AP Reporter Jeff Barnard Writing About Vaccines

November 14, 2011 (Ashland, Ore.)— We did a photo shoot this afternoon with AP reporter and photographer Jeff Barnard. Based in Grants Pass, Barnard writes about everything from extreme beer to wolf sightings.

Right now he’s writing about vaccines, working on a co-written article about vaccine exemptions, state by state. For his writing about vaccines, Jeff interviewed three local families about their opinions about vaccines.

One, Michele Pereira, is a registered nurse whose husband is a medical doctor. They have two children. Like me, Michele has deep reservations about the current vaccine schedule. She is concerned about vaccine safety and safe vaccination.

“I have lost confidence in the much of the program, despite being an RN and my husband being an anesthesiologist,” Michele wrote me recently. Michele is not against vaccinations. But, like thousands of other medical professionals, including hundreds of physicians, she thinks the current CDC schedule is cause for concern.

Writing about vaccines makes journalists realize that all vaccines aren’t always safe, effective, and necessary

Michele Pereira, RN, is worried we’re giving too many vaccines too soon.

She’s concerned that the medical establishment assures parents vaccines are safe and well-understood when actually the opposite may be true.

“‘Of course there are always some risks to everything,’ they say, ‘but this the best thing to do for your child.’ Then when your child starts having perplexing health problems, the same doctors, kind-hearted as they may be, just say ‘hmmm … boy, I don’t know … Let’s just wait and see … I have no idea what the problem might be.’ They have no answers, no treatment, no idea what to do. Could the problems be related somehow to the vaccines? Oh no. Never! That’s totally unrelated. Well, they’ve admitted to being mystified so many times, how can they be so certain?”

Jeff Barnard’s article is slated to run the Monday after Thanksgiving.

There’s no guarantee that a quote from me or a photo will make the cut.

Since it’s the Associated Press, the article will probably be pretty mainstream. Bring on the hate mail. I can only hope the children’s health and vaccine safety point of view will be given fair treatment.

And yes, I have a new haircut.

ETA: The AP’s writing about vaccines, “Increased number of parents opting out of school-required shots for children,” appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country. Click here to read one version of it.

Updated: January 15, 2020

About Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D.

Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., is an investigative journalist, book author, and Fulbright awardee. She is the author of Your Baby, Your Way: Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting Decisions for a Happier, Healthier Family, co-author (with Paul Thomas, M.D.) of The Vaccine-Friendly Plan, and The Addiction Spectrum: A Compassionate, Holistic Approach to Recovery. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.