Taking shots at anti- vax crowd

Want to dive into a petri dish of bacteria at a time when most of the globe is worried about finding a vaccine to fight the coronavirus?

Just come to the Capitol when the anti- vaccination mob descends on the General Assembly like the winter we haven’t really had.

Picture a couple thousand people, mostly women with runny- nosed preschool children, spread out along the marble floors of the Legislative Office Building in a show of force that some lawmakers find ominous. Me? I just want to cover committee meetings without catching someone’s cold.

Let’s not forget the evidence of diaper changing in the lavatory sinks as part of the ancillary effects of Informed Choice CT, the CT Freedom Alliance and others.

I respect their making a statement about not wanting to vaccinate their kids, or to have their children immunized at their own pace. It’s the anti- scientificfringe element that I find disturbing and even insulting.

I also suspect they are ignoring state law that requires lobbying organizations to register and pay nominal fees like every other interest group.

“Under Connecticut lobbyist registration law, any individual or entity, including groups formed around a single issue, whether they are incorporated or not, and whether they hold a tax- exempt status under the Federal IRS rules, must register if they expend $ 3,000 or more in lobbying and in activities in furtherance thereof,” says Peter Lewndowski, executive director of the Office of State Ethics.

I can’t get a straight answer out of the organizers, who I presume want to make their own rules on a variety of levels, one of which is not accountability.

It’s the 21st Century in the United States, so everyone just makes up their own truth, like the woman from New York, an anti- vaxxer who was arrested the other day before the legislative Public Health Committee approved watered down legislation that would eventually end religious exemptions for parents who don’t want to immunize their kids but do want them to attend public schools.

Fortunately, I’ve covered the Capitol long enough to rely on some veteran lawmakers who I believe have some moral authority: Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff and state Reps. Bob Godfrey and David Yaccarino.“The anti- vax crowd cannot substantiate anything in fact,” said Duff, D- Norwalk, who needed a security escort after a recent forum on the issue at the Westport Library. “Everything they say has been debunked as a myth and they are generally the most aggressive, hostile, rudest and threatening group of people I have ever experienced as a legislator. It is no surprise to me that one of the anti- vax advocates was arrested at the Capitol. In fact, more should have been arrested, but the Capitol Police showed great restraint.”

Duff says their tactics include bringing in supporters from out of state to pump up their presence. “They yell, scream, and try to intimidate and they use debunked information,” he said. “Thankfully for me they don’t scare me and they’re not going to bully me. This is a well- funded group and not an organic, grassroots movement.”

Yaccarino, R- North Haven, believes that most of the protesters have gotten their kids immunized. He is worried that the General Assembly could put itself in violation of the state Constitution if kids are refused admission into public school, especially in the bill as currently written that would let the current generation of under- immunized pupils remain enrolled but would bar their younger brothers and sisters.

“I think most people want their child to get vaccinated, but some parents’ and physicans’ timetables might not coincide with the state government timetable,” Yaccarino said. “I try to look at all sides. Most people know it’s a public health issue. We have to be careful.”

“They are generally the most aggressive, hostile, rudest and threatening group of people I have ever experienced as a legislator. It is no surprise to me that one of the anti- vax advocates was arrested at the Capitol. In fact, more should have been arrested, but the Capitol Police showed great restraint.” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D- Norwalk

Godfrey, D- Danbury, believes parents certainly have the best interests of their children in mind at a moment when insurers and the medical community may be pushing them into corners.

“You’ve got parents who are frightened of vaccinations and I think in many cases, they have genuine medical concerns, but when they go to their doctor, I am finding out that doctors don’t want to get involved,” Godfrey said. “One, they are worried about their liability for malpractice and two, the insurance company doesn’t cover this stuff. In 2020 in the United States, doctors don’t make medical decisions. Insurance companies do.”

Godfrey acknowledged that over the years, parents have been using the state’s boilerplate religious exemption to avoid vaccination requirements.

“I understand that,” he said, stressing that none of the state’s religious communities, even Christian Scientists, prohibit immunizations. “I’d rather have the medical professionals say ‘ yeah, this kid shouldn’t get a vaccine,’ than a frightened parent who doesn’t have the knowledge to make a medical decision on this. Because I do very much worry about unvaccinated kids getting sick and spreading measles and mumps. I haven’t heard discussions about if there are any other options we have to deal with this issue.”