National Vaccine Information Center’s ad running on the ABC Full Circle Screen in Times Square spreads needless fear about childhood vaccinations.
An ad by the NVIC earlier this year on a different screen in Times Square and an NVIC PSA that was playing on Delta Airline flights was condemned by the American Academy of Pediatrics as being harmful, unfounded, unscientific and misleading.
The NVIC is a notorious anti-vaccine organization, whose name and website are designed to give the impression that they are a legitimate government agency. However their “vaccine information” is designed to frighten the public and encourage individuals to opt out of protecting themselves and their children through immunization.
This is an especially dangerous time to be spreading fear about vaccines in New York City, where the NYC Department of Health has confirmed 126 cases of whooping cough since August 2011. Whooping cough is a serious disease and infants are especially at risk of serious illness or even death. Vaccines are our most powerful tool in defense against diseases like whooping cough. However, if NVIC’s ad is successful, we may see more people refusing vaccinations for themselves and their children, and a rise in illness and death within the US.
NVIC’s Times Square ad is misleading and downright dangerous. ABC and Disney, you need to take responsibility for protecting public health by pulling NVIC’s harmful ad before it can do more damage.
This petition was created by the Women Thinking Free Foundation. For more information, please visit the http://www.hugmeimvaccinated.org
Hat Tip: Bob
I signed it and a couple of others.
Come on folks add more signatures
ummm whooping cough doesn’t have a vaccine and not all vaccines are helpful like the flu vaccine
Iraqvet1999: your statement about the lack of a vaccine for whooping cough is wrong. The standard vaccination series includes the DPT (diphtheria/pertussis/typhoid). Pertussis is the agent responsible for whooping cough. And this particular vaccine is very effective. (As a physician, I can claim some degree of expertise on the subject.)
Can we please have a link to the petition itself?
The Bad Astronomy Blog has a good item on the anti-vax thing here :
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/12/29/stop-antivaxxers-now/
Hope it’s okay to post that here – my apologies and please let me know if not.
@4. WMDKitty : December 30, 2011 at 12:23 am
From there is this link :
http://www.change.org/petitions/abc-pull-nvics-anti-vaccine-ad-from-the-abc-screen-in-times-square
which I presume is the one in question.
Thanks, StevoR. Signed.