Philly.com

Today, however, the medical community has stopped listening to parents', particularly mothers', vaccine worries. Mothers who express any reservations about the growing number of vaccines and vaccine doses required for children are dismissed out of hand as ignorant or worse. They're labeled "anti-vaxxers" whether they refuse all vaccines or just one. And their concerns are grossly mischaracterized. Mothers are all too often blamed for listening to Jenny McCarthy and trusting a long discredited study linking vaccines to autism. Listen a little more closely, however: they're concerned, not unjustifiably, about conflicts of interest on the part of vaccine policy makers, what they feel are inadequate safeguards against vaccine risks, and a system that seems likely to require more doses of more vaccines.

We have a long history of holding mothers uniquely responsible for children's health. We have an equally long history of dismissing women as ignorant because they're women. We've left most of that history behind, but it's time to admit that the trend is still alive in our national conversation about childhood vaccines. And that's too bad, because public health is best served when the public is respectfully included in discussions of best practices.

This writer here, as usual, didn't really look into this. There is a vague reference to conflicts of interest on the part of officials, but parents with concerns are assumed to be wrong.  I posted two comments.

The Wrap

State Farm Insurance will no longer run a television advertisement starring Rob Schneider because of the actor's anti-vaccination views. The move comes after a social media campaign called for Schneider to be dropped as a spokesperson.

Phil Supple, the insurance company's director of public affairs, told PR Week, "[Schneider's] ad has unintentionally been used as a platform for discussion unrelated to the products and services we provide," he said. "With that, we are working to remove the ad from our rotation at this time."

Representatives for both Schneider and State Farm have not yet responded to TheWrap's request for comment.

Schneider reprised his popular "Saturday Night Live" character "the Copy Guy" for the State Farm campaign. But it didn't go over well with some viewers, and the social media pages "Science Babe" and "Chow Babe" are being credited with starting the push for State Farm to pull the ads.

Critics of the ads also produced a video that asked supporters to post comments on State Farm's Facebook and Twitter pages.

"State Farm provides health insurance, and nothing ensures public health more than getting vaccinated," the video says. "It is time to end the anti-vaccination movement; with your help, we can elicit change."

Schneider has long held a stance against vaccinations. In 2012, he came out against California Bill AB 2109 that requires parents to seek professional medical advice regarding the risks and rewards of vaccinating their children.

After the bill passed both houses of the California legislature, Schneider wrote the following message on Twitter:




The Dachel Media Update is sponsored by Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy and their OurKidsASD brand.  Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy is one of the largest and most respected compounding pharmacies in the country. They use only the finest quality chemicals and equipment to prepare our patients’ compounded medications and nutritional supplements. Customizing medication and nutritional supplements for our customers allows them to achieve their unique health goals.

Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism and author of  The Big Autism Cover-Up: How and Why the Media Is Lying to the American Public, which goes on sale this Fall from Skyhorse Publishing.