Bluestem's been looking at the anti-vaccination movement's organizing among and contributions to Minnesota Republicans in posts like (in reverse chronological order) Anti-vaxxer moneypot Jennifer Larson is Republican Party of Minnesota finance chair, State representative Cindy Pugh carrying anti-vaxxers' bills, according to anti-vaxxers, and MN23B special: Anti-vax Canary Party's Jennifer Larson contributed $1000 to Jeremy Munson:
Larson is also a co-founder of the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota, which is gearing up for the Minnesota legislative session, according to its Facebook page. It's holding a briefing for legislators only on February 7:
Minnesota citizens, we need YOUR help!
We are hosting a legislative briefing to share your concerns of health freedom and Informed Consent with our legislators so they will be prepared going into the 2018 session.
They are not in session YET so can you all please via Facebook, twitter, Ig, Snapchat, email, snail mail and/or phone personally invite your legislators? Let them know you appreciate their service and as your representative you are asking they attend on your behalf because the issue is so important to your family. Say as much as you like about why and that you look forward to being available to answer any questions the may have afterwards. The more invitations and calls, the better!
****This briefing is LEGISLATORS ONLY. Admittance will be monitored and limited to them only. This is a safe space for them to listen and discuss with no pressure from the media or an audience.**
This final item caught the attention of political news reporter J. Patrick Coolican, who posted about it in the Star Tribune's Morning Hot Dish earlier this week.
In Saturday's edition, the Star Tribune's editorial board wrote in Fringe anti-vaccine groups peddle misinformation to Minnesota legislators:
Less than six months after the official end of the Minnesota measles outbreak, a group notorious for spreading childhood vaccine misinformation is holding a secretive reception in Minneapolis to convince state legislators to sign onto its dangerous agenda.
Exactly what policy changes the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota is seeking during the 2018 session is unclear. The invitation for hors d'oeuvres at the Minneapolis Club clearly states that the event is for lawmakers only. A spokeswoman for the reception said the media is not welcome.
The "council," which led an anti-vaccination event during last year's measles outbreak, did not respond to an editorial writer's other questions, such as who is paying for the reception? And is there legislation already drafted for the 2018 session for which reception sponsors are seeking support? Apparently, those seeking critical public health policy changes in Minnesota don't want Minnesotans to know what they're up to.
Shame on any lawmaker who shows up or signs on. The 2017 measles outbreak sickened 79 people between April 11 and Aug. 25, when state health officials declared the outbreak over. Chillingly, 73 cases involved children under 10, and 71 had not been vaccinated.
Lawmakers should be focused on preventing another outbreak. A sensible policy response: ensuring that more Minnesota children get the widely available, generally inexpensive shots to protect them from measles and other diseases. To do that, lawmakers should tighten the state's lax vaccine-exemption laws.
Compared to other states, parents here are currently given broad personal discretion to opt out of required school-aged immunizations. That's a problem when anti-vaccination propaganda proliferates online and groups such as the vaccine council are so active in Minnesota. Last year's outbreak hit the state's Somali-American community hard — a group that has been targeted by anti-vaccine groups, which continue to spread the scientifically debunked falsehood that the shots cause autism. . . .
Read the entire piece at the paper's website. On Twitter, editorial writer Jill Burcum gave a nod to Bluestem's work on this issue:
Here’s a deep dive by the excellent @sallyjos on the money flowing into anti-vax efforts. https://t.co/KJWXJfIwE9 https://t.co/brlrQxLaYP
— jburcum (@jburcum) February 3, 2018
That's appreciated, but there's more work to be done following the money. Minnesota campaign finance reports for 2017 were released on Thursday and we're digging further. So far, the one contribution to jump is $20,000 $5000 from the Canary Party (a political fund, not an actually political party) to the Republican Party of Minnesota. The fund is run by MNGOP finance chair Jennifer Larson.
Photo: A stock vaccine photo, via the Star Tribune.
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