'God knows how I'm still alive': Teenager, 18, finally gets vaccinations and attacks his anti-vaxxer parents for believing shots cause brain damage and autism - as outbreak of measles sweep the country

A teenager has finally received vaccinations that he should have had as a young child and criticized his parents for refusing to give them to him. Ethan Lindenberger, 18, from Norwalk, Ohio, has now had shots to immunize him against six diseases including mumps and hepatitis.

His parents refused to give them to him because they are part of the anti-vaxxer movement which believes that vaccinations cause illnesses such as autism. However, Ethan decided to have the shots when he turned 18 because he came to the conclusion that the overwhelming scientific evidence is that they do work.

His mother, Jill Wheeler, who owns a children's theater company, described the move as 'insulting' and a 'slap in the face'.

The mother-of-seven said: 'It was like him spitting on me, saying 'You don't know anything, I don't trust you with anything. You don't know what you're talking about. You did make a bad decision and I'm gonna go fix it'.'

It comes as an outbreak of measles were confirmed in ten states and a public health emergency was declared in an anti-vaccination 'hot spot' in Portland, Oregon, last month. Growing up, Ethan said his parents would tell him about the negative effects of getting vaccinated - including that they could cause brain damage and autism. But it wasn't until speaking with friends that he realized he was the only one out of his peer group to not have had the life-saving vaccinations.

The teenager ended up missing out on shots for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), chickenpox and even polio - a disease that can cause paralysis and lead to death.

Ethan said his mother was influenced by theories such as the work of discredited physician Andrew Wakefield and his study linking the MMR vaccine to autism.

Ms Wheeler said: 'I did not immunize him because I felt it was the best way to protect him and keep him safe.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6690963/Teenager-18-finally-gets-vaccinations-attacks-anti-vaxxer-parents.html

They are like a cult, now the anti-vaxers. How his mother reacted, to her son getting vaccinations, shows how truely brainwahsed people like her are. The fact she fails to see how she placed him at risk by denying him vaccinations, is appalling.

Saw that. There was a segment on Good Morning American on him and his family.