‘The anti-vaccine movement doesn’t take their toys and go home’

Fatima Gabir/Cronkite News

April 30, 2025

Excerpts and quotes from the article:

“We already have one of the easiest exemption processes for school kids, but it doesn’t seem like that’s enough anymore,” said Ashley Chambers, executive director of Arizona Families for Vaccines, a nonprofit that works with legislators and an array of other groups to boost confidence in vaccines. “When we look at the national trend, we like to say that ‘the anti-vaccine movement doesn’t take their toys and go home.’ What I mean by that is they get what they want, and then next year they go further.”

The organization focuses on educating Arizona lawmakers rather than the general public. Brandi Giles is a registered nurse who spearheads immunization education efforts at the nonprofit.

“I definitely saw more deaths than one human would normally see. I saw mothers and sons pass away, husbands and wives pass away, young mothers who never got to hold their babies,” Giles said, recalling her experience as an ICU nurse during COVID and witnessing the severe consequences of vaccine hesitancy.

“It’s scary to think that we could potentially have that again, with diseases that could be prevented because of vaccines. We’re putting ourselves in a situation where we’re going to overrun our hospitals again. We’re going to overwork our already overworked health care workers. Our infrastructure can’t handle it again,” Giles said.

Full story available here: https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2025/04/30/measles-outbreak-texas-new-mexico-anti-vaccine-movement-grows/