From Ohio to Washington

For as long as Lindenberger can remember, his mother has been opposed to vaccines. She believes vaccines cause autism—despite countless studies disproving the claim—lead to brain damage and have resulted in a family friend’s stutter. Of Lindenberger’s six siblings, four did not receive childhood vaccinations.

Lindenberger didn’t receive vaccinations either—except two shots in 2002—until age 18, after online research prompted him to question his mother’s beliefs. As the founder of the debate club at his school, Lindenberger is no stranger to distinguishing between credible and biased sources. He visited sites like the CDC and the World Health Organization and concluded that the benefits of vaccines far outweigh any potential harm.

Lindenberger presented evidence from the CDC to his mother, who replied, “That’s what they want you to think.”

“My jaw hit the floor,” Lindenberger said. “It’s the CDC; what do you mean, ‘It’s what they want you to think?’ This is not a conspiracy, and they have cited information right here. It blew my mind.”

Lindenberger told some of his friends about his frustration with his mother, and one suggested he get vaccinated without parental consent since he was of age under Ohio law.  Fifteen states permit children to get vaccinated without parental consent; in the rest, including Ohio, the age of consent is 18.

Ready to get vaccinated but unsure of how to proceed, Lindenberger turned to Reddit, his “go-to,” and under r/Nostupidquestions asked for advice. Lindenberger discovered he could make an appointment at the local Department of Health for little cost. The next day, he told his mother he was getting vaccinated, drove to the clinic himself and paid using family insurance. He received vaccinations for HPV 1, tetanus, influenza and hepatitis A and B.

Lindenberger updated his Reddit post after getting his shots, and it went viral. About two months later, major news outlets began picking up his story. Just when he thought the commotion was dying down, he received a text message from Sen. Alexander’s staff asking if he wanted to testify before Congress. The hearing would focus on preventing the spread of misinformation about vaccines in light of 206 cases of measles—a disease easily prevented by vaccination—confirmed last month in 11 states.

On Monday, three months after his viral Reddit post hit the internet, Lindenberger left small-town Norwalk on a plane for D.C. His dad drove him to the airport—his mom wasn’t thrilled about him testifying—and congressional staff members met him when he landed. While the government paid for his flight and hotel, friends from church chipped in for other expenses. A close friend bought him the $200 suit he wore to testify.

Lindenberger estimated that in Norwalk, which has a population of around 17,000 and leans conservative, about 10 to 20 percent of people believe vaccines do more harm than good.

“A good portion of my community was extremely supportive,” Lindenberger said. “But some people at my church were complaining. I had friends tell me that I shouldn’t be going to D.C and that I was being used as a pawn of the government.”

Upon arriving at the Capitol building, Lindenberger said he was “terrified.” Walking through the halls, he passed hundreds of people protesting vaccination. Two overflow rooms had been set up to accommodate the unusually large crowd. Almost every camera was angled toward him, and prominent national news organizations broadcasted his testimony live. But as he adjusted—and a few Senators cracked some jokes—Lindenberger slowly gained confidence. He discussed combating misinformation, the role of social media in propagating anti-vax conspiracies and how he came to realize vaccines were beneficial.

Strangers soon began to comment on Lindenberger’s social media posts with threats, and many accused him of being paid by the pharmaceutical industry. But hateful messages don’t bother Lindenberger; it just frustrates him that those commenters are misinformed. Sometimes he’ll read through angry comments to formulate a response that addresses a common thread.

“There are so many wild conspiracy theories—and that’s the problem,” Lindenberger said. “This is a one-sided conversation. There’s no debate. There’s no rebuttal. This is science versus misinformation. This is truth versus falsities. Because of that, a lot of the anti-vax community falls back on conspiracy theories. It goes to show how little evidence there is for their side.”

“Don’t use the term anti-vaxx. We’re vaccine risk aware parents”

If we’re going to start changing lingo, I would like to propose a change from “pro-vaccine” to “pro-children not dying to preventable disease.” #antivaxxlogic #VaccinesSaveLives

— Ethan J. Lindenberger (@ethan_Joesph16) March 7, 2019