On Apr.19, 1982, the television documentary DPT: Vaccine Roulette was first broadcast out of Washington, DC, warning parents for the first time that the DPT shot containing whole cell pertussis vaccine given five times to all children was brain damaging and killing an unknown number of them. By Apr. 28, a handful of parents of DPT vaccine injured children in the DC area banded together and held a meeting on Capitol Hill to establish the charitable organization known today as the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC).
By 1985, the seminal book DPT: A Shot in the Dark critiquing the mandatory vaccination system was published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. In 1986, the first public protest against an unsafe vaccine was held at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which was historic acknowledgment that vaccines can cause injury and death.
The modern vaccine safety and informed consent movement opposing mandatory vaccination laws launched by parents of DPT vaccine injured children in 1982 has changed the course of medical history. As we enter our fifth decade, we are committed now – more than ever – to continuing our mission to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and secure the legal right to make voluntary vaccination decisions without being sanctioned by anyone.
When it comes to defending the human right to autonomy and protection of bodily integrity, there can be no compromise.
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