children. The proposed changes to the bill would also give the state rights to test our children without our consent for communicable diseases. In Rhode Island the General Assembly defers to the Department of Health to make decisions on vaccine mandates, the department of health relies on the CDC, as well as an advisory committee that is comprised of people from the medical community in Rhode Island.”

In a phone call Tuesday, state Rep. Joseph McNamara, who knew of the bill, reasoned the legislation is a response to misinformation that immunizations are linked to autism. He said that was proven to be a “falsehood,” but many parents refuse to have their children vaccinated. He said measles, once thought to have been nearly eradicated, is now more prevalent.

McLaughlin said Tuesday that the group plans to launch a petition and hopes to meet with State Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott to air their concerns. Joseph Wendelken, communications specialist for the department who attended the meeting, said he made a list of the concerns that he would bring to the director.

“The main point,” said McLaughlin, “is that we want people to have a choice and have the information to make an informed choice on HPV.”

Comments

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  • davebarry109

    When will more parents stand up for parental rights and stop this blatant and illegal interference in parenting? The smirking health director should be canned. This is not the whooping cough or TB for G-ds sake. This is a sexually transmitted disease. This is not a state interest in preventing cancer. Parents have the absolute right to decide whether or not to have their child given this shot. No one is going to 'catch' HPV unless they are sexually active...something a parent and child should discuss, not the state. All I can say is that Warwick Public Schools should count themselves lucky that my kids are not enrolled.

    Friday, July 31, 2015 Report this

  • davebarry109

    Linda McClaughlin....how does one join your organization?

    Friday, July 31, 2015 Report this

  • GinaBLemos

    As I mentioned in another post, I'm all for SAFE vaccinations, but 100% safety has not been proven with any vaccinations, which is why there is such a thing as the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund in the US. The fund has paid out billions, as I understand it, and that's ALL taxpayer money.

    As long as the pharmaceutical companies are protected by the government, and cannot be sued for the dangerous vaccines that they produce, they will never take the steps needed to ensure 100% safety, and we, as parents, will continue to play Russian Roulette with our children's lives.

    Please watch these videos, which prove that some children are susceptible to dangerous and deadly side effects caused by the HPV vaccine (and there are many, many more)

    https://youtu.be/hD5TnDtGKYw

    https://youtu.be/t5GquxhjDRY

    Friday, July 31, 2015 Report this

  • JohnStark

    davebarry: Don't you realize that the State, broadly defined, always knows best. Always. They know how to raise your children, how and what to feed them, what you should and shouldn't do in your own home. Adults are not capable of making adult decisions. Therefore, we must have mandatory vaccinations, no school choice, mandated school menus, and mandatory social security. The fact that the inclusion of the State into these various areas of our lives virtually guarantees failure is never mentioned; good intentions don't you know. And RI continues to vote for more of this Nanny State idiocy. After all, the State knows best.

    Saturday, August 1, 2015 Report this