"There is no evidence to support a vaccine-autism link, and irrefutable evidence supports vaccination as one of
the best ways to protect the health and lives of children all over the
world."
"In the context of global vaccine efforts, vaccine hesitancy makes
no sense and rarely comes up."
So I wince, almost daily, at the harm done by vaccine denialists, in opening the gate for resurgences of preventable diseases like measles. And I wince again when I see anti-vaccine misinformation spread by tiny but zealous factions within the autism communities, then blithely repeated by media outlets that value page views more than they do public health [shakes fist].
Anti-vaccine misinformation is a double whammy of dangerous ignorance: It makes people fear autistic people like my beloved son Leo, and it endangers the health and lives of children all over the world. So I counter that misinformation with my own double whammy: I speak out against anti-vaccine information and fight for good vaccine information whenever I can, as hard as I can.
Champions on Capitol Hill. Photo: Shot@Life |
It was an life-changing experience, walking the halls of the Capitol Hill office buildings in the company of people who gave such incredible damns. Realizing, that, as a constituent, I have the same right any other constituent to have my say, directly to my members of Congress (or their staff). Which we did! We talked with staffers for both Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
With James Hamos,
Legislative Fellow, and Megan Thompson, Legislative Assistant Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein |
And here is what we told the Senators' and Representatives' Congressional teams: Thank you for supporting global vaccine initiatives (because, thankfully, California and Silicon Valley were already on board). Let us know how we can support you -- and if you get blowback from your other constituents about diverting money internationally when we have so many domestic needs, we're here to provide you with information to address most any concern (and I also offered my services as a pro-vaccine autism parent). We need to keep funding international immunization programs for these reasons:
- Humanitarian: A child dies every 20 seconds because they don't have access to life-saving vaccines, and 1 in 5 children lacks access to vaccines. Plus, immunizations save the lives of 2.5 million children, each year.
- Public Safety: Measles infects 95% of the unvaccinated people who encounter a carrier; polio is only a plane ride away from returning to the United States. And babies can't be vaccinated in against measles in their first year of life. To keep ourselves safe, we must help eradicate vaccine-preventable disease in the rest of the world.
- Cost-savings: The costs of eradicating smallpox are more than recouped by an annual savings of the one billion dollars that would have been needed for treatment, etc. And we're so close to eliminating polio! The current goal for a polio-free world is 2018, and it's reachable.
With Stacy
Mintzer Herlihy, co-author of Your Baby's Best Shot and Melody Butler of Nurses Who Vax |
And before the Champion Summit, Shot@Life invited a group of bloggers to participate in the UN Foundation Global Issues Fellowship, which was like our own mini TED conference on Conversations About Global Agencies, Public Health, Vaccines, and Communication: Challenges, Goals, Myths, and Next Steps. I felt so grateful and lucky to participate, and to spend time with the group pictured below. So grateful, in fact, that I've put together Storified versions of most of the talks below (just click on the "they talked about" links), so you, too, can share what we learned.
Some pretty damn
amazing people. Recognize anyone? Photo: Migdalia Rivera |
Here are some of the write ups from the other Shot@Life/Global Issues Fellows (I'll add more as they
come in):
- Dresden Shumaker at Creating Motherhood: Revolutionary Optimists: Watch an Inspiring Clip
- Caryn Payzant at The MidLife Guru: What Is a Blogger Anyway (And Why Do They Matter?)
- Ellen Seidman at Parents.com: Scary Vaccine Realities You Can't Argue With and at Love That Max: Because We Fight for Kids Who Can't Fight for Themselves
- Sili Recio at My Mamihood: He Deserved a Shot
- Dresden Shumaker at Creating Motherhood: Almost Five
- Chloe Jeffreys at Chloe of the Mountain: Chloe Goes to Washington
Here are the wonderful people we ever-so-fortunate Global Issues Fellows got to hear from:
Ambassador Jimmy Kolker, former US Ambassador to Uganda and Burkina Faso, current Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs, US Dept of Health and Human Services, along with Peter Yeo, Vice President for Public Policy at the United Nations Foundation, spoke about health challenges around the globe -- include violence, and violence against women.
Ambassador Jimmy Kolker, former US Ambassador to Uganda and Burkina Faso, current Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs, US Dept of Health and Human Services, along with Peter Yeo, Vice President for Public Policy at the United Nations Foundation, spoke about health challenges around the globe -- include violence, and violence against women.
"Simple solutions to global violence against woman include having a female police officer at the hospitals, as Namibia does." |
"Life expectancies in parts of US, like the Mississsippi Delta,
are dismal by global standards, due to lack of health care."
are dismal by global standards, due to lack of health care."
Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Pakistan
graciously talked about the Pakistani government's unwavering commitment to eradicating polio within its borders, and the challenges it faces in
doing so.
Teddy
Ruge is co-founder of Project Diaspora and Hive Colab, and the Lead
Social Media Strategist for the World Bank. He talked about our obligation to "Create the Right Buzz"
while supporting, not displacing, local development efforts."When public confidence in vaccines is eroded, trust restoration takes time." Photo: Migdalia Rivera |
"The merits of your campaign should be: real, local, current issues, not making non-locals feel good." Photo: Flickr/Mashable (cropped) |
"Half the girls in Ethiopia are married before their 15th birthday, often by well-intentioned parents." Photo: Chloe Jeffreys |
"Peacekeeping is an attempt to get a country back on its feet after a crisis, including jobs, and access to justice." Photo: Chloe Jeffreys |
"In Mozambique, many parents will not name their child until after they've been vaccinated." Me, Devi (center), Lucrecer Braxton |
"At the end of the day, social media trends remind us that humans have a lot in common." Photo: UN Foundation |
If there is a single message you should be taking away from the onslaught of information above, it is this: You have so many options for helping to get life-saving vaccines to the children who need them. Pick an option, and get going!
----
Again, my sincere thanks to the UN Foundation and Shot@Life, and everyone who made this incredible experience possible -- including my companions in the Shot@Life Champions Summit and Global Issues Fellowship. Disclosure: The UN Foundation provided my travel & lodgings for the two events.
What a great re-cap of the Summit events! You are a great story teller. Im sure those who weren't able to attend can pick up the excitement and motivation from the weeks events. It was a pleasure meeting all this years Shot@Life Champions and I look forward to working together to protect kids around the world from vaccine preventable diseases!
ReplyDeleteMelody, it was great to meet you, especially under such auspicious & productive circumstances. Onward!
DeleteAmazing recap. Shan, you are one of the most amazing advocates I have ever known. I am going to try and not sound cheesy when I say that just being around you is inspiring, but, maybe that sounds cheesy. I always learn something new from you, as I'm sure many of us at the summit did.
ReplyDeleteWow, Ellen. Coming from someone with your advocacy record, that is humbling. Thank you. And, likewise about the always learning.
DeleteGood for you! I think the obsession with vaccines and autism really prevents research from investigating the real causes--or, better yet, from investigating effective therapies.
ReplyDeleteBethany @ Puzzled No Longer
Great article Shan. I'm so glad you made me aware of it (by posting a picture on Facebook) but now I'm wishing I had managed to get in more than 28 photos before the Shot@Life ended.
ReplyDeleteGreat summit! happy photos ;) I know there will be many more potentially lifesaving vaccines in the years to come.
ReplyDeleteJane@Cadieux et Langevin