Say NO to Discrimination veiled as a "safety" measure for public health.

By Michigan for Vaccine Choice

Every week Michigan for Vaccine Choice receives multiple communications about families being kicked out of or "fired" from pediatric practices for not adhering to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule.

AAP is a trade organization, funded not only by membership, but also by pharmaceutical donations. They lobby daily for increased vaccination uptake while ignoring parental rights to be informed about potential risks of vaccination. This one-sided approach to medicine is backfiring for both the AAP and the CDC. Americans, including people residing in the great State of Michigan, know that all medical interventions, including vaccinations, carry risks. True informed consent allows for a conversation with a trusted doctor to explore the full benefits vs. the risks of any procedure. This makes sense, right? Of course, when the discussion turns to vaccination, this informed consent conversation is quickly replaced by "follow our recommendations or get out." But why is this happening?

If this were about health, firing healthy patients from a practice would not make sense. Prior to 2016, AAP recommended not dismissing patients who chose not to vaccinate, arguing that patients needed their trusted doctors. Then in 2016 AAP flipped its position with an updated policy statement, "Countering Vaccine Hesitancy". This very carefully crafted document described the ultimate goal of the AAP: "For these reasons, we believe the better approach is to work to eliminate all nonmedical exemptions for childhood vaccines, a position that is shared by the American Medical Association and the Infectious Diseases Society of America and is currently the basis of a policy statement being developed by the AAP." This AAP policy statement created a rationale to make acceptable the practice of dismissing families who have a religious or philosophical objection to vaccination. This is discrimination, thinly veiled as "providing a healthy environment for all patients". All vaccinated patients, that is. If your child has a reaction to DTaP, or any other vaccine, and you choose to not continue on with the recommended series , rather than respect and guide you with medical expertise, you are summarily dismissed for not following the list of recommendations by a trade organization.

Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) also began an incentive program in 2016 which resulted in doctors' offices pushing to increase vaccine uptake and to eliminate the “dead weight” of all families that chose not to adhere to the ever growing "recommended" schedule.

Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) is a federation of independent, locally operated companies, including the Blue Care Network (BCN) in Michigan. Some BCBS companies have historically offered performance-based incentive programs to encourage healthcare providers, including pediatricians, to meet specific quality metrics, such as ensuring timely childhood vaccinations.

2016 CDC Recommended Vaccination Schedule (Ages 0–18)

2016 68 antigens doses compared to 2025 94 antigen doses

Source:

• CDC 2016 Immunization Schedule

• AAP Red Book (2015–2018): Summarizes the schedule and clinical guidance.

The AAP highlights that pediatric offices may spend significant time having repeated discussions with parents who opt to delay or skip vaccinations, which becomes a time-consuming burden for doctors who dedicate 10 minutes or more to address vaccination concerns. They also mention that attempting to persuade parents to vaccinate when they are unwilling can lead to reduced job satisfaction. Instead of letting the informed consent process unfold gradually, the AAP promotes strategies to persuade parents who are hesitant or wish to delay or spread-out vaccines. The AAP also emphasizes that only the current CDC schedule is acceptable, suggesting that alternative schedules or delays are somehow unsafe. We know that the current recommended vaccination schedule has never been tested for safety. When it comes to introducing solid food, the AAP recommends introducing only one food at a time, to better isolate and identify allergic reactions. Yet, the push for vaccination uptake continues, with multiple vaccines being given at once, defying the logic of isolating to better identify allergic or other adverse reactions. “

The BCBS incentives drive policy goals: increase vaccine uptake (make more money), dismiss under vaccinated and unvaccinated children (make more money), eliminate religious and philosophical exemptions (increase the pressure to follow the CDC vaccine schedule and make more money). These strategies are not meant to promote public health, healthy children, or the greater good. This scheme, employed by the AAP along with other prominent organizations, exposes the real truth: profits are prioritized over the right to exemptions, parental rights to make medical decisions in the best interests of their children are not honored, and the ability to receive true informed consent from trusted health care providers is not a priority. Our current healthcare system has also created a large chasm of discrimination and discord between vaccinated and unvaccinated children.

What can we do here in Michigan? Support HB 4475 which amends the ELLIOTT-LARSEN CIVIL RIGHTS ACT to include Vaccination Status as a protected class. This critical bill would enshrine protection to people of all vaccination statuses, both in the public and the private sectors

Click to support HB 4475