Maine doctors, parents launch No on One campaign to support immunization

Dozens of Maine doctors and parents packed into the Welcome Center at the State House Tuesday morning to officially launch the “No on Question 1” campaign, Maine Families for Vaccines.

The campaign was formed to oppose a people’s veto effort —which will appear as Question 1 on the Maine ballot during the presidential primary on March 3 — to overturn a 2019 law eliminating non-medical exemptions for required school vaccinations.

“Maine Families for Vaccines is a grassroots group of parents, disease survivors, doctors, nurses, scientists, and experts,” said Caitlin Gilmet, a founding member of Maine Families for Vaccines and mother, at the launch. “We care about the safety of our children and our community. We are united by our singular focus of protecting Maine kids from preventable disease.”

The vaccine law was initially introduced by Rep. Ryan Tipping (D-Orono) last year as a reaction to an immunization opt-out rate in Maine that has been rapidly climbing. At five percent, Maine has the seventh highest rate of non-medical opt outs in the nation, more than double the national average of two percent. As a result, in recent years, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable pertussis, or ‘whooping cough,’ and measles have become widespread in the state.

During the March public hearing on the bill, Tipping’s legislation attracted strong support as well as virulent opposition, with hundreds of vaccine supporters and anti-vaccination activists flocking to Augusta for what became a 13-hour hearing.

The legislation, which passed the state House by 17 votes, passed the state Senate by a razor-thin margin. Gov. Janet Mills signed it into law last June and came out last week against the people’s veto effort.

Over the course of the legislative debate, anti-vaccine activists were conspiring online about how they might exploit a religious loophole. Later, after passage of the law, there were widespread reports that signature gatherers for the people’s veto had misrepresented the intent of the petition. Now, the “Yes on 1” campaign is relying on yard signs that depict the campaign as a rejection of “Big Pharma” to sway voters.

Among the dozens of public health organizations that support the vaccine law and the “No on 1” campaign are the Maine Medical Association, Maine Family Planning, the Maine Council on Aging, and the Health Equity Alliance.

“Maine physicians must speak out on this issue,” said Dr. Amy Madden, a practicing physician in Belgrade and president of the Maine Medical Association. “It’s in the best interest of the communities that we serve. Our patients look to us for sound, science-based medical advice. Simply put: Advances in modern medicine have made vaccine-preventable illnesses, like measles, essentially a thing of the past.”

“I say essentially because, should we lose this community immunity, then we risk the reemergence and outbreak of measles or other vaccine-preventable illnesses,” she continued. “[Maine Medical Association] urges all Maine voters to vote ‘No’ on Question 1.”

Photo: Caitlin Gilmet, joined by doctors and other supporters, speaking at the launch. | Cara DeRose