Measles outbreak sheds light on N.H. anti-vaxxers
The ongoing measles outbreak has shed light on the anti-vaccine movement, which is being blamed for incubating an otherwise preventable epidemic.
The most visible – and outspoken – Granite State anti-vaxxer is Laura Condon, New Hampshire director of advocacy for the National Vaccine Information Center, a group that campaigns against mandatory vaccination legislation.
In a recent radio interview with 2014 GOP senate candidate Karen Testerman, the Bedford activist criticized public health officials for encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against measles. “It’s not science-based and it’s not a rational position to be pushing the measles vaccine in the manner they are,” she said.
“The live virus vaccine is actually causing measles in a good number of children,” Condon claimed. “Whether it actually provides them with immunity or not is really up for debate.” (“The measles vaccine is one of the most highly effective vaccines that we have against any virus or any microbe, and it is safe,” counters Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.)
In a Facebook comment, Free Stater Rep. Laura Jones (R-Rochester) voiced support for Condon’s efforts – and referenced a discredited study linking autism to vaccines. “I had measles as a child,” she wrote. “It was uncomfortable but it didn’t last long. Autism lasts a lifetime and affects many other lives besides the victim’s.”
With the goal of reducing or eliminating vaccine preventable diseases, New Hampshire law mandates a series of immunizations for children attending public schools and licensed daycare facilities. Students may be granted exemptions for medical reasons or religious beliefs.
In the last five years, New Hampshire lawmakers have turned back two attempts to add an exemption for “conscientious beliefs.” (The L.A Times notes studies indicate states allowing these exemptions have higher rates of vaccine-preventable diseases.)
In 2010, House Bill 1555 was rejected by the House in a 137 to 201 vote. In the committee report, then-Rep. John Cebrowski (R-Bedford) wrote in support of the legislation: “It is a freedom issue, giving concerned parents the right to make a thoughtful decision.”
The next year, after Republicans swept control of the chamber, a similar measure met a similar fate. House Bill 416, sponsored by then-Rep. George Lambert (R-Litchfield), was defeated by a 149-215 margin. Republicans supported the legislation 146-125. Democrats opposed it 3-90. Four Free Staters – Reps. Laura Jones, Seth Cohn (R-Canterbury), Calvin Pratt (R-Goffstown) and Andrew Manuse (R-Derry) – were among the co-sponsors.
That same year, 49 House lawmakers went even further. They voted in favor of House Bill 422, which would have prohibited vaccinations, including flu vaccinations, in public schools. Rep. JR Hoell (R-Dunbarton) wrote the minority committee report in support of the legislation. “Schools are institutions of learning and this bill seeks to restore that from where we are today,” he wrote.
After the anti-vaccine legislation failed, then-Rep. John Hikel (R-Goffstown) authored a petition in 2013 demanding the General Court ban mandatory vaccination.
“There is a sufficient amount of research that disproves the claimed benefits of Vaccines made by the Medical Associations as well as a significant amount of research supporting the reasons for the intense concerns We have about Forced Injections of chemical cocktails via Vaccination,” Hikel wrote.
“We have the Right to Chose what is best for Ourselves and Our Children according to Our Own Knowledge and Conscience; To Infringe on Our Choices is to Violate Our Liberty.”