HB 2339:  Will prohibit vaccinations at school without prior written authorization. This is common sense, we know. If you need written parental authorization to apply sunscreen at school, you should need written parental authorization for a vaccine. Unfortunately we know that this DOES happen, as shocking as that might be to hear. OKHPR member, Kristi, has a vaccine injured child named Max. Max was granted a medical exemption but was vaccinated at school by the caring van without her knowledge. This bill will codify in law that schools must have written parental authorization so that something like this hopefully never happens again. Listen to Max and Kristi’s story here.

HB 2420: Will prohibit insurance companies from providing financial incentives to vaccinations. Currently, insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, and even Soonercare pay doctors bonuses for vaccinating children and keeping high vaccination rates. This is why some doctors do not allow patients who wish to delay vaccines, selectively vaccinate, or not vaccinate whatsoever. This limits parents’ choices. Some parents, especially parents who live in rural areas where there are not many options for pediatricians, report having a hard time finding a doctor who will see their children if they wish to make alternative vaccination decisions. In four years we have reports of approximately 124 doctors serving patients on alternative vaccination schedules in Oklahoma. Having a primary care provider means better health outcomes and reduces the cost of healthcare. By removing these financial incentives, more Oklahoma children will have availability to a primary care provider.

What about SCR 1?

SCR 1 is the concurrent resolution urging ratification of Parental Rights Amendment. It has passed the senate floor and is now headed to the house. Please include it in your email and calls!

So what do we do next? We need all of our members to reach out to your state representative. If you do not know who your representative is, use this link. Once you put in your address, scroll all the way to the bottom. The last legislator is your representative. It will say “State House” above his or her picture. Please email and call, and ask them to vote YES on HB 2339 and HB 2420. Make sure to include ‘FROM YOUR CONSTITUENT’ in the subject line of your email. Then include your name and address to end your email.

When?

Come out on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 and support OKHPR.

Where?

Second Floor Rotunda, Oklahoma State Capitol.

Why?

Join us as we advocate for parental and health rights at our annual capitol day! This is our biggest capitol event of the year!  Citizens from all over the state come together to kickoff the legislative session and introduce bills that protect your rights!!

Schedule

• 11:00 am-4:00 pm (Come and Go)
• 11:00 Registration & Meet and Greet
• 12:00 Group Photo
• 12:15 Introduction of Health and Parental Rights Legislation
• 1:00 Break into District Teams
• 1:30 Introductions of OKHPR in Senate and House Chambers

After session: Legislator Office Visits
This year’s theme is: IF FREEDOM DOESN’T RING, IT WILL ROAR! 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What if I cannot be there the entire time? Is there a time that I will be needed more?

Yes, coming by noon is the most important time to show our presence (group photo) and meet with our legislators. Legislator office visits will be in the afternoon and meeting YOUR representatives is key to having successful B.E.A.R advocacy.

What do we do during the meet and greet? 

You will check in, get your program, lanyard, t-shirts and decals if you pre-ordered them and get your team assignments based on your senate district.

We will also have our “MAMA BEAR AND SUPERHERO” photo booth again during our meet and greet so be ready to ham it up!

It’s also a great time to have a snack lunch in the beautiful rotunda while we wait for the group photo and program to begin at noon.

What do we wear?

The dress is business casual, but many will be dressing up their mama bear shirts, too! Your shirts will be ready for you at registration. You must order here in advance!

COMFORTABLE SHOES ARE A MUST! Dressing for success is key to being taken seriously by your legislators.

Can we bring kids?

Kids are definitely welcome, but bring plenty of snacks, a stroller, books and devices!

Is there a place to eat?

Please pack sack lunches to enjoy lunch at the meet and greet! There is a cafe, but your schedule will be very busy so you may not have time to get up there.

Where do I park?

There are two free parking lots available to visitors of the capital. The most convenient one is directly south of the Capitol (you will notice the oil well) and can accessed by traveling north or south on Lincoln Blvd. The second parking lot can be accessed by traveling north on Lincoln and turning east onto 21st street, then left onto the parking lot.

Please note: The second parking lot requires crossing Lincoln Blvd which is a high traffic street. Always use designated crosswalks where pedestrians have the right of way. Please consider parking in the second parking lot if not traveling with small children so that our families with children can have closer parking spots.

Also, please allow extra time to park, walk and go through metal detectors. We suggest planning at 15-20 minutes for this. We also encourage you to carpool if you have friends or neighbors also attending.

View a parking map available here. Entrances are marked with a blue marker and parking is marked with a red P.

Where do I get more information? 

If you are on Facebook, join us at the OFFICIAL event page here

You can also email us at info@okhpr.com

We look forward to seeing you on February 13, 2019!!!

Did you catch The Oklahomans Sunday Op-Ed article written by former Senator Yen? Papa bear JB Handley read it and he wrote a really good rebuttal!

Do the benefits of the vaccine outweighs the risks?

“Vaccine pushers like former Oklahoma State Senator Ervin Yen drive me nuts. The choice for whether or not society should use any one vaccine really does come down to a simple question: Do the benefits of the vaccine outweighs the risks? Of course, my strong contention is that the RISK side of vaccines is dramatically under-stated, and that in fact vaccine makers know this and work hard to obscure the scale of injury their product is causing.

In an Op-Ed published today in Oklahoma, Senator Yen butchers many easily verifiable facts, but none more so than his understanding of measles mortality in the United States. Dr. Yen writes:

“It’s true there are risks to vaccinations. The population of Oklahoma is about 3.9 million. If you were to vaccinate 3.9 million people for measles, four to eight people would have serious reactions. Most likely, this would be caused by an unknown allergy to an ingredient in the vaccine with death being a possibility. However, when you vaccinate 3.9 million people for measles, you prevent 150-200 people from dying. The benefits far far outweigh the risks. And, vaccines do not cause autism.”

What Dr. Yen writes is easily verifiable, and here’s the published study that reveals this.
MEASLES MORTALITY: A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK AT THE VACCINE ERA

What was measles mortality in the United States right before the vaccine was available? It was 0.23 per 100,000 people. If you apply that rate to 3.9 million people in Oklahoma, you get just under 9 people (8.97 to be exact: ((3,900,000/100,000)* .23) = 8.97), not the 150-200 Senator Yen asserts. He was wrong by a factor of almost 25-fold!!

These DETAILS MATTER. As Senator Yen himself says, measles vaccine would cause “serious reactions” in 4-9 people, according to him. And that’s to prevent 8.97 deaths? Moreover, that mortality number is 55 years old! Guess what, we have better medical care today and know that Vitamin A therapy, and many other things, can make measles a very mild experience. Today’s death rate, 55 years later, would likely be EVEN LOWER than the number we do have, 0.23 per 100,000. Either way, Yen’s argument is completely destroyed by how similar the mortality and serious reaction numbers really are…

Physicians for Informed Consent, who have a much better grasp of measles data, both present day and historically, than Senator Yen, have a much different perspective on the risk-benefit of the vaccine, writing:
​
It has not been proven that the MMR vaccine is safer than measles. The vaccine package insert raises questions about safety testing for cancer, genetic mutations, and impaired fertility. Although VAERS tracks some adverse events, it is too inaccurate to measure against the risk of measles. Clinical trials do not have the ability to detect less common adverse reactions, and epidemiological studies are limited by the effects of chance and possible confounders. Safety studies of the MMR vaccine are particularly lacking in statistical power. A review of more than 60 MMR vaccine studies conducted for the Cochrane Library states, “The design and reporting of safety outcomes in MMR vaccine studies, both pre- and post-marketing, are largely inadequate.”12 Because permanent sequalae (aftereffects) from measles, especially in individuals with normal levels of vitamin A, are so rare,3 the level of accuracy of the research studies available is insufficient to prove that the vaccine causes less death or permanent injury than measles.

Don’t you think Senator Yen should issue a retraction or correction? Shouldn’t we hold medical doctors who choose to speak publicly to a standard of having their facts right?”

First you need to find your STATE legislators. This is not Inhofe and Lankford- they are your US legislators. Your state legislators are listed below them, look for State Senate and State House.
Use this link: http://www.oklegislature.gov/FindMyLegislature.aspxd

Next you need to find their email or phone number. You can use this link: https://tinyurl.com/legislators2018