Protesters oppose STD vaccines for minors

More than 300 protesters gathered in front of Sen. Todd Kaminsky’s Front Street office on the morning of Dec. 5 to show their displeasure with his stance on vaccinating children for sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent. Labeled Black Out Day, parents opposed to a bill currently in the Senate Rules Committee, as well as mandatory vaccine requirements that eliminate the clause for religious exemption, came out to make their concerns known.

“We are here primarily because Kaminsky was one of the yes votes in the last session on a bill that allows children to be given vaccines for STDs without parental knowledge or consent,” John Gilmore, a Long Beach resident who helped organize the protest, said. “This is new and this is a big deal—it has not been allowed in New York, and we think this is a profoundly bad idea.”

Senate Bill S3899A, sponsored by Sen. Liz Krueger, is currently in the Rules Committee and has six co-sponsors. It seeks to amend the public health law in relation to providing medical care to minors for sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent. Kaminsky, a member of the Senate Health Committee, voted aye on May 7.

“We don’t think there’s any reason why any medical procedure should be done on a child without parental consent and knowledge,” Gilmore said. “It just creates one problem after another—and it also opens the door for any other vaccine that comes along for an STD.”

In New York State, it has been legal for minors to get STD vaccines since 2017. It is the inclusion of the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, in the bill, that has parents concerned. Developed and manufactured by Merck, Gardasil has been available since 2006, and has been a controversial vaccine for the past decade. It is touted as a way to prevent cervical and other cancers caused by certain types of HPV, though according to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, there have been 62,687 reported adverse incidents with HPV vaccines, including 510 deaths and 3,031 permanent disabilities, as of July 14. Japan ended its recommendation of the vaccination for girls in 2014. HPV can cause six different types of cancer, and nearly 14 million Americans become infected each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There are now almost 80 million Americans infected with some form of the disease.

Sen. Brad Hoylman, a co-sponsor of Krueger’s bill, has introduced a bill annually since 2014 to mandate HPV vaccines for school children. The bill has died in the Senate’s Health Committee each year.

“I strongly believe that, for the good of public health, children should be immunized for a number of communicable diseases that put lives at risk,” Kaminsky said. “HPV is a serious health issue that must be addressed—but I am not convinced required immunization is government’s best or most appropriate approach.”  

Aside from the health concerns, parents say, ultimately, it should be up to them to make the decision. 

“You should be able to make an informed choice for your child,” a mom from East Islip told the Herald.

The protest drew at least 300 people over the course of several hours, and the anger over vaccines and state laws has grown since the religious exemption repeal last spring. Many of the children attending the protest are no longer attending public, private or parochial school due to the new law.

Tara Mitts currently lives at her parents’ home in Rockville Centre, where she homeschools her fourth-grade daughter who was not allowed to return to school in   Plainedge without being vaccinated. 

“It’s been hard,” Mitts said, while attending the protest with her two children. “I also have a 2-year-old. It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. She’s struggling—she misses her friends, she misses her teachers, she misses everything. I’m trying to give her the best possible life—it’s just not fair. She’s one of the healthiest children—never had the flu, never had strep, never even had a fever over 101.”

Mitts described herself as a strict Catholic, and only allowed her daughter to get the DTaP and polio vaccines before she started doing research and opted not to continue. 

“She’s beautiful the way God made her and that’s how I want to keep her,” Mitts said.

Even if she had decided to get up to date with shots so she could remain in school, she said her daughter would need “37 shots” in order to catch up. 

“So we opted to home school and I’m here fighting to continue,” Mitts said. “I don’t know what we’ll do next. We might move out of state.” 

The New York State Legislature returns to session on Jan. 8 and many are concerned that the bill, which is also in the Assembly, could go straight to the Senate floor for a vote.

“We’re quite concerned this could move very rapidly,” Gilmore said.