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TO VAXX OR NOT TO VAXX The choice between family and health for children of anti-vaxxers Words by Eden Stratton Art by Marisa Goldberg
I’m nine years old. I’m sitting in the pediatrician’s office, which doesn’t happen often. It’s also my birthday, which makes the fact that I’m in my pediatrician’s office even more upsetting. I keep myself entertained by examining the fishprinted wallpaper. My mother looks especially peeved. She raps away furiously on her BlackBerry, and tells me to sit still. She’s about as thrilled as I am to be there. When the pediatrician comes in, he tells her that I’m due for a shot, and says a lot of words with too many syllables. They go back and forth for a while, before the pediatrician sullenly leaves the room, and we go home. I learned much later in life that my doctor had wanted to vaccinate me for the human papillomavirus, otherwise known as HPV. While it’s extremely common, it’s one of the leading causes of cervical cancer. Luckily, it’s almost completely preventable with the use of vaccinations. In my case, my mother didn’t believe it. Fearing the potential “side-effects,” I was left unvaccinated. In the age of COVID, coverage of anti-vaxxer rhetoric often revolves around the individuals
perpetuating it. But the people who often get left out of the conversation are their children, who have the most to lose. Ethan Lindenberger is, at first glance, like any other 21-year-old. He happily shows me his fresh tattoo, which he designed himself from one of his favorite book series. But what brings me to Lindenberger isn’t tattoos or books, but that he is one of the nation’s top advocates for teen vaccination. He has been interviewed by TIME, NPR, and eventually testified to the U.S. Senate about vaccine misinformation. He’s quite the expert. See, Lindenberger’s mom didn’t vaccinate him. Like, at all. “I only had one polio vaccine, that’s it,” he said. Lindenberger says that anti-vaxxing communities usually fall into one of three camps; holistic practitioners, conspiratorial thinking, and political reasoning. Lindenberger’s mother fell into all three, motivating her to not vaccinate him and his siblings. “When you’re growing up, a lot of your parents’ opinions are taken without question,” he said.