Category Archives: Advocacy

How can I help?

Legislature in Session

February 6, 2019 Kristen

Utah Legislature: In session January 28 through March 14, 2019

The Utah Legislature is in session! Anything can happen between now and midnight on March 14, 2019.

Please search the bills file daily for key words: vaccines, immunizations, exemptions, schools, health…

Also, check the NVIC Advocacy Portal, here. Submit updates, if you see changes to bill status that are not recorded on the website.

TIPS
Keep communications with legislators short, factual, respectful, and TIMELY.

Make sure you know the bill status and actual content.

Contact your own representatives first and state that you are their constituent.

State bill number and title and “VOTE YES” or “VOTE NO,” in the subject line or at the beginning of your message.

State your concerns in few sentences or less, and how you would like them to vote.

Text. Email. Call. Go to the capitol and send in a note.

RESOURCES

How a Bill Becomes Law

Find My Legislator

Reading Calendars and Floor Video

Utah Legislature Home

Kristen Chevrier

Advocacy, Education

HPV: Some Utah Teachers Encourage Students to Pressure Parents

March 16, 2017 Kristen

Last year some Utah schools sent out letters to parents stating that vaccines were required in order for students to attend–with no mention of exemptions. Several parents called them on it and the letters were revised.

This year teachers are telling children to go home and ask their parents to get them the highly controversial, unnecessary, and very dangerous HPV shot.

Thank you, a friend of mine, for writing this response:

I hear you recommended to your kids to go home and tell their parents to take them to get the HPV vaccine?

Do you think the law protects you from giving medical advice (like a Doctor) to minors without parents present? Are you qualified to give medical advice?

This vaccine is perhaps the most dangerous vaccine on the market. Many perfectly healthy kids are becoming very sick and disabled, and even sometimes die from this vaccine. Here’s a 13 year old Utah boy that was injured by the vaccine – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHYmb9Hwj4A

The median age for cervical cancer is 49 years old. The vaccine only lasts for 5 years at most, so giving this vaccine to teenagers doesn’t accomplish anything.

More info on HPV and the vaccine you may not know:
1- 90% of people with HPV will clear it naturally with no symptoms of any kind within two years.
2- Of the remaining 10%, only half (5%) will have cellular changes that could lead to cancer.
3- HPV vaccines only cover 2-4 of the 30-40 strains of HPV and they have not been proven to be effective.
4- The vaccine only lasts for 5 years.
5- HPV is easily screened by pap smears and is usually easily treatable when detected early.
6- Dr. Diane Harper (lead researcher for Gardasil vaccination) reported that, “the serious adverse reports of health damage following the Gardasil vaccine outweigh any protection, lasting only five years, against the very small risk of cervical cancer.”
7- Dr. Scott S. Fields of the American College of Pediatricians issued a warning in a January 2016 report that the Gardasil vaccination could be associated with a rare but serious condition known as premature menopause, or premature ovarian failure.
8- Spain, France, India and Japan have stopped using HPV vaccines and have filed criminal lawsuits against Merck in regards to the Gardasil vaccine.
9- Studies have shown that people who received HPV vaccine actually have a higher risk of getting one of the more dangerous HPV strains.

Here are the stories of over 200 injured kids http://sanevax.org/victims-2/

Many, many, links/resources to under this article https://vaccineimpact.com/…/lawsuits-against-hpv…/

If you have any questions or need more information, please don’t hesitate to ask. In the meantime, I would take the time to educate yourself on this vaccine, and I definitely would not be dispensing any more medical advice to your students if I were you.

VaxXed Stories: Colton in Utah
Colton and his mother Kathleen share his story of vaccine injury following the Gardisil…
YOUTUBE.COM
#VaxxedNation #Revolution4Truth

Kristen Chevrier

Advocacy, Let's roll!

2017 Utah Vaccine Bills: HB308, 309, 310

March 4, 2017 Kristen

The Utah State Legislature is currently considering three bills that affect Utah vaccine policy. The first two bills, HB3080S1 and HB309, were combined into one bill, with no amendments, as of yesterday. These two affect frequency and procedure for getting vaccination exemptions. The third, HB310, affects reporting and collection of data.

The Downsides
The now combined HB3080S1 and HB309 direct the Utah Department of Health to create an “education” module on vaccines that will instruct parents who choose not to vaccinate. Although the language of the bill restricts the content and length of the module, I am not anticipating a unbiased presentation of fact. This bill also adds one exemption renewal at 7th grade.

Another downside is that the ability to write your own religious exemption has been removed. Under the new law, religious exemptions will treated the same way as personal exemptions.

HB310 expands the reach of a centralized statewide database that has existed in Utah since the early 1990’s. This database is used for reporting the administration of FDA approved vaccines in Utah. Many vaccine administrators already use this database (1,030 of 1,500 in the state), but this bill would make reporting mandatory. Centralizing information is always a problem, because databases are always susceptible to a breach. Always. The larger the database, the bigger the prize. If we need to keep records they should be kept locally. If people can’t remember which vaccines their children have had, they can contact their family doctor. The rare situations in which someone might need immediate information on previously adminstered vaccines does not justify making every vaccine recipient in the state a target.

Upsides
HB3080S1-309 remove a juvenile court penalty for non-compliance with Utah vaccine policy; they extend the time period for compliance; they remove the ability for health departments to charge fees for exemptions; they bring the process to your home computer, so that you can print out your own exemption form and take it straight to the school.

Considerations: For some families the trip to the health department is two or more hours each way. Many parents have also reported feeling intimidated and bullied by health department employees. Some end up vaccinating their children under pressure. These bills provide an option of going to the health department or getting exemptions from home.

HB310 doesn’t have upsides that I can see. The stated necessity for this action is to make sure people are not getting double doses of vaccines. I think there may be better solutions to that problem. The bill does require vaccine administrators to advise parents of their right to opt out of this system. This database only includes those who have been vaccinated, who have not opted out.

I see the first two bills as a net step forward for parental rights regarding Utah vaccination policy. The third, not so much. There is much left to be done, but we are making progress.

UPDATE: 308/309 passed through the House and Senate. 310 was pronounced dead on the Senate floor, due to lack of funding. Nothing is actually dead until midnight Thursday, when the session ends.

Action
Always read first and comment after.
Find and read the bills here.

Know your facts, avoid emotion, and use proper protocol.
Find instructions here.

To determine status of the bills, track progress, or view committee calendars, go to le.utah.gov. These bills will likely be heard and voted on in the Senate, March 7, 2017.

Kristen Chevrier

Advocacy

Action Item: 21st Century Cures Act (now HR 34)

December 6, 2016 Kristen

Update: This bill passed both Houses. The only member of the Utah delegation who voted against it was U.S. Senator Mike Lee.

Background

First passed through the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015 (362 pages).
Stopped in the U.S. Senate.
Dormant for several months.
Revived in 2016.
Dormant for several more months.
Brought back in late November, combined with “The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” and inserted into the “Tsunami Warning” bill.
Now numbered HR 34, “21st Century Cures Act,” and 996 pages long.
Last week HR 34 flew through the U.S. House of Representatives, with affirmative votes cast by all Utah Congressional Representatives.
Yesterday the U.S. Senate had a cloture vote, which passed. This gives us a little more time to lobby, but removes the possibility of amendment.

The vote in the U.S. Senate could happen any minute.

The bill allows licensing standards to be lowered for testing experimental drugs, medical devices (like ECT: Electroconvulsive Therapy), and biologics–the category that includes vaccines. This bill mandates that we give 9 billion dollars to the NIH (National Institute of Health) to fund development of more drugs and vaccines. And it allocates 550 million dollars to the FDA to fast track these products to the market. These products will be allowed to bypass gold standard testing protocols for safety and efficacy. There will be no large clinical trials. Novel statistical analyses and clinical experience (aka anecdotal evidence) will be used to “prove” safety and effectiveness.

(Please note that this type of evidence has never been considered viable in proving that vaccines are unsafe or ineffective.)

Although vaccines have not been discussed openly in debate surrounding this bill, they are included under “biologics.”

The following sections directly affect vaccine policy.

Sections 3024, 3091, 3092, 3093

Section 3024: Deals with changes in informed consent rules. All patients receiving treatment from any medical doctor may, without their knowledge, be enrolled in a clinical trial, as long as risk to the patient is minimal.

3091-3092: Fast track and incentivize vaccines outside of the normal regulatory review and licensing processes.

3093: Recommendations for use of vaccines in pregnant women. This is so dangerous. Aluminum toxicity is cumulative. It should not begin in the womb–especially when these “biologics” have not been properly tested. This section also further distances manufacturers from liability.

This bill is being promoted as a benefit to those with life-threatening illnesses, so that we can hurry and get medicines to them. But there is a huge difference between offering untested medicines, devices, and vaccines to people who are ill and may be dying, who can choose to participate or not, and rushing more vaccines onto the market, untested, and adding these to the CDC schedule for both children and adults, including pregnant women, who are otherwise healthy, and yet, due to state mandates, may be forced to receive these vaccines.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is no reason, whatsoever, to force this bill through in this kind of a rush, in a lame duck session, unless it is to keep legislators and the public from knowing what is there until it is too late. We’ve read this script. We know the outcome cannot be not good.

Text of the 996 page bill, for your convenience:

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20161128/CPRT-114-HPRT-RU00-SAHR34.pdf

More information available here:
http://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/21st-century-cures-act/

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150722006034/en/National-Vaccine-Information-Center-Proposed-21st-Century

We all need to call our Senators NOW to tell them to vote NO on HR 34. CALLS are far more effective than emails or letters, so please take a few minutes to actually CALL the offices of both of your state senators. Key information and specific instructions on how to do this (including contact info for your senators) can be found at this link: http://conta.cc/2fVnp1q

In addition, please call the Leaders of the Senate:

Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell
Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 224-2541
Fax: (202) 224-2499

Local office: Lexington, KY
Phone: (859) 224-8286

Majority Whip: John Cornyn
Washington, DC
Phone: 202-224-2934

Local office: Austin, TX
Phone: 512-469-6034
Fax: 512-469-602

Republican Conference Chair: John Thune
Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 224-2321
Fax: (202) 228-5429
Toll-Free: 1-866-850-3855

Local office: Sioux Falls, SD
Phone: (605) 334-9596

Republican Conference Vice Chair: Roy Blunt
Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 224-5721
Fax: (202) 224-8149

Local office: Kansas City, MO
Phone: (816) 471-7141
Fax: (816) 471-7338

Republican Policy Chair: John A. Barrasso
Washington, DC
Main: 202-224-6441
Fax: 202-224-1724
Toll-free: 866-235-9553

Local office: Casper, WY
Main: 307-261-6413

Minority Leader: Harry Reid
Washington , DC
Phone: 202-224-3542
Fax: 202-224-7327

Local office: Las Vegas , NV 89101
Phone: 702-388-5020
Fax: 702-388-5030

Minority Whip: Dick Durbin
Washington, D.C.
Phone: 202.224.2152
Fax: 202.228.0400

Local office: Chicago, IL
Phone: 312.353.4952
Fax: 312.353.0150

Democratic Conference Secretary: Patty Murray
Washington, D.C.
Phone: (202) 224-2621
Fax: (202) 224-0238
Toll Free: (866) 481-9186

Local office: Seattle, Washington
Phone: (206) 553-5545
Toll Free: (866) 481-9186
Fax: (206) 553-0891

Democratic Policy Chair: Charles Schumer
Washington, D.C.
Phone: (202) 224-6542
Fax: (202) 228-3027

Local office: New York, NY
Phone: (212) 486-4430
Fax: (202) 228-2838

Advocacy

The Effective Citizen Lobbyist

October 28, 2016 Kristen

Tips for Citizen Lobbyists

Be polite.

Don’t knock someone over the head and then expect them to want to help you.

Know your legislators.

How do they vote on key issues? If you disagree, ask them to explain their votes.
Whether you agree with them on most things or not, it helps to develop an understanding of and relationship with your legislators

Know the facts.

Read the bill yourself or divide it with like-minded friends and share your findings. Don’t comment on a bill you haven’t read. It can be embarrassing.
Learn the arguments on both sides.
Argue with facts.
Avoid emotional, non-factual arguments.

Keep communications polite, short, and to the point.