Don’t call them anti-vaxxers. They want it known they’re people injured by vaccines they were taught to trust.
The group “Hawaii for Informed Consent” organized a rally at the State Capitol on Tuesday and says certain vaccinations once suggested could now be required by schools as soon as July 1st this year. A current exemption against vaccines could also be removed.
Julianne King says her son Beau has an underlying mitochondrial disorder, and when he got the MMR vaccine, he regressed to autism.
“We’re fighting for medical freedom and choice, knowing that we’re not all genetically identical, and that there are some children and people who are injured by vaccines,” King said.
Representative Dale Kobayashi shared his own experience as a child who almost died after receiving a smallpox vaccine.
“I went into a coma. I was one in half a million people who couldn’t take that vaccine,” Kobayashi said.
Other high profile speakers included anti-vaccine activists Bobby Kennedy Jr and medical science journalist Del Bigtree.
“Nobody knows what the risk profile is,” Kennedy said. “These products are making billions of dollars in a $50 billion industry. The same companies are making $500 billion a year selling the treatments for the diseases that are being caused by vaccines.”
“We proved that there’s never been a single safety study done on vaccinations that we give our kids,” said Bigtree, who produced the documentary “Vaxxed.” “Instead, they just tell us they’re safe without any proof. And what we’re seeing is the greatest declining public health we’ve seen in human history.”
Lieutenant Governor Josh Green, who is also a medical doctor, told KITV-4: “Everyone in our community is entitled to their beliefs. I respect that. But because we share everything in society now (schools, parks, hospitals, beaches, public spaces), the anti-vaccination movement creates a fundamental problem for many innocent and vulnerable people, placing them at great risk. If we share society, we must share the responsibility to prevent disease outbreaks.”
Protesters are calling for passage of Senate Bill 2270 — allowing vaccine exemptions based on conscientious beliefs.
The Department of Health gave this statement: “Children in Hawai‘i may be exempt from immunization requirements for medical or religious reasons, if the appropriate documentation is presented to the school. Religious exemption forms may be completed at the school that your child will attend. Medical exemptions must be obtained from your child’s doctor. No other exemptions are allowed by the State.”
