Teen Who Defied Anti-Vaxx Mom To Testify Before Congress

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An Ohio teenager who made headlines last month for defying his mother’s anti-vaccine beliefs will testify about his experience before a congressional committee on Tuesday.

Ethan Lindenberger, 18, tweeted that he’s looking forward to discussing the spread of vaccine misinformation at the Senate health committee’s coming hearing on preventable disease outbreaks.

“I grew up in an anti-vaxx household,” Lindenberger said in a YouTube video about the hearing. “My mom didn’t believe that vaccines were beneficial to the health and safety of society.”

His mother, Jill Wheeler, had her two oldest children vaccinated, but refused to do the same for her five youngest children, including Ethan, when she realized she wasn’t required to do so by law.

But after reading scientific papers about the benefits of immunizations, Lindeberger decided it was in his best interest to get vaccinated. He solicited advice on how to do so without his parents’ permission in a Reddit post in mid-November, which has since gone viral.

“My parents think vaccines are some kind of government scheme,” he wrote at the time. “It’s stupid and I’ve had countless arguments over the topic. But, because of their beliefs I’ve never been vaccinated for anything, god knows how I’m still alive.”

Just over a month later, Lindenberger received vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza and HPV at an Ohio Department of Heath office, The Washington Post reported.

Lindenberger will be joined Tuesday by several other committee witnesses, including Washington Secretary of Health John Wiesman and Immune Deficiency Foundation President and CEO John Boyle.

Ethan Lindenberger spent his first 18 years unvaccinated -- defenseless against tetanus, polio, measles. But in December, defying his mother, he got inoculated, a rebellion that earned him an invitation to Congress.

"I grew up understanding my mother believed vaccines are dangerous, as she would speak openly about her views both online and in person," the high schooler said Tuesday in testimony before a Senate hearing on contagious disease outbreaks.

But Lindenberger, still 18, said he did his own research and became convinced that information in defense of vaccines outweighed the concerns of the so-called anti-vax movement.

Lindenberger, testifying alongside distinguished health experts and officials, said "it was a slow progression to start to see evidence" of the effectiveness and safety of vaccines.

But he grew intrigued by so many people who "disagreed with my mom" and sought to dismiss her claims online.

He began studying reports by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, visiting public health organization websites, and poring over scientific journals.

When he showed his mother the articles explaining, for example, that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine did not cause autism, he said she replied: "That's what they want you to think."

What got Ethan's vaccination quest noticed was his November post on the discussion website Reddit: "My parents are kind of stupid and don't believe in vaccines. Now that I'm 18, where do I go to get vaccinated?"

eated before some of America's most senior lawmakers, he was praised for his persistence in seeking out the truth.

"I applaud your critical thinking skills," said Democratic Senator Tim Kaine.

"I'd love to be a guest at your Thanksgiving dinner at your house," quipped Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican.

Ethan's mother did not testify.

"I just continue to try and be respectful and as kind as I can and share the truth with her," Lindenberger told AFP.

"I think she understands that it's important to me."

Ethan, who lives with his father and wants to become a pastor, firmly believes his mother had good intentions in refusing to vaccinate her children.

He said a main challenge now is to counter the online anti-vaccination sites that peddle conspiracy theories by using "anecdotal" information that can ring true for concerned parents.

"People don't resonate well with information and data," Lindenberger said. "My mom reaffirmed that her position was correct because she knows people and she sees stories -- but correlation doesn't equal causation."

Lindenberger says such personalized accounts should be answered by equally personal stories about the deaths and other harm caused by infectious diseases that vaccines were created to eradicate.

"When you convince parents that... their children are at risk, that's a much more substantial way to cause people to change their minds."

Ethan has four younger brothers and sisters. Do they agree with him? "So far there's been a substantial leaning towards my side," he said.

Some people attending the hearing, including anti-vaccine activists, were not convinced by Ethan's arguments.

One of them, Jena Dalpez from Washington state, which has recorded more than 70 measles cases since January, argued that parents of unvaccinated and infected children "knew the risks."

It wasn't that long ago that when a teen sneaked out for shots it meant shots of alcohol, but now it's the kind of shots they need that their parents are too stupid and ignorant to have them get.

I even just saw yet another video about antivaxxers where one of them had a poll asking what would parents rather get, measles or autism. And only 10% said autism.

There you have it folks. The majority of the world thinks we're better off being dead than spend our lives with a non-fatal disorder. I don't know about the rest of you, but that just makes me want to live more. The fact that my very existence bothers these blithering idiots amuses me, and so I laugh! Muhahaha!