In the US, more than 167,000 children have lost a caregiver to the virus.

THE GUARDIAN – Alexis Danielsen sat down and rolled up her sleeve. When the shot went into her arm, one thought flooded her mind: “Finally!”

It was May 2021, and she was receiving her first Covid shot – in fact, her first immunization of any kind. She was 39.

Danielsen grew up in an anti-vaccine household, views she held well into adulthood. When her son was born, she declined all vaccines for him.

Then she hit a personal crisis, and started rethinking all her beliefs – including on vaccinations. It was like pulling on a thread and watching an entire sweater unravel, she said.

Danielsen partly credits her about-face to Lydia Greene and Heather Simpson, the founders of Back to the Vax, a support group for people like themselves: one-time vaccine skeptics who’d had a change of heart.

“Countless health experts have confirmed the vaccines to be safe, that the risk of serious side effects is minimal, and that they are a powerful defense against hospitalization or death from the coronavirus.” – Forbes, Jan 23, 2022

“I want to be able to help stop people from going down that road, having been down it myself,” said Greene, now a nursing student.

They say their goal is to help families find evidence-based answers to their questions. Vaccine hesitancy was a growing problem even before the pandemic, particularly among parents. Now, nearly one-third of American parents are opposed to vaccinating their children against Covid-19.

Although parents still have a lot of questions about vaccines, advocates say that answering them can help.

Online support and in-person community groups can help address longstanding hesitations, some of which arise from poor experiences in the medical system.

For example, parents tell Greene they are still waiting for more information to come out on the Covid vaccines before deciding whether to vaccinate their children.

“The Covid vaccine was the only logical choice after really re-evaluating what I believe in, what I actually believe is true.” – Alexis Danielsen

“What’s missing is that, in the US right now, millions of children in that age group have been vaccinated and are followed closely with V-Safe … ” read more. 

Vaccines and “unsafe toxins”

PublicHealth.org – People have concerns over the use of formaldehyde, mercury or aluminum in vaccines.

It’s true that these chemicals are toxic to the human body in certain levels, but only trace amounts of these chemicals are used in FDA approved vaccines.

In fact, according to the FDA and the CDC, formaldehyde is produced at higher rates by our own metabolic systems and there is no scientific evidence that the low levels of this chemical, mercury or aluminum in vaccines can be harmful.

See section III of this guide to review safety information about these chemicals and how they are used in vaccines … read more.