Massachusetts Citizens for Vaccination Choice

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Vaccination as it relates to international travel is admittedly something we know very little about. But because we’ve received queries on this subject, we offer these sites as a starting point for disease alerts in foreign countries and vaccine recommendations for international travelers.

Centers for Disease Control

The Travel Doctor

MASSACHUSETTS ORGANIZATIONS

Massachusetts Citizens for Vaccination Choice
Provides encouragement, information and resources to help individuals make informed vaccination decisions.
P.O. Box 1033
East Arlington, MA 02474
781.646.4797

Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH)
617.983.6800

New England Patients’ Rights Group
Advocates for the rights of health care consumers.
PO Box 141
Norwood, MA 02062-0002
781.769.5720

VACCINE CHOICE ORGANIZATIONS IN OTHER STATES

Connecticut Vaccine Information Alliance

Illinois Vaccine Awareness Coalition

Michigan Opposing Mandatory Vaccines

Missouri Citizens Coalition for Freedom in Health Care

New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice

New Yorkers for Vaccination Information and Choice

Texas: Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education

Vaccine Awareness of Florida

Virginia Families for Vaccine Information and Choice

West Virginia for Vaccine Exemption

Click here for information regarding other states and their contacts.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Association of American Physicians & Surgeons
The only national doctors’ organization that publicly opposed universal hepatitis B vaccination mandates.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
800.232.SHOT

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC)
A national non-profit educational organization established in 1982 to ensure access to information and the right to choose with respect to vaccination.
204 Mill Street, Suite B1
Vienna, VA 22180
703.938.DPT3

Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)
To report a potential adverse vaccine reaction, visit the site or call:
800.822.7967

Vaccine Information and Awareness (VIA)
Compiles and distributes a comprehensive collection of press reports, articles and notices.

A Shot in the Dark. Harris Coulter & Barbara Loe Fisher: Avery Publishing, 1991.

Adverse Events Associated with Childhood Vaccines: Evidence Bearing on Causality. Institute of Medicine: National Academy Press, 1994.

The Consumer’s Guide to Childhood Vaccines. Barbara Loe Fisher: National Vaccine Information Center, revised & updated, 2005.

How to Raise a Healthy Child...In Spite of Your Doctor. Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD: Ballantine Books, 1987.

Immunization: The Reality Behind the Myth. Walene James: Bergin & Garvey, revised & updated, 1995.

The Immunization Resource Guide. Diane Rozario: Patter Publications, updated periodically.

Vaccination: The Issue of Our Times. Peggy O’Mara: Mothering Magagzine, 1997.

The Vaccine Guide: Risks and Benefits for Children and Adults. Randall Neustaedter, OMD: North Atlantic Books: revised 2002.

Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective? Neil Miller: New Atlantean Press, revised & updated, 2002.

What Every Parent Should Know About Childhood Immunization. Jamie Murphy: Earth Healing Products, 1993.

When Your Doctor is Wrong: Hepatitis B Vaccine and Autism. Judy Converse: Xlibris Corp., 2002. 

Not surprisingly, “Are there any support groups in my area?” is one of the questions we are asked most frequently. Regrettably, the short answer is “no,” at least not to our knowledge.

The hopeful news, however, is that in significant ways, the people who have sought us out to ask questions and seek the camaraderie of those with a similar perspective on vaccination have become a community of sorts. We have therefore in the past sent out queries for parents looking to get together with other like-minded people in their immediate areas. We have asked members to recommend doctors for interested parents. And we’ve sent out requests on behalf of parents--content to communicate via email--simply looking to discuss the issue with other parents across the state who have traveled the same path. 

So, are there support groups up and running in Amherst or Provincetown or Springfield? Probably not. Are there folks in the state who might be able to help with your particular concern or question? Yes; let us know and we’ll do our best to help. Alternatively, are you interested in establishing a group in your town or region? If so, we might be able to help you network.

Questioning vaccine mandates is not a mainstream pastime. So we’re all in the position--enviable if arduous--of seeking out and building our own communities of support.

If you’re looking for a supportive doctor, you can use these websites to find their members nearest you or solicit referrals:

American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
Washington, DC
866-538-2267

Holistic Pediatric Association
“We empower parents to trust their natural wisdom and make informed choices on behalf of their children.”
Santa Rosa, CA
707-237-5312

International Chiropractic Pediatric Association
Media, PA
610-565-2360

Do you need a lawyer with expertise in vaccine law and injury? Here are some to consider:

Kevin Conway and Ronald Homer
Conway, Homer & Chin-Caplan, P.C.
Specializing in vaccine injury litigation.
Boston, MA
Phone: 617-695-1990

Michael Hugo
Recognized as a pioneer in vaccine litigation.
Lopez, Hodes, Restaino, Milman & Skikos: A Law Corporation.
Boston, MA, office
Phone: 617-973-9777

You can also visit the National Vaccine Information Center’s lawyer referral webpage.

Do you want to get vaccines separately? These pharmacies might be able to help:

Johnson Pharmacy
577 Main Street
Waltham, MA
781-893-3870
A pharmacist at Johnson’s said in an August 2007 phone conversation that they can separately purchase two vaccines that are typically multivalent. They are measles vaccine (Merck Attenuvax) and rubella vaccine (Merck Meruvax), both of which cost approximately $40 per vial. 

Hopewell Pharmacy
Hopewell, NJ
800-792-6670
A pharmacist at Hopewell in an August 2007 phone conversation said that they can separately purchase measles vaccine (Merck Attenuvax) for $40 per vial, mumps vaccine (Merck Mumpsvax) for $40 per vial, and rubella vaccine (Merck Meruvax) for $50 per vial. 

Because vaccination is to many a rite of passage, it infrequently becomes an issue of debate (and even when it is debated, rarely is the issue truly vaccination; it is more likely the ingredients). So one of our missions is to effectively place a question mark after ‘vaccination,’ clarifying that whatever a person’s ultimate decision, it should be considered first and foremost as one among a constellation of health options.

Our downloadable poster is one tool we’ve created to help underscore the question mark. If you feel inclined, we invite you to print out copies and place them in parent-traveled places around your community--the local coffee shop, the midwives’ office, perhaps the toy store and children’s consignment shop. And others. Maybe they’ll move a few people to become, rather than passive on-lookers, active participants in the vaccination discussion.

Click here for the MCVC downloadable poster
MS Word Format (20 KB)

Let fellow drivers know that vaccination is not the black and white issue many make it out to be with this fetching bumpersticker. Made with automotive-grade pigments, these heat-fused stickers are weather resistant, flexible and easy to apply. Measures 3” x 10”.

Donations of $25 or more receive one complimentary sticker (if requested). Stickers are otherwise $2.50 each (domestic U.S. shipping included).

Please make check or money order payable to “MCVC” and mail to: MCVC; PO Box 1033; East Arlington, MA 02474-0020.