GETTING HOSTILE. IN SOME CASES PHYSICAL VIOLENCE.
HOW THE MOVEMENT GOT HERE.
>> THE ANSWERED VACCINATION
MOVEMENT HAS SEEN SORT OF A
CHANGE RECENTLY.
CHANGE RECENTLY. RECENTLY IT IS AN ONLINE.
MO.
MO. THAT’S HOW THEY HAVE GROWN, HOW
THEY HAVE FUND RAISED, HOW THEY
HAVE GOTTEN PEOPLE INTO THEIR
MOVEMENT.
MOVEMENT. BUT NOW, PARTLY BECAUSE OF A
SLAMP DOWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA,
PEOPLE ARE REALLY TAKING THIS
MOVEMENT SORT OF TO THE STREETS,
RIGHT?
RIGHT? YOU WILL SEE THEM A LOT MORE IN
PROTESTS WITH SORT OF GREAT BIG
ALMOST WEST BORROW BAPTIST SIGNS
WITH VACCINE INFORMATION.
THEY ARE TARGETING BIG EVENTS
WHERE THEY KNOW THE MEDIA WILL
BE.
BE. THEY ARE ALSO SHOWING UP AT
INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONFERENCES
LIKE THE ONE IN NEW YORK LAST
MONTH AND THEY ARE INTIMIDATING,
HARASSING, FOLLOWING DOCTORS AND
HEALTH ADVOCATES.
HEALTH ADVOCATES. THAT’S BEEN SORT OF A WORRYING
TREND.
TREND. THE PEOPLE ARE USED TO SEEING
THIS ON NUMBER FACEBOOK PAGES
BUT NOT SO MUCH IN REAL LIFE.
ONE OF THE LEADERS OF THIS
OFFLINE MOVEMENT IS JOSH
COLEMAN.
COLEMAN. HE HAS BEEN IN THE MOVEMENT FOR
A LONG TIME, MANY YEARS, BUT HE
HAS REALLY FOUND HIS SORT OF
TIME BECAUSE HE’S THE PERSON
THAT IS DESIGNING ALL THESE
SIGNS.
SIGNS. HE IS FLYING TO HAWAII, TO NEW
YORK TORQUE CALIFORNIA, TO MEET
WITH ALL OF THESE LOCAL TINY
ANTI-VACCINATION GROUPS AND
UNIFY THE MESSAGE.
HE SAYS HE FUNDS IT THROUGH
LITTLE DONATION, PEOPLE
SCROUNGING TOGETHER HIS AIRFARE
AND PLACES FOR HIM TO SLEEP.
THAT’S HOW HE IS DOING.
HE HAS TAKEN OFFENSE WITH SOME
OF THE MORE VIE HELP EPISODES OF
ANTI-VACCINATION MOVEMENT HE HAS
SEEN.
SEEN. HE SAYS THESE AREN’T PEOPLE WITH
OUR GROUP.
OUR GROUP. A CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR WAS
PUSHED IN THE STREET BY A MAN, A
CONSPIRACY THEORIST, THE
ANTIVACCINATION ACTIVIST, HE WAS
PUSHED BY THE STREET BY HIM IN
AUGUST.
AUGUST. THAT WAS SORT OF A FLASH POINT.
THEN THE NEXT MONTH YOU HAD A
WOMAN WHO CAME TO ONE OF
THESE -- TO THE CENTER -- THE
CALIFORNIA SENATE FLOOR, AND SHE
SPILLED A CUP OF MENSTRUAL BLOOD
ON THE SENATORS AS THEY WERE
DEBATING THIS LAW.
IT IS A FLASH POINT FOR VIOLENCE
IN THE MOVEMENT.
PEOPLE LIKE THAT REALIZES THAT
THE RHETORIC CAN TURN VIOLENT
BUT SAYS HE IS TAKING STEPS SO
THAT THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN.
HOWEVER, THE LAW MAKERS AND THE
DOCTORS THAT ARE THE TARGETS OF
THIS HARASSMENT ARE SCARED.
THE ANTI-VACCINE MOVEMENT IS A
VERY LOUD, VERY VOCAL, VERY IN
YOUR FACE MOVEMENT BUT IT IS
ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO REALIZE
IT IS A SMALL, SMALL GROUP OF
VERY LOCAL PEOPLE.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT
IS HOW THEY AFFECT THE LORGEER
PRO VACCINE MOVEMENT, RIGHT,
WHICH IS ALMOST EVERYBODY ELSE.
ON THURSDAY THE CENTERS FOR
DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
REPORTED THAT OVERALL THERE HAS
BEEN A 66% DROP IN MEASLES CASES
WORLDWIDE SINCE 2000 LARGELY
THANKS TO VAKS MAKES.
THE REPORT SYSTEMS 23.2 MILLION
LIVES HAVE BEEN SAVED AROUND THE
WORLD BECAUSE OF THE MMR
VACCINE.
VACCINE. AT THE SAME TIME, IN THE U.S.,
OUR VACCINATION RATES, THERE ARE
POCKETS WHERE THEY AREN’T
SUSTAINABLE IN THE COMMUNITY AND
IT IS CAUSING OUTBREAKS IN
PLACES LIKE NEW YORK AND
CALIFORNIA WHO ARET CONTRACTING
LAWS TO CONTRADICT THAT.
OVERALL, THE ANTI-VACCINE
MOVEMENT ISN’T HAVING THAT BIG
OF AN EFFECT IN THE U.S.
PEOPLE ARE STILL VAC NATING
THEIR KIDS OVERALL.
DOCTORS AND HEALTH ADVOCATES SAY
THEY ARE AFRAID THAT IT WILL
HAVE A CHILLING EFFECT BECAUSE
WHO WANTS TO GO UP AGAINST
PEOPLE WHO HARASS YOU IN RETURN?
SO AS THEY SPREAD LIES AND
CONSPIRACY THEORIES, YOU HAVE A
DWINDLING NUMBER OF SCIENTISTS
AND PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCATES AND
SCIENCE WHO WANT TO SPEAK OUT
AND BE THE TARGET OF THAT
HARASSMENT.
HARASSMENT. THE CDC DOCTORS, THE OVERALL
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY ALL HAVE
CONSENSUS THAT VACCINES ARE SAFE
AND EFFECTIVE.
AND EFFECTIVE. THEY DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM AS SOME
CONSPIRACY THEORISTS HAVE
ALLEGED.
ALLEGED. THEY DON’T CAUSE DEATH.
THEY DON’T CAUSE ALL OF THE
THINGS THAT THE ANTI-VACCINE