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Ethan Lindenberger is well vaccinated, just about everything.
He is 18 but has never received a vaccine against hepatitis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella or chicken pox.
Lindenberger's mother, Jill Wheeler, is anti-vaccine. He added that she had been influenced by erroneous information online, such as an unfounded study claiming that some vaccines were linked to autism or a theory that vaccines could cause brain damage. . Such misconceptions have spread like wildfire, so much so that the CDC has explicitly tried to fight them by publishing pages such as "Vaccines do not cause autism".
Lindenberger's older sister is vaccinated and her older brother is partially immunized. However, once her mother discovered that she had the right not to participate in vaccinations, she chose not to vaccinate her five youngest children.
"God knows how I'm still alive," Lindenberger wrote on Reddit last November.
In her article Reddit, Lindenberger asks for help to know how to get vaccinated. He received over 1000 responses. His article joins articles similar to those of other unvaccinated adolescents who are trying to get vaccinated, despite the beliefs of their parents.
In this period of outbreaks of measles in the Pacific Northwest, prompting the proclamation of the state of emergency by the Governor of Washington State, more and more miners are being killed. Ask about whether they can give their own consent to get vaccinated.
According to the CDC, for the month of January this year, measles has been confirmed in 10 states, with the agency monitoring other outbreaks in New York State and New York City.
As Lindenberger grew up, he listened to what his mother told him about the harmful effects of vaccines. He thought it was normal not to receive vaccines.
But at school, Lindenberger withdrew from the clbad and educators asked him to be vaccinated. He talked with friends and realized that they had all been vaccinated, but that he did not even know what a flu shot looked like. He has seen more and more anti-vaccination debates on social media. Slowly, he began to question what his mother had told him.
So, he did his own research.
"When I started investigating myself, it became very obvious that there was much more evidence in favor of vaccinations, in their favor," Lindenberger told NPR's Scott Simon, the Weekend Edition.
After research, Lindenberger tried to confront her mother by offering her a CDC article on how vaccines do not cause autism.
"His answer was simply" that's what they want you to think "," he said. "I was blown away, you know, the biggest health organization in the world would be written off with some sort of statement like a conspiracy theory like that."
Despite repeated efforts to discuss vaccination with her mother and show her the impact of the anti-vaccination movement on public health, Lindenberger could not change her mind. But his own decision was made: he was going to be vaccinated.
Lindenberger recently received his first vaccine against diseases such as HPV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and influenza. This caused stress at his home in Norwalk, Ohio, where he lives with both parents.
"My mother always knew I did not agree with her and thought it was going to happen, but that was not the case," he said. "She considered that I was getting vaccinations for a gesture of rebellion and not for myself and for the good of the people around me."
In an interview with the science magazine To get awayLindenberger's mother said that her decision to be vaccinated was felt as an insult and described her as a "slap".
As a legal adult, Lindenberger's mother can not prevent her from getting vaccinated. For minors who want to be vaccinated, this can be more complicated because no federal law regulates the issue. Instead, the ability of a minor to get vaccinated varies according to the state's laws. In many cases, 18 is the obligation to obtain medical procedures without parental consent.
Although she can not control her decision, Lindenberger said her mother was still trying to convince him not to continue to be vaccinated.
Although he does not question his mother's love, Lindenberger said that he was questioning his judgment. He has more blows planned for later this month.
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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A measles epidemic in the Pacific Northwest has once again placed the issue of vaccinations at the center of concern. Most infected people are unvaccinated children. Parents can choose to vaccinate or not their children. And children, overall, are bound by this decision.
Ethan Lindenberger is one of those young people. He is now a high school student from Norwalk, Ohio. His parents are opposed to vaccination. But when he turned 18, he decided to rethink that decision.
ETHAN LINDENBERGER: What happened mainly was that I grew up listening to my mother and what she had told me and supposed, it was the case: I was not vaccinated because the vaccines are bad and they cause all these harmful effects.
And while I was growing up and talking to friends and seeing how online, there was a big debate and heated debate between the two sides, I realized that it was not as much a universal truth in black and white. And when I started to look at the situation myself, it became very obvious that there was a lot more evidence, you know, in favor of immunization – in their favor.
SIMON: Is there a moment when you told your mother and / or your father, look; it is not sure not to be vaccinated?
LINDENBERGER: Of course. I remember that I approached my mother with an article from the CDC and asked why, according to the CDC, vaccines do not cause autism and why mercury is not this extremely dangerous substance and this poison present in vaccines who, as you know, are people like her. pretend. And his answer was simply, that's what they want you to think.
And I was stunned to find that, you know, the world's largest health organization would be written off with a statement like a conspiracy theory. And so I remember moments like this, where I thought I was not concerned about the evidence.
SIMON: When were you vaccinated? When did you start?
LINDENBERGER: I had two vaccines when I was 2 years old. My mother claims that one of these did not happen, or it went against her will, and the only vaccine I should have received was a vaccine against tetanus when I was 2 years old. And that was all. Along with that, I've never received any other vaccines – hepatitis, polio – anything.
And the vaccines I received were hepatitis A, hepatitis B and a few other vaccines, including a tetanus toxoid vaccine. And I have more this month.
SIMON: How are you at home?
LINDENBERGER: Strange. When I received my vaccinations, my mother always knew that I did not agree with her and thought that was going to happen, but that was not the case. And once I finally got out and got vaccinated, it caused a lot of stress in the house where she thought it was like I was getting vaccinations for a rebellious act and not for my own good. and the other people around me.
SIMON: Your mother said in the digital science magazine Undark – she pointed out that she had made that decision because she thought it was the best thing for you. And then she called your decision …
LINDENBERGER: Agreed.
SIMON: … quote, "a slap in the face" and then, it's like he had spit on me. It must hurt to hear these words from your mother, even third-hand.
LINDENBERGER: Not necessarily. I mean, my mother is a very willing person. And it's something for which I disagree with her wholeheartedly and very politely. And even if it hurts, I know it's not a deserved reaction. I try not to take it too much to heart.
SIMON: Yeah. You do not doubt his love, but you question his judgment.
LINDENBERGER: Yes, absolutely. This is a great way to say it. And I think that many people who are in a situation similar to mine can interview a parent, you know, love or take care of his child to deny him a medical procedure. And some people can even compare vaccines to something like a seatbelt. How would you like a child and deny him the safety of a seatbelt?
But from his point of view, you can see how, if these things are really believable, it would make sense to try to defend and avoid something as dangerous as the vaccines if that causes the polio, if it causes autism, if it causes brain damage. But that's just not true. And so I have to try to make amends with that.
SIMON: Ethan Lindenberger, High School in Norwalk, Ohio – thank you very much for being with us.
LINDENBERGER: Thank you. Transcription provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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