As most folks know, Ethan Lindenberger is the Ohio teen who got himself vaccinated over the objections of his mother, who had always believed that vaccines are dangerous.
He recently testified in Washington, D.C. before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Hearing, Vaccines Save Lives: What Is Driving Preventable Disease Outbreaks?
Who Is Ethan Lindenberger?
Not surprisingly, Ethan Lindenberger is getting a lot of attention lately.
Unfortunately, not all of it has been good.
Along the way to getting vaccinated and a trip to Capitol Hill, he has been attacked on social media from anti-vaccine folks who must see him as some kind of threat.
I remember speaking with my mother about vaccines, and at one point in our discussion she claimed a link existed between vaccines and autism. In response, I presented evidence from the CDC which claimed directly in large bold letters, “There is no link between vaccines and autism.” Within the same article from the CDC on their official website, extensive evidence and studies from the institute of medicine (IOM) were cited. Most would assume when confronted with such strong proof, there would be serious consideration that your views are incorrect. This was not the case for my mother, as her only response was, “that’s what they want you to think.”
Ethan Lindenberger
Now that she sees that “they” have made up conspiracy theories about her own son, will Ethan’s mother understand how the anti-vaccine movement works?
“Conversations like these were what reaffirmed the evidence in defense of vaccinations and proved to me, at least on an anecdotal level, that anti-vaccine beliefs are deeply rooted in misinformation. Despite this, a necessary clarification must be made when discussing this misinformation: anti-vaccine individuals do not root their opinions in malice, but rather a true concern for themselves and other people. Although it may not seem to be true because of the serious implications of choosing not to vaccinate, the entire anti-vaccine movement has gained so much traction because of this fear and concern that vaccines are dangerous.”
Ethan Lindenberger
Who is scaring everyone about vaccines and creating all of this misinformation?
In his testimony, Ethan identified some people that will be familiar to everyone who works to combat anti-vaccine misinformation, including Bob Sears, Del Bigtree, and Larry Cook.
“My story highlights this misinformation and how it spreads. Between social media platforms, to using a parent’s love as a tool, these lies cause people to distrust in vaccination, furthering the impact of a preventable disease outbreak and even contributing to the cause of diseases spreading. This needs to change and I only hope my story contributes to such advancements.”
Ethan Lindenberger
We are lucky that Ethan told his story.
It’s an important story and hopefully everyone who is thinking about skipping or delaying their child’s vaccines will listen to it.
More on Ethan Lindenberger
- Ethan Lindenberger Testifies On Why He Got Vaccinated Against His Mother’s Will
- VAXOPEDIA – Parents Who Regret Not Vaccinating Their Kids
- VAXOPEDIA – How Can I Get Vaccinated If My Parents Are Anti-Vaccine?
- VAXOPEDIA – How Do You Get Caught up If You Have Never Been Vaccinated
- VAXOPEDIA – Catching up on 17 Years Worth of Vaccinations to Attend College
- VAXOPEDIA – Ask 8 Questions Before You Skip a Vaccine
- VAXOPEDIA – What Are the Greatest Tricks Anti-Vaccine Folks Use to Persuade Parents to Skip Vaccines?
- VAXOPEDIA – The Benefits and Risks of Delaying Vaccines
- VAXOPEDIA – 100 Myths About Vaccines
- VAXOPEDIA – Anti-Vaccine Points Refuted A Thousand Times
- VAXOPEDIA – 50 Ways to Get Educated About Vaccines
- Ethan Lindenberger Testimony Vaccines Save Lives: What Is Driving Preventable Disease Outbreaks? Hearing
- My parents are kind of stupid and don’t believe in vaccines. Now that I’m 18, where do I go to get vaccinated? Can I get vaccinated at my age?
- Defying Parents, A Teen Decides To Get Vaccinated
- I defied mother to get vaccinated for safety of me and others, US teen says
- A Rare Happy Ending Story Involving Reddit and Anti-Vaxxers
- Teen who defied anti-vax mom says she got false information from one source: Facebook
- 18-Year-Old Testifies About Getting Vaccinated Despite Mother’s Anti-Vaccine Beliefs
- Ethan Lindenberger’s Mother Disagrees with His Senate Testimony