“I am absolutely not injecting this poison into my children,” said Concetta Comparato, a mother of three in Sayreville, N.J. Comparato said she is not opposed to vaccines; she said her children have received all of their childhood immunizations. But she worries not enough time has passed to know how the vaccine could affect adolescents long-term. Two of her children have high-functioning autism. One has developmental delays.
“I don’t feel like I know how this could affect them and their conditions,” she said. She said the ubiquitous advocacy for the vaccines has only made her more suspicious. “If it’s so trustworthy, why does the government and other people feel like they need to push it so heavily?”
Health officials are realizing they need to talk about the vaccine not only to parents and guardians, but to children themselves. Anne Zink, the chief medical officer for Alaska and incoming president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said children might have different concerns than adults. School officials, she said, will play a pivotal role in talking about the vaccine.
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