:National Vaccine Information Center

The organization was co-founded in 1982 by Jeff Schwartz, Barbara Loe Fisher, and Kathi Williams under the name Dissatisfied Parents Together (DPT).{{cite book|last1=Offit|first1=Paul A.|author-link1=Paul Offit|title=Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All|date=2010|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=9780465023561|language=en|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780465021499|url-access=registration}}{{rp|8}} Each of them had observed the health of one of their children deteriorate at some point after receiving a dose of the DPT vaccine and had watched a television broadcast of the film DPT: Vaccine Roulette, which drew an erroneous causal link between DPT vaccines and illnesses of some children who received them.{{rp|1–6}} In 1985, Fisher and Harris Coulter co-authored a book, DPT: A Shot in the Dark, which asserted an association between the whole cell pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine in the DPT shot and autism.{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/to-vaccinate-or-not/ | title=To Vaccinate Or Not | work=CBS News | date=4 December 2002 | access-date=16 November 2014 | author=Morales, Tatiana}} The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommend the newer acellular pertussis vaccines (DTaP and Tdap), and whole cell pertussis vaccines are no longer used in the US.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/dtap-tdap-td/hcp/recommendations.html |title=Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis Vaccine Recommendations |author= |date= 2018-12-19|website=CDC |publisher=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services }}{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00048610.htm |title=Pertussis Vaccination: Use of Acellular Pertussis Vaccines Among Infants and Young Children Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) |author= |date=March 28, 1997 |website=CDC |publisher=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services }} because of adverse effects unrelated to autism.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/outbreaks/guide/downloads/chapter-04-amended.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 15, 2019 |archive-date=March 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303061222/https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/outbreaks/guide/downloads/chapter-04-amended.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web | url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00048610.htm | title=Pertussis Vaccination: Use of Acellular Pertussis Vaccines Among Infants and Young Children Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)}}

In the early 1980s, the organization joined with the American Academy of Pediatrics to draft the original legislation for the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986,{{cite book |title=Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines |last = Committee to Review the Adverse Consequences of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines, Institute of Medicine |editor1-last = Howson |editor1-first = Christopher P. |editor2-last = Howe |editor2-first = Cynthia J. |editor3-last = Fineberg |editor3-first = Harvey V. |url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1815&page=324 |publisher=The National Academies Press |location = Washington, DC |year = 1991 |access-date=29 August 2013 |page=324 |quote=The American Academy of Pediatrics and Dissatisfied Parents Together conduct more than 8 months of discussions to develop recommendations for a federal compensation program for children with vaccine-related illnesses and injuries |isbn = 978-0309103688|doi = 10.17226/1815 |pmid = 25121241}}{{cite journal|last=Mariner|first=W K|title=The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program|journal=Health Affairs|year=1992|volume=11|issue=1|pages=255–65|doi=10.1377/hlthaff.11.1.255|pmid=1577380|quote=Parents' groups, notably Dissatisfied Parents Together (DPT), which joined with the American Academy of Pediatrics to draft the original legislation, believed that agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were unsympathetic to compensating vaccine-related injuries.|doi-access=free}} which created a federal vaccine injury compensation program, mandated doctors to give parents vaccine benefit and risk information, and required the recording and reporting of vaccine injuries and deaths (see Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). The organization changed its name to the National Vaccine Information Center in the early 1990s.{{rp|8}}

Like other anti-vaccination groups, NVIC has been investing heavily into its social media presence in the 2010s. In addition to developing their own social media channels, the organization pushes anti-vaccination messages to online gatherings of young parents, anti-GMO activists and wellness enthusiasts.{{cite news|last=DiResta|first=Renée|date=20 December 2020|title=Anti-vaxxers Think This Is Their Moment|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/campaign-against-vaccines-already-under-way/617443/?fbclid=IwAR00spIlnIkxXWPrR6AUPPDxGGvMt2UFyNdU1f5P9QFmu5K0OC2SLkmZ6zU|url-status=live|access-date=2020-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221165319/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/campaign-against-vaccines-already-under-way/617443/|archive-date=2020-12-21}} However, due the group's decision to stick to Facebook as their main social media channel, they experienced only a small growth of their social media base, while other anti-vaccination groups such as Children's Health Defense saw their impact increase considerably on systems such as Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020|title=The Anti-Vaxx Industry|url=https://252f2edd-1c8b-49f5-9bb2-cb57bb47e4ba.filesusr.com/ugd/f4d9b9_6910f8ab94a241cfa088953dd5e60968.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221184748/https://252f2edd-1c8b-49f5-9bb2-cb57bb47e4ba.filesusr.com/ugd/f4d9b9_6910f8ab94a241cfa088953dd5e60968.pdf|archive-date=21 December 2020|access-date=3 January 2021|website=Center for Countering Digital Hate}} In April 2020, the organization was identified as one of the greatest disseminators of COVID-19 misinformation on Facebook.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=23 April 2020|title=Tracking Facebook's COVID-19 Misinformation 'Super-spreaders'|url=https://www.newsguardtech.com/superspreaders/#april23|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111012333/https://www.newsguardtech.com/superspreaders/#april23|archive-date=11 January 2021|access-date=15 February 2021|website=Newsguard}}

Although the NVIC claims to be supported primarily by small donations, 40% of its funding came from the anti-vaccination activist and distributor of vitamin supplements Joseph Mercola, who provided $2.9 million between 2009 and 2018. The funds were provided through Mercola's Natural Health Research Foundation.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2019/10/15/fdc01078-c29c-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html|title=A major funder of the anti-vaccine movement has made millions selling natural health products|last1=Satija|first1=Neena|date=2019-12-20|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-12-20|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221014350/https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2019/10/15/fdc01078-c29c-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html|archive-date=2019-12-21|last2=Sun|first2=Lena}}

Barry Segal's Focus for Health foundation is also contributing to NVIC, with $400,000 between 2011 and 2017.

In 2020 the NVIC took and received a federal loan of {{US$|136070}} through the Paycheck Protection Program, even though it had opposed federal vaccination campaigns and spread misinformation about vaccines. Because of the latter behavior, in early 2021 Facebook disallowed the group from purchasing advertising on its networks.{{Cite news|last1=Dwoskin|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Gregg|first2=Aaron|date=18 January 2021|title=The Trump administration bailed out prominent anti-vaccine groups during a pandemic|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/01/18/ppp-loans-anti-vaccine/|access-date=18 January 2021}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=FederalPay.org PPP Loan Data — National Vaccine Information Center, Sterling, VA|url=https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/national-vaccine-information-center-sterling-va|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119005625/https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/national-vaccine-information-center-sterling-va|archive-date=19 January 2021|access-date=18 January 2021|website=FederalPay.org}}

On October 16–18, NVIC hosted the 2020 International Public Conference on Vaccination, which aimed to coordinate messaging between the main anti-vaccination groups in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The attendees included Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Children's Health Defense and Del Bigtree speaking for the Informed Consent Action Network, as well as Joseph Mercola, Andrew Wakefield and Sherri Tenpenny.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination|url=https://app.glueup.com/event/protecting-health-and-autonomy-in-the-21st-century-20563/home.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111063119/https://app.glueup.com/event/protecting-health-and-autonomy-in-the-21st-century-20563/home.html|archive-date=11 January 2021|access-date=23 January 2021|website=}}{{Cite web|last=Gavura|first=Scott|date=21 January 2021|title=The Anti-Vaxxer Playbook to Destroy Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-anti-vaxxer-playbook-to-destroy-confidence-in-covid-19-vaccines/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121201138/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-anti-vaxxer-playbook-to-destroy-confidence-in-covid-19-vaccines/|archive-date=21 January 2021|access-date=23 January 2021|website=Science-based Medicine}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020|title=The Anti-Vaxx Playbook|url=https://252f2edd-1c8b-49f5-9bb2-cb57bb47e4ba.filesusr.com/ugd/f4d9b9_25e2a7b73e8c4236a53c1002db4017b4.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230074238/https://252f2edd-1c8b-49f5-9bb2-cb57bb47e4ba.filesusr.com/ugd/f4d9b9_25e2a7b73e8c4236a53c1002db4017b4.pdf|archive-date=30 December 2020|access-date=3 January 2021|website=Center for Countering Digital Hate}}

NVIC's Medalerts republication of Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System data, done without CDC's detailed warning of the data limitations, had led to incorrect interpretations and misleading reports attributing deaths to COVID-19 vaccines. The original United States Department of Health and Human Services VAERS website is willfully cautious, containing extensive and important warnings such as "Reports of death to VAERS following vaccination do not necessarily mean the vaccine caused the death"{{Cite news|date=2021-02-14|title=Fact check: Reports of adverse effects in US database aren't confirmed to be linked to vaccination|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-vaers-idUSKBN2AE0QQ|access-date=2021-08-06}} and others.{{Cite web|title=VAERS - Guide to Interpreting VAERS Data|url=https://vaers.hhs.gov/data/dataguide.html|access-date=2021-08-07|website=vaers.hhs.gov}} The website states :

: "VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. The reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. In large part, reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases."{{Cite web|title=VAERS - Data|url=https://vaers.hhs.gov/data.html|access-date=2021-08-06|website=vaers.hhs.gov}}

HHS's VAERS data replicated by Medalerts is known to be frequently misrepresented by anti-vaccines sources.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-20|title=Data from vaccine reporting site being misrepresented online|url=https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-9957832237|access-date=2021-08-06|website=AP NEWS|language=en}}

The journalist Michael Specter described the NVIC as:

: "... an organization that, based on its name, certainly sounds like a federal agency. Actually, it's just the opposite: the NVIC is the most powerful anti-vaccine organization in America, and its relationship with the U.S. government consists almost entirely of opposing federal efforts aimed at vaccinating children."{{Cite book | first = Michael | last = Specter | author-link = Michael Specter | title = Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives | page = [https://archive.org/details/denialismhowirra00spec/page/7 7] | year = 2009 | publisher = The Penguin Press | isbn = 978-1-59420-230-8 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/denialismhowirra00spec/page/7 }}

The NVIC falsely asserts that there has been inadequate research into the link between the rise in the number of children diagnosed with autism and mass vaccination programs. There have been a number of peer-reviewed studies and meta-analyses that have shown no correlation between vaccine administration and autism diagnosis,{{cite journal|last1=Gerber|first1=Jeffrey S.|last2=Offit|first2=Paul A. |title=Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses|year=2009|journal=Clin. Infect. Dis. |volume=48|issue=4|pages=456–461 |doi=10.1086/596476 |pmid=19128068 |pmc=2908388}}[https://archive.today/20121018022932/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121676290/HTMLSTART The Rise in Autism and the Mercury Myth. Lawrence Scahill, MSN, PhD and Karen Bearss, PhD]{{cite journal|last=DeStefano|first=Frank|author2=Price, Christopher S. |author3=Weintraub, Eric S. |title=Increasing Exposure to Antibody-Stimulating Proteins and Polysaccharides in Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of Autism|journal=Journal of Pediatrics|date=1 April 2013|doi=10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.02.001|url=http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476%2813%2900144-3/fulltext|access-date=11 April 2013|pmid=23545349|volume=163|issue=2|pages=561–7|doi-access=free}} and there is no biological plausibility for vaccines to cause autism, as autism is not an immune-mediated disease.

The skeptic and science blogger Phil Plait notes that while "On their site they take "vaccine injuries" as given," the "litany of effects is interesting, given that to the best of my knowledge (and I've looked) none of them has actually been linked to vaccines in real medical studies."{{Cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/03/15/vaccines_and_autism_antivaccination_group_advertising_on_billboards.html |title=Antivaxxers Using Billboards to Promote Their Dangerous Message |last=Plait |first=Phil | author-link=Phil Plait|work=Slate}} The NVIC received criticism in April 2011 for ads that it placed on a jumbotron in Times Square.[http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/04/25/vaccine_ad_times_sqaure_poprx The ad that could help fuel a health crisis], Salon.com, April 25, 2011[https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/apr/18/anti-vaccine-advertisement-times-square Doctors demand the removal of anti-vaccine ad from Times Square], The Guardian The ads criticized childhood immunization and promoted an alternative medicine website. In a letter to CBS, which owned the jumbotron, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated, "By providing advertising space to an organization like the NVIC... you are putting thousands of lives of children at risk."[http://www.ncahf.org/digest11/11-10.html Consumer Health Digest #11-10], National Council Against Health Fraud, April 28, 2011

A controversial ad produced by NVIC regarding preventive measures for influenza was aired on some Delta Air Lines flights, prompting the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics to write a letter to the CEO of Delta on November 4, 2011, urging Delta to "remove these harmful messages."Herper, Matthew (November 7, 2011). [https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2011/11/07/pediatricians-group-slams-delta-airlines-for-running-video-made-by-vaccine-skeptics/ "Pediatrician Group Slams Delta Airlines For Running Video Made By Vaccine Skeptics,"] Forbes.Khan, Amina (November 16, 2011). [https://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-vaccine-delta-nvic-change-petition-autism-20111115,0,7909757.story "Pediatricians decry in-flight vaccine-questioning ad on Delta,"] Los Angeles Times. An online petition was also set up to urge Delta to remove the ads.

The refusal of Delta Air Lines to stop showing the ad immediately prompted the Institute for Science in Medicine to protest and to call the decision:

: "...indefensible from a public health perspective,..." and saying "The NVIC ad is, as one commentator aptly observed, a Trojan Horse. Delta passengers in November are being directed to the website of a prominent anti-vaccination organization, one that has tried to thwart national vaccine campaigns for three decades. Moreover, NVIC has the sort of name that sounds like a federal agency, one that passengers might mistake as a source of reliable information."[http://scienceinmedicine.org/news/delta.html Delta’s Decision Doesn’t Fly with Us. Airline Continues to Show Anti-Vaccinationists’ Ad.] Institute for Science in Medicine, Nov. 2011

• List of vaccine topics

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Official website|http://www.nvic.org/}}
• [https://soundcloud.com/nvicstandup Soundcloud] - discussion
• [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Vaccine_Monitoring/history.html History of Vaccine Safety] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• [http://www.skepdic.com/fisherbl.html Barbara Loe Fisher] at The Skeptic's Dictionary

{{Vaccines}}

{{Vaccine safety}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Organizations established in 1982

Category:Anti-vaccination organizations

Category:501(c)(3) organizations

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Vienna, Virginia

Category:1982 establishments in Virginia

Category:Alternative medicine organizations

Category:Anti-vaccination in the United States