Despite conspiracy theories about vaccines for kids, I personally choose to follow the advice of my family's pediatrician, which is to vaccinate my kids. And even though I strongly believe that many diseases could come back with a vengeance without proper immunization, I still believe that every parent has the right to choose whether or not to vaccinate their children so long as they don't try to change my mind.
Actor and former Saturday Night Live cast member Rob Schneider has never made it a secret which side of the vaccine debate he was on. So, when State Farm Insurance ads featuring Schneider hit the airwaves, so did pro-vaccine groups to rally for Schneider's termination. The Wrap reports that anti-Schneider alliances created a social media video campaign asking supporters to post comments on State Farm's Twitter and Facebook pages to pressure the insurance company to pull the ads — and it looks like a battle pro-vaccinators have won.
In a PR Weekly interview State Farm's director of public affairs, Phil Supple, stated that the reason they're pulling the ads is that it "has unintentionally been used as a platform for discussion unrelated to the products and services we provide." Guess generating press isn't what the State Farm ads had in mind.
I agree with Schneider's tweet:
Rob Schneider quote
Despite the fact that State Farm Insurance chose to hire someone with a publically-shared anti-vaccine stance to represent their health insurance company and is choosing to pull the ads because of a little controversy, Schneider isn't to blame. The real issue is that both parties on either side of the child vaccination issue should just chill; to each their own. And leave Rob Schneider out of it.
Read more on vaccines
When parents refuse vaccines for their baby
Could your child's vaccines be compromised?
This woman is proof that every girl needs the HPV vaccine