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President | Stephanie Stock [1] [2] |
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| Website | ohioamf |
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| Alternative medicine |
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Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom (OAMF) is one of the main anti-vaccination organizations in Ohio. A non-profit group, it frequently lobbies politicians to favor legislative action designed to weaken Ohio's vaccination coverage.
OAMF intervenes to oppose legislative measures that promote vaccine coverage in the state or education about immunization, and to support those that make it easier for people to forego vaccination. [3] The group testified in favor of a 2021 Ohio senate bill creating a bicameral committee to examine public health measures from Ohio Department of Health and the Governor before they are implemented. The legislation was opposed by Governor Mike DeWine and by several of the state's health authorities, arguing that it would impede their ability to react quickly to new information about the COVID-19 epidemic. [4] During the 2018–2019 measles outbreaks in some regions of the United States, the group's president, Stephanie Stock, opposed restricting vaccination exemptions, insisting "the biggest percentage complication with measles is diarrhea". The disease ranks among the most contagious and it kills one or two children out of 1,000 affected. [5] [6] Arguments against vaccination are contradicted by overwhelming scientific consensus about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. [7] [8] [9] [10]
OAMF is the driving force behind attempts to put anti-vaccination language into Ohio's constitution. In June 2022, the Ohio Ballot Board approved the wording of a constitutional amendment that would, if adopted, prevent public and private institutions from requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment or other reasons. If the measure, called "Medical Right to Refuse", is supported by a petition of at least 443,000 Ohio Ohioans, it will be included on the ballot as a referendum in an upcoming statewide election. [11] [12] [13] [14]
OAMF's Facebook page served as the main fundraising instrument for a lawsuit asking the court to rescind the measures taken by the State to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as mask-wearing. The lawsuit, filed in November by a group called Ohio Stand Up, repeats the usual misinformation associated with the pandemic, including that the number of deaths have been inflated by public health authorities. [15]
Like other similar groups, OAMF objects to being labelled "anti-vaccine", preferring the euphemism "medical freedom". [1] [2] The group has campaigned to weaken school immunization requirements, [1] and opposed the obligation for hospital employees to get vaccinated against the flu. [16]
In 2017, their members planned to distribute anti-vaccination messages printed on cards with Halloween candy, raising objections from the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. [17]
YouTube pulled some of their videos in February 2021 as part of the social media platform's efforts to curb the dissemination of misinformation related to COVID-19, but the group's account remained active. [18]
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating the body's adaptive immunity, they help prevent sickness from an infectious disease. When a sufficiently large percentage of a population has been vaccinated, herd immunity results. Herd immunity protects those who may be immunocompromised and cannot get a vaccine because even a weakened version would harm them. The effectiveness of vaccination has been widely studied and verified. Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases; widespread immunity due to vaccination is largely responsible for the worldwide eradication of smallpox and the elimination of diseases such as polio and tetanus from much of the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccination prevents 3.5–5 million deaths per year. A WHO-funded study by The Lancet estimates that, during the 50-year period starting in 1974, vaccination prevented 154 million deaths, including 146 million among children under age 5. However, some diseases have seen rising cases due to relatively low vaccination rates attributable partly to vaccine hesitancy.
The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella, abbreviated as MMR. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, with at least four weeks between the doses. After two doses, 97% of people are protected against measles, 88% against mumps, and at least 97% against rubella. The vaccine is also recommended for those who do not have evidence of immunity, those with well-controlled HIV/AIDS, and within 72 hours of exposure to measles among those who are incompletely immunized. It is given by injection.
Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using certain vaccines but not others. Although adverse effects associated with vaccines are occasionally observed, the scientific consensus that vaccines are generally safe and effective is overwhelming. Vaccine hesitancy often results in disease outbreaks and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases. Therefore, the World Health Organization characterizes vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health threats.
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), founded under the name Dissatisfied Parents Together (DPT) in 1982, is an American 501(c)(3) organization that has been widely criticized as a leading source of fearmongering and misinformation about vaccines. While NVIC describes itself as the "oldest and largest consumer-led organization advocating for the institution of vaccine safety and informed consent protections", it promotes false and misleading information including the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism, and its campaigns portray vaccination as risky, encouraging people to consider "alternatives." In April 2020, the organization was identified as one of the greatest disseminators of COVID-19 misinformation on Facebook.
Vaccination and religion have interrelations of varying kinds. No major religion prohibits vaccinations, and some consider it an obligation because of the potential to save lives. However, some people cite religious adherence as a basis for opting to forego vaccinating themselves or their children. Many such objections are pretextual: in Australia, anti-vaccinationists founded the Church of Conscious Living, a "fake church", leading to religious exemptions being removed in that country, and one US pastor was reported to offer vaccine exemptions in exchange for online membership of his church.
A vaccine adverse event (VAE), sometimes referred to as a vaccine injury, is an adverse event believed to have been caused by vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) refers to Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI).
A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by state or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or schools. Many policies have been developed and implemented since vaccines were first made widely available.
Sherri J. Tenpenny is an American anti-vaccination activist and conspiracy theorist who promulgates disproven hypotheses that vaccines cause autism. An osteopathic physician by training, she is the author of four books opposing vaccination. In 2023 the State Medical Board of Ohio indefinitely suspended Tenpenny's medical license for failure to participate in its investigations. Her license was restored in 2024.
Anti-vaccinationism in chiropractic is widespread, but there are notable differences within the trade. Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine founded on the idea that all disease is caused by disruption of the flow of "innate" in the spine, by so-called vertebral subluxations – a pseudoscientific concept. Over time chiropractic has divided into "straights" who adhere to the subluxation theory and "mixers" who adhere more closely to a reality-based view of anatomy. "Straight" chiropractors are very likely to be anti-vaccination, but all chiropractic training tends to reduce acceptance of vaccines.
Children's Health Defense (CHD) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit activist group mainly known for anti-vaccine disinformation, and which has been called one of the main sources of misinformation on vaccines. Founded under the name World Mercury Project in 2007, it is chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Vaccine Choice Canada (VCC) is Canada's main anti-vaccination group. It was founded in the 1980s under the name Vaccination Risk Awareness Network (VRAN) and adopted its current name in 2014. The group has been contributing to vaccine hesitancy in Canada, encouraging citizens to forgo immunization and legislators to support anti-vaccine regulations and legislation.
Del Matthew Bigtree is an American television and film producer who is the CEO of the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network. He produced the film Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, based on the discredited opinions of Andrew Wakefield, and alleges an unsubstantiated connection between vaccines and autism. He served as communications director for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 presidential campaign and subsequently took a leading role in two groups associated with Kennedy's political career.
The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) is one of the main anti-vaccination groups in the United States. Founded in 2016 by Del Bigtree, it spreads misinformation about the risks of vaccines and contributes to vaccine hesitancy, which has been identified by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten global health threats of 2019. Arguments against vaccination are contradicted by overwhelming scientific consensus about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
The Stop Mandatory Vaccination website and associated Facebook group are some of the major hubs of the American anti-vaccination movement. It was established by anti-vaccination activist Larry Cook in 2015.
Suzie Pollock is an American politician who served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 123rd district. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2018 and assumed office in 2019.
Helen Aspasia Petousis-Harris is a New Zealand vaccinologist and associate professor in the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care at the University of Auckland. She has been involved in research related to vaccination in New Zealand since 1998, with her main areas of focus being vaccine safety and effectiveness. Petousis-Harris has had a variety of lead roles in New Zealand and international organisations that focus on vaccination and is a regular media spokesperson in this field, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Misinformation related to immunization and the use of vaccines circulates in mass media and social media in spite of the fact that there is no serious hesitancy or debate within mainstream medical and scientific circles about the benefits of vaccination. Unsubstantiated safety concerns related to vaccines are often presented on the internet as being scientific information. A large proportion of internet sources on the topic are mostly inaccurate which can lead people searching for information to form misconceptions relating to vaccines.
Jennifer Lynn Sherwood Gross is an American politician and former nurse serving as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 45th district. Elected in 2020, she took office in 2021. During her tenure in the state House, she has been a leading supporter of anti-vaccine legislation. Her voting record has shown a general tendency towards big government. She has promoted white supremacist Nick Fuentes via social media.
Joseph Abiodun Ladapo is a Nigerian-American doctor serving as the surgeon general of Florida since 2021. He is best known for his opposition to COVID-19 mitigation measures, and promotion of COVID-19 misinformation, for which he has been rebuked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ladapo has promoted unproven treatments, opposed vaccine and mask mandates, questioned the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, and contradicted professional medical organizations.
Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities proclaiming opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often fought to increase vaccine hesitancy by disseminating vaccine-based misinformation and/or forms of active disinformation. As a social movement, it has utilized multiple tools both within traditional news media and also through various forms of online communication. Activists have primarily focused on issues surrounding children, with vaccination of the young receiving pushback, and they have sought to expand beyond niche subgroups into national political debates.
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