No Shots No School? Not True.
By Marcella Piper-Terry
It's that time of year again. Parents throughout the U.S. are scrambling to get their children ready to head back to school. In addition to pencils, protractors and other educationally-related paraphernalia, many parents are packing their kids off to the pediatrician's office. The push for vaccines is on in full-force. Some parents don't question whether or not this is a good thing. They just comply. Others comply because they don't believe they have a choice. When tv news and local papers scream out, "No Shots, No School!" it can feel as if you have a gun to your head. This is especially likely to be true if you are a single parent, or if your family is reliant on two incomes to make your mortgage payment or rent. If your kids can't go to school, you can't work. So, even if you have serious concerns about vaccines, you may feel forced to load them in the car and take them for the shots.
This time last year, I decided I'd had enough of the one-sided reporting. I live in Southwestern Indiana. Indiana, like 47 other states, provides parents with the legal right to religious exemptions from vaccination. When the Evansville Courier and Press newspaper printed a front page story telling parents their kids couldn't go to school unless their vaccines were "up-to-date," I asked for a retraction. Or at least a follow-up, letting parents know their legal rights. I was told in no uncertain terms that there would be no follow-up and there would be no story about religious exemptions. To quote the Metro Editor of the largest daily newspaper in the Evansville area, "I am not going to print anything that would cause parents to question the safety of vaccines." Period. I tried to point out that this was not about questioning the safety of vaccines; it was a matter of balanced journalism and reporting the facts. Parents do have choices. It's the law. He wouldn't budge. So... I took matters into my own hands. That's how VaxTruth and the Billboard Campaign came into existence.
VaxTruth has placed billboards in four states over the last year: Indiana, Texas, Colorado and California. Within the next few weeks we will have billboards proclaiming "No Shots, No School... NOT TRUE!!" in Austin, Texas and in Kansas. We would like to have more and we are receiving messages on an almost daily basis, asking for more. The need is there. Parents want to know and they are tired of being lied to.
Vaxtruth as an organization is still in its infancy. We are growing, but we are not able to meet the need for billboards without soliciting help from people at the local level.
If you would like to have a "No Shots, No School... NOT TRUE!!" billboard in your area, we want to help. We encourage you to help us by doing the legwork and fundraising in your communities. The process is really quite simple. First, contact your local outdoor advertising company to find out what they have available, and the cost. Cost varies greatly by location, with billboards in urban areas costing significantly more than billboards in areas that are less populated. The length of time the message will be shown is also a factor that affects cost. If you have a large group of people who will help with fundraising, or if you have people who will donate higher amounts, you can obviously go for more exposure for longer times. Billboards can cost as little as $500 for a month in some areas, and as much as $4,000 or more for a week in major markets like Los Angeles.
Once you know the cost and location, get your fundraisers going! Have yard-sales and bake sales. If you belong to a support group ask members if they would be willing to donate or hold their own yard sales. When I was fundraising for the first billboards in Evansville, I sold things on ebay to raise money. I asked my facebook friends to help - and they did. And we will.
As part of our effort to get more billboards up and help more parents know their rights, VaxTruth wants to help you with fundraising. Let us know what you're doing. Let us know how we can help. Need help pulicizing your fundraiser? Consider it done! "Like" us on facebook, tell us where you are, what your fundraising goal is, and tell us how we can help.
VaxTruth will be stepping up our own fundraising efforts in the coming weeks and months. We will be offering bumper magnets and T-shirts as donation gifts, with all proceeds going to help fund "No Shots, No School, NOT TRUE!!" Billboards. We will be assisting with the funding of billboards through random drawings for $500, which will be paid directly to the sign companies for billboards at the local level. We will also send our high resolution artwork to the sign company in your area, so you don't have to start from scratch. All we ask is that you use our artwork as is, and include the link to www.VaxTruth.org so parents will know where to get more information.
So now you know how to get a billboard in your city or town! Let us help!
"No Shots, No School... NOT TRUE!!!"
Marcella Piper-Terry has a master's degree in psychology and has worked as a therapist and as a neuropsychological evaluator of children and adults. She has worked as a DAN provider and consultant assisting families employing biomedical interventions for their children. She is also the mother of a vaccine-injured child. She founded VaxTruth along with my colleagues, Megan and Spencer Pond in the fall of 2011.
Great idea for Houston and all of Texas. Fight for your children folks. You only have one life before meeting with the Lord. Will your actions stand victorious in front of the great throne of God? Keep that in mind. Put on the Armor of God and fight the good fight until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not die in vain. Love and hugs to all...
Posted by: Graywolff | November 22, 2017 at 01:01 PM
I live in Mississippi and unfortunately, we have no exemptions other than medical, so it's pretty true that if you don't have the vaccinations you don't go to school here. I do not have a VI child, chose to homeschool for other reasons, but there are many MS moms who have to homeschool or continue to risk more injury to their children by vaccinating so they can go to public school. We need some changes made in Mississippi!
Posted by: Angie | October 18, 2016 at 10:32 AM
Washington State is in TROUBLE! By April they will decide if MANDATORY vaccination law will be approved. We Need like 20 Lynnwood, Seattle, Everett,.....everywhere please!
Posted by: muamera | February 17, 2015 at 06:15 PM
We need a billboard in Pocatello, Idaho!!! It is crazy how crooked the government is
Posted by: Matthew Jones | October 17, 2013 at 11:34 AM
- need like 10 in Massachusetts!
Posted by: Melissa | July 09, 2013 at 12:38 PM
I want 5 signs, one in California,Nevada and Utah, throw in Colorado while you are at it...And New Jersey,and while your at it Florida! I'm sure we can utilize billboard space available or empty through YESCO - Young Electric Sign Co. since our child was vaccine injured while parent was employed by YESCO. Yesco is nationwide - also do international signage. So let's get them on board for Mia's sake! Mia (Amelia) was vaccine injured and showed evidence of it from the very first immunization @ 4 days of age. You can view our public service video if you'd like. Just go to FACEBOOK and enter Michele Rolfe, Utah. I will re-post her video as soon as I can! Thanks, Michele
Posted by: Michele D. Rolfe | September 05, 2012 at 09:48 AM
I just moved to a new town and was at the chiropractor last week. There was a mother there with a 5 week old infant, said she had a 3 year old at home. She was there getting her infant adjusted. I asked her where she took her kids to the pediatrician, thinking that this mother would know a ped that would be vax-friendly (at least). She gave me the name and I asked how they would be about me not vaccinating my children since my son has had a reaction. And she said "hmm I'm not sure, but I do know that without those vaccines your child will not be able to attend ANY preschools or public schools, or daycares" So you are sure right: people truly do not know!
Posted by: Kristine | August 11, 2012 at 12:46 PM
I'm in Illinois - I want to do this too! I'm with Channa Brennon - it's difficult to get involved when you're healing your child.
When our son was 2 weeks old, he came down with RSV ("came down with" is such a stupid term - I have my suspicions about RSV too!) - by the time he was at the hospital, he was blue, had a collapsed lung, pneumonia - clearly in respiratory distress. After many MANY blunders by the medical teams, our boy was put on the ventilator - he was intubated and extubated - 7 times. Yes, we were at a teaching hospital, but once you're there, you're stuck. His trachea was damaged and he was subsequently trached. He was barely alive by this time, but they blamed it on the RSV. So he was being fed a soy formula - bolus feedings!!! Of course, he was eventually diagnosed as "failure to thrive" and told us to prepare for his demise. We immediately had him transferred - against medical advice - to our local hospital. Luckily, he is a fighter and he decided to stick around. Our boy was hospitalized for 3 long months and then sent home. We were left to care for our trached, emaciated, sick child. After some intense reconstructive surgeries, he was decanulated at the age of 18 months.
This was in 1987 and "they" talked me into keeping up with a semi-regular vaccine schedule. (It kills me to type that). Throughout his childhood, he battled more illnesses, struggled in school, etc, but they would always blame it on genetics. In high school, they started the very unnecessary Hep B shots. With each jab, he would become sick. When he was 17 years old, it was his second or third Hep B - and please know, I'm so ashamed I continued to allow the shots - I thought they were required - in my heart I knew they were hurting my son, but my doctor denied, denied, denied - I specifically called the nurse to have the reactions added to his chart. Soon after this last shot, he began violently vomiting and was incoherent. We brought him to the hospital and they suspected meningitis -- so more rounds of drugs. A Cat scan found bilateral temporal hemorrhaging, so an MRI was done and they found a brain tumor in his cerebellum. As a side note, the hemorrhaging was abnormal (duh) so they suspected our son had done --- METH! That's what they said. We think your son has done meth!!!!! Our sweet son who rarely went out, was being accused of doing drugs. Very frustrating. My apologies - now I'm just venting. I've researched the connection between Hep B jabs and hemorrhaging - That's what they are calling Shaken Baby Syndrome, so I suppose my son had Shaken Teenager Syndrome. What they call "modern medicine" is all so ridiculous. He had the tumor excised at Mayo in August 2005 - it was a fast growing (so they said) benign Pilocytic Astrocytoma.
He's recovering, but having to fight every inch of the way. This madness has to stop.
Posted by: Sybil | August 09, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Billboards are a great idea and I have a suggestion that might help. It's an idea used by a small local company that works GREAT.
The owner was driving along a state hiway, and noticed that many parts of the hiway were alongside fields and countryside that were privately owned. He approached one of these owners with the idea of parking a long empty trailer (18-wheeler size) just inside the fence, neatly painted with an advertising sign where everyone passing by on the hiway could easily see it. Of course, he was willing to rent the space, and this landowner (local farmer) was thrilled to work something out. MUCH cheaper than a billboard and maybe you know a trucking company with
an unused or unrepairable trailer that they would like to get rid of (donate) and would be willing to move it to your location. This idea might work for some. It's definitely worth looking into.
Posted by: Muriel | August 06, 2012 at 02:12 PM
I like a billboard that says someting like, " vaccines don't work. vactruth.com" I will home school my kid in the years to come. she is only 2 1/2 months now. I do think it's important for parents to know truth about school and vacc tho.
Posted by: Megan | August 06, 2012 at 08:17 AM
What I want to know to this very day - when my kid was 14 up in Michigan - the special ed meeting before school began got me out a form and all I did was sign it.
When we moved back to Kentucky the school nurse kept calling and telling me I had to see a doctor and get a statment from him.
She gave me a very hard time about it.
Why did she do that?
If I had gone through with it he would have had a DTaP - and never mentioned it to me - and he already had a statement in his medical records that he was not suppose to have anymore.
What next - is she going to make peanutbutter sandwiches and require all those nut allergy kids to eat them?
Little sorry thing; she is darn lucky she was dealing with a sweet little thing back then (that after everything still trusted in the goodness of people, medical establishment and the governmetn ---and not oh, it is not who I am now.
Posted by: Benedetta | August 05, 2012 at 07:50 PM
I when to www.VaxTruth.org to look for the form for Georgia Religious exemption 20-2-771, spent about 30 minutes looking for the form by just following the links that I found on VaxTruth but could not find the form.
The form can be found at www.vaclib.org/letters/ExemptionVacLib-Georgia.doc it will automatically open in word.
Was hoping this form could be put on www.VaxTruth.org
Posted by: Jeff Ransom | August 05, 2012 at 09:38 AM
The thing that most frustrates me about this is that EVERY vaccine insert I have ever seen mentions that you shouldn't get it if allergic to the ingredients! ANd there are some common allergens in the vaccines!
Would they think that it was okay if the policy was "ALL CHILDREN must provide proof they have Eaten Peanut Butter in order to get in"?
The allergy explanation (probably true for every one of our children whether they were born with the allergy or the first vaccine caused it) is the one explanation I have had success with in terms of getting that shocked "you're a rotten parent" look of people's faces.
Posted by: Carolyn Kylesmom | August 05, 2012 at 12:12 AM
I tried this in WA state. The cost of a billboard in the Seattle area is $23,000 PER MONTH. I had thought of looking in to billboards in areas where all the Seattle-ites go on vacation- the main freeways used to get to the ocean, or the eastern side of the state- but ran out of steam. WA state is one of the worst, and a "leader" in the attempts ot get philisophical exemptions removed. Are there any parents interested in working on this in the Puget Sound area?
Posted by: Tami | August 04, 2012 at 06:00 PM
Thank you, Marcella, for your thoughtful determination in educating the public about vaccine safety concerns.
It's unconscionable for a newspaper editor to say, "I am not going to print anything that would cause parents to question the safety of vaccines." Take that sentence and substitute any other product name for "vaccine" -- crib, car seat, food, medication, vehicle. What's the difference?
What a sad paradox that journalists selectively avoid reporting on the one consumer product that most needs close scrutiny... That closed-minded, fear-based attitude brought us the epidemic of vaccine-induced autism -- and, sadly, ensures the epidemic will continue.
Posted by: nhokkanen | August 04, 2012 at 03:43 PM
"To quote the Metro Editor of the largest daily newspaper in the Evansville area, "I am not going to print anything that would cause parents to question the safety of vaccines." Period. I tried to point out that this was not about questioning the safety of vaccines; it was a matter of balanced journalism and reporting the facts. Parents do have choices. It's the law. He wouldn't budge"
The editor's "front page" story warning parents their child couldn't go to school unless their vaccines were up-to-date .. was mis-leading at best .. a blatant lie at worst.
Either way .. this is an excellent example of why .. all across the country .. "newspaper" circulations are in free-fall decline.
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | August 04, 2012 at 03:01 PM
oh I so wanty to do this....the problem is caring for a vaccine injured child while tryin to do my share of educating the public is not always easy.....and im sure big pharma counts on that...
Posted by: channa brennon | August 04, 2012 at 01:19 PM
Seems to be plenty of ... "free back to school vaccines" ....around here.
Not sure if there are some free Gardasil vaccines or not. I assume there are... as pharma will always find someone to buy the vaccines / declare them a tax deduction, so they can then "feel good" as they are "saving the needy children."
Great billboard, all for the price of only a few vaccines...
Posted by: cmo | August 04, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Something to watch for--if the newspapers do start running stories admitting that there are exemptions available--it means that your state is being targeted for legislation to limit or remove exemptions.
We learned that the hard way in Vermont. The only time "they" talk about exemptions in public is when they are hoping to destroy them.
Posted by: Deborah Kahn | August 04, 2012 at 10:09 AM