This Australian doctor has gone viral for her message on viruses. Two years ago Dr. Rachel Heap of the Northern Rivers Vaccination Association, in New South Wales, posted a powerful rant on her organization’s Facebook page about the importance of vaccinating children. Well, the memo now graces the wall of a Colorado doctor’s office and thanks to patient Sunni Mariah, Dr. Heap’s words have spread around the internet like wild-fire.
It all started when Mariah noticed a sign in her doctor’s office with the headline, “Not vaccinating your kids leaves them vulnerable to disease their whole lives.” The sign continued with a series of tough questions such as:
“What do you tell your son when he breaks the news to you that he cannot have kids, thanks to the mumps that he got as a teenager?” Mariah snapped a photo of the sign for Facebook, captioning it as “some serious shade” towards anti-vaxxers and the post took off, racking up 4.8k comments and 191k shares on Facebook.
The original author of the print was asked for permission, by one of the nurses in the Colorado doctor’s office, to put up the sign and it is no surprise she agreed. With a growing number of anti-vaccine supporters, Dr. Heap has been educating her community and encouraging them to get these preventative treatments. Her experience with the issue is vast, she worked for 10 years in intensive care across rural areas in Australia and then six months in the kids Intensive Care (PICU).
“Throughout my career, I have looked after many patients with vaccine preventable diseases,” wrote Dr. Heap in a statement, going on to say, “My approach has been to try and help my community, and those further afield, understand why vaccine preventable diseases are bad, and that vaccines are the safest and most effective way to protect everyone from them.”
Twenty-six-year-old Mariah understands the physician’s message. While may have no kids of her own yet, the pathology student says when the time comes they will be vaccinated. Scroll down below to read the full sign from Dr. Heap and share your thoughts on the topic!
Twenty-six-year-old Sunni Mariah was at the doctor’s office when a sign caught her eye
The sign laid out some tough questions aimed at anti-vaxxers while explaining the possible risks of neglecting to vaccinate your kids
People across the internet shared their own relationships with vaccine and shared their opinions on the topic
