Funny Cartoon & Important Invitation

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Number 6

The idea of a casino setting came from Erica Martinez, Immunization Registry Manager for the New Mexico Department of Health.

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The Immunization Ambassadors

and The Pro-Vaccination Movement

Dale Dauten, Syndicated Columnist

It started with a pair of running shoes.

Mike Popovich, CEO of STC, was in California, visiting with Erika Edmiston --that's her photo above -- a District Supervisor in Wyoming, who, among other things, leads Teton County's mosquito control program. Erika is a runner. Mike is not. Still, her passion for running came up when Mike was talking about getting more people involved in supporting vaccination efforts.

ERIKA: I'm part of this cool program for a shoe company called Skora.

MIKE: What's that about?

ERIKA: They get people talking online. They have an online group that passes on ideas and photos. They call them Skora Ambassadors.

MIKE: Hold on. We need Immunization Ambassadors!

Erika loved the idea. She says, "There are those negative people out there, and their negativity is out of proportion to their size. We need more of the positive." She added, "There are all those people going about their lives, doing the right thing, and it would be cool if we could encourage them to share more."

For Mike's part, that bit of conversation reminded him that public health could benefit from a retailer's mindset:

"The essence of retailing is solving customers' problems, and understanding what customers want, often before customers know it. We need to bring the thinking of a Jeff Bezos or a Howard Schultz to immunization programs."

So Mike was sold on the idea and called upon the perfect people to start such a program, the ebullient pair of Michelle Bonjour and Lara Popovich.


Michelle (left), Lara (right)


	Mike Popovich

They soon assembled a team with Michelle's first call being to Erika. The second call was to the guy running the program at the shoe company. "I learned that there is a whole realm of ambassadors, not just for products, but for all sorts of good causes. I was hooked." Michelle launched the Immunization Ambassadors program in early 2015 with an emphasis on promoting the program via social media, including starting #whyIvax.

And, just this summer, Erika was named the first Immunization Ambassador of the Year. Michelle said of her, "We wanted to recognize her passion, enthusiasm and her raising awareness through social media, including hundreds of tweets."

Is There a Pro-Vaccination Movement?

We've heard from the anti-vaccination side, felt the passion and eagerness of their opinions. But what about the "pro" side? Sure, there are vaccination programs and associations, but is there the energy and zeal that characterizes a movement?

I asked Erika Edmiston if the "pro" side needed to get more assertive. She responded,

"Regardless of my personal frustration with anti-vaxxers and their sharing of misinformation, I agree wholeheartedly with the mission stated on the Immunization Ambassador page: 'Passionately Respectful - We believe in immunization 100% and we want to shout it from the mountain tops but we share our passion with consideration and respect for other views and experiences.'

I think that we will get further with people by being respectful and sharing hard science. Stooping to the anti-vaxxers level is just what they want."

I also discussed the "pro" movement with another active Ambassador, Robert Scheuermann.

Robert is Lab Manager for Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance, overseeing the work of four hospital labs - that's what he calls his "day job," because he's also a lab consultant, working internationally. (T hat's him in the photo above, visiting one of the countries where he consults.) While the labs Robert oversees don't administer vaccinations, he says he joined the Immunization Ambassadors because "We see it on the other side - we see the manifestation of the lack of vaccinations."

Among his touching examples of the effects of that lack is when his lab prepares specialized intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) to administer to babies born to a mother with hepatitis B; or, for a pregnant mom exposed to a non-vaccinated child who contracted chicken pox, an IVIG (Varicella prophylaxis) to try to prevent birth defects in her child.

Asked his opinion of the anti-vax people, Robert said,

"My clients include labs in Egypt and in the Caribbean where there is no such movement. The people in those countries are grateful for vaccinations - after all, they have seen the diseases. In those places, the diseases are for real."

He adds, "If the 'anti' people in this country could see the effects of the diseases, they'd come around, and come around quickly."

Why do the "anti" people seem so much more passionate?

Robert says, "The 'pro' side is nicer about it, but part of that is because one side makes the rational case and the other the emotional one."

Conclusion

It's hard to argue against being "respectful," but perhaps the Immunization Ambassadors can create a new communication channel for passionately respectful pro-vaxxers.

For this writer's part, I've joined the Ambassadors and have added a simple formula that reminds us of the one "for real" thing that gets lost:

ANTI-VACCINATION = PRO-DISEASE

HOW TO JOIN IN

If you'd like to join the Ambassadors, please visit #whyivax on Twitter or the Immunization Ambassadors page on Facebook. The head of the group, Michelle Bonjour, adds, "We'd love to have you involved, and we have a gift for every new member."