A
teenager has finally received vaccinations that he should have had as a young
child and criticized his parents for refusing to give them to him. Ethan
Lindenberger, 18, from Norwalk, Ohio, has now had shots to immunize him against
six diseases including mumps and hepatitis. His parents refused to give them to
him because they are part of the anti-vaxxer movement which believes that
vaccinations cause illnesses such as autism.
However,
Ethan decided to have the shots when he turned 18 because he came to the
conclusion that the overwhelming scientific evidence is that they do work.
His
mother, Jill Wheeler, who owns a children's theater company, described the move
as 'insulting' and a 'slap in the face'. The mother-of-seven said: 'It was like
him spitting on me, saying 'You don't know anything, I don't trust you with
anything. You don't know what you're talking about. You did make a bad decision
and I'm gonna go fix it'.'
It
comes as an outbreak of measles were confirmed in ten states and a public
health emergency was declared in an anti-vaccination 'hot spot' in Portland,
Oregon, last month.