Teen who got all his shots at 18 against his anti-vaxxer mom’s wishes testifies before Congress

An Ohio teenager who defied his anti-vaxxer mother’s wishes and got all his shots at 18 has testified before Congress about the dangerous spread of misinformation.

Ethan Lindenberger, of Norwalk, appeared on Tuesday before the US Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor, and Pensions and discussed the fights he had with his mother, Jill Wheeler, over this decision to catch up on his vaccines.

He explained that she regularly turned to anti-vaccine groups online and on social media that preyed on her fears that vaccines were dangerous.

‘For my mother, her love, affection and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress,’ Lindenberger said during his testimony.

‘These sources, which spread misinformation, should be the primary concern of the American people.’  

Ethan Lindenberger, 18 (pictured), of Norwalk, Ohio, who grew up in an anti-vaxxer household, testified before the US Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor, and Pensions on Tueday

He explained that his mom turned to anti-vaccine groups online and on social media that preyed on her fears that vaccines were dangerous and said 'her love, affection and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress'

He explained that his mom turned to anti-vaccine groups online and on social media that preyed on her fears that vaccines were dangerous and said ‘her love, affection and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress’

In December, he was vaccinated for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, the flu and HPV. His mother, Jill Wheeler (pictured, left, with Lindenberger), called the decision at the time 'insulting' and a 'slap in the face'

In December, he was vaccinated for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, the flu and HPV. His mother, Jill Wheeler (pictured, left, with Lindenberger), called the decision at the time ‘insulting’ and a ‘slap in the face’

At one point during the hearing, Senator Johnny Isakson (R – GA) asked if Lindenberger’s mother got most of her information online.

When Lindenberger replied that it was from both the internet and Facebook, Senator Isakson asked: ‘Where do you get most of your information?’

‘From not Facebook,’ Lindenberger replied with a laugh. 

‘From the CDC, the World Health Organization, scientific journals, and also cited information from those organizations like the Institute of Medicine, trying my best to look at accredited sources.’  

The teenager reiterated that it’s important to speak with people who have vaccine hesitancy and fears with compassion and understanding. 

‘Approaching this issue with the concern of education and addressing misinformation properly can cause change, as it did for me,’ he told the panel.

‘Although the debate around vaccines is not necessarily centered around information, and concerns for health and safety, this is why education is so important, and also why misinformation is so dangerous.’ 

Lindenberger rose to fame after a now-viral Reddit post in November 2018, in which he criticized his parents for refusing to vaccinate him as a young child.

His parents are both anti-vaxxers who believe that immunizations cause brain damage and autism.

This is in spite of the fact that these claims have been debunked by countless scientists.

Ohio is one of 17 states that allows non-medical exemptions for vaccines including ‘conscientious objector’ or ‘philosophical/personal beliefs’ – which Lindenberger argued against.

‘I was pulled out of class every year and told that if I did not receive my shots, I wouldn’t be able to attend my high school,’ he wrote in his prepared testimony. 

‘But, every year, I was opted out of these immunizations and, because of current legislation, I was allowed to attend a public high school despite placing my classmates in danger of contracting multiple preventable diseases.’ 

Lindenberger said it wasn’t until he began speaking to his friends that he realized he was the only one who hadn’t received several standard jabs including MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), chickenpox and polio. 

Lindenberger (pictured) says during the hearing he will be discussing topics including outbreaks of preventable diseases

His name appears on a list of five witnesses. Pictured: Linderberger

Lindenberger (left and right) says during the hearing he will be discussing topics including outbreaks of preventable diseases. His name appears on a list of five witnesses

Last week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing during which heads of federal health agencies discussed the measles outbreak that has been spreading across the US. Pictured: Lindenberger (circled) with his mother and his six siblings.

Last week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing during which heads of federal health agencies discussed the measles outbreak that has been spreading across the US. Pictured: Lindenberger (circled) with his mother and his six siblings.

That’s when he began to do his own research, reading scientific articles and information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The Washington Post reported that Lindenberger visited an Ohio Department of Heath office in Norwalk in December and received vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, the flu and HPV.  

His mother, Jill Wheeler, described the move to online science magazine Undark as ‘insulting’ and a ‘slap in the face’.

But in an interview with CBS This Morning, the mother-of-seven admitted she was proud of her son despite the fact that he defied her wishes.  

‘I’m very proud of him for standing for what he believes in, even if it is against what I believe. He’s a good boy. He’s a good kid,’ she said.    

Lindenberger shared the news that he would be appearing before Congress in a YouTube video posted on Saturday, now viewed more than 10,000 times. 

He appeared alongside four experts including John Wiesman, Washington state’s secretary of health, and Dr Jonathan McCullers, chair of the department of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. 

Vaccines have become a hot button issue over the last several weeks.

Last week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing during which heads of federal health agencies discussed the measles outbreak that has been spreading across the US.

So far, 206 cases of measles have been confirmed in 11 states, hitting New York and the Pacific Northwest the hardest.  

That means more measles cases have been counted in the first two months of this year than in all of 2017.  

At the hearing, Dr Anthony Fauci, infectious diseases chief at the National Institutes of Health, said the measles vaccine is highly effective and the fact that cases are on the rise ‘is really unacceptable’.     

He believes the spreading of misinformation about jabs has left many parents vaccine hesitant and, therefore, have raised their child’s risk of catching life-threatening diseases.

‘Misinformation is an important problem,’ Dr Fauci said, according to NBC News. 

‘The spread of misinformation that leads people to make poor choices, despite their well-meaning, is a major contributor to the problem we’re discussing.’

Anti-vaxxers were named one of the top threats to global health in 2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO). 

‘Vaccine hesitancy’, as the WHO calls it, ‘threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases.’ 



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