This morning I received an email newsletter from Staff Attorney Tj Schmidt. The communications was rather depressing as it involved parents of unvaccinated children getting letters from the state.
Late last month thousands of families across Indiana received copies of a letter from the state Department of Health (ISDH) informing them that their children had not been vaccinated against the Human papillomavirus(HPV).
The letter went on to explain that IDSH had reviewed all of the immunization records in the statewide Children and Hoosier Immunization Registry Program (CHIRP) to locate those children who had not received the HPV vaccine. According to the ISDH website, officials are sending letters to the parents of nearly half a million boys and girls ages 11–18.
This, my friends, is a really big deal. Indiana is a state that is pushing mandatory HPV vaccines. Recently a bill set to do just that failed to pass; however, activity which undermines parents and violates privacy, reminds us that the state is unlikely finished going down this road and may even be looking for more vile methods to enforce vaccinations. Letters from the state would serve as a method of intimidation to parents who have chosen to bypass an HPV vaccination for their child. It also let’s parents know that the state is always the eye in the sky.
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