In the heyday of Heather Simpson‘s anti-vaccine influencer days, she watched in amazement as her social media accounts blew up with every anti-vaccine post and piece of misinformation she shared.
But if you asked her then, she didn’t believe that she was spreading misinformation. She was convinced that if she vaccinated her child, the little girl would die. She also remembers pro-vaccine parents attacking her on social media, calling her a ‘baby killer’ and repeating over and over that vaccines were safe and effective without addressing any of her fears.
It wasn’t until the pandemic that she started wondering whether she might be wrong. She turned to websites like Vaxopedia, which led her to Dr. Vincent Iannelli, the Texas pediatrician who authors the site. During her interactions with Iannelli, he calmly addressed her concerns, provided solid science, and made her feel confident enough to vaccinate her daughter.
She has since started Back to the Vax, a support and information website for parents who have their own concerns about vaccinating.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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