Vaccine Religious Exemptions Under Siege Emergency Alert

The Alert below was sent out today by the Autism Action Network US Take Action: NY Times calls for eliminating religious and secular exemptions
NY, CT and ME moving on ending exemption
And so it begins… The New York Times is calling for the elimination of religious and secular exemptions from forced vaccination in the US. As the most influential media outlet among corporate "progressives" in the United States, this editorial is the equivalent of a declaration of war. Earlier this week the World Health Organization identified "vaccine resistance" as a top-ten threat to global health, which suggests a coordinated public relations campaigns. Serious efforts are underway in Connecticut and Maine to eliminate exemptions there, and we expect an effort to begin any day now in New York. All three states had Democrats take control of both legislative houses and the Governorship in the last election. We expect other states to follow.       Please click on the Take Action link to send a message to the Times and your state and federal legislators letting them know that you support informed consent and reject the self-interested fear mongering of the New York Times.           The Times is calling for the elimination of a basic human right using the sky-is-falling rhetoric with no basis in fact. Religious exemptions, and secular exemptions in 19 states, are as old as mandatory vaccines. Forty-seven states have them, as well most of the developed democracies progressives point to as examples of good health policy: Canada, the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, etc. There is no evidence to indicate that the tiny number of students who have exemptions are any threat to public health. And this proposal completely tramples any conventional understanding of religious liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment.      Since 1986 when vaccine manufacturers and physicians were relieved of any legal liability for injuries caused by their products, the number, sales and profitability of vaccines have exploded. In 1986, 24 vaccine doses were recommended for American children, today it is more than 80 doses. Nonetheless, uptake of vaccines are still at all-time highs. "Nationally, coverage with vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for children aged 19–35 months remains high and stable,"according to the CDC's analysis of the most recent numbers, and less than 1% of all children have never received a vaccine. Yet the Times claims vaccination rates are falling.      Sales and profits have never been higher for the four massive drug corporations, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi and Glaxo that control more than 80% of the globalvaccine market, which are expected to continuing growing for the forseeable future. The drug industry is both the second largest advertiser in the United States (after cars), and the largest source of political campaign contributions.      The Times pays special attention to a few small outbreaks of measles (58 cases in NY), a mild childhood disease that used to be the grist for sitcomsin the 1960s and 70s, and the Gardasil vaccine for human papilloma virus (which is only mandated in two states.) No mention is made of the global controversy surrounding Gardasil, which Japan pulled from its list of recommended vaccines for safety reasons. The only measles and HPV vaccines licensed in the US are made by one company: Merck. Perhaps the Times is looking after the best interests of an advertiser rather than public health.      Please share this message with friends and family, and please share on social networks. And if you support the work of the Autism Action Network please make a donation at www.autismactionnetwork.org.