COVID-19 vaccine skeptics gather in Sioux Falls for weekend convention

The city of Sioux Falls this weekend is playing host to a convention of social media health influencers who critics say are responsible for peddling pseudoscience and COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

And that’s drawing scrutiny from South Dakota medical professionals, including a coalition of health care professionals, advocates, scientists, parents and community members known as Immunize South Dakota who say such messaging could compromise COVID-19 control measures.

“We are on the threshold of potentially moving forward and going back to our normalcy with COVID-19 vaccines,” said Dr. Santiago Lopez, a member of the Immunize South Dakota coalition. “So these types of meetings and conferences where they make false statements about the safety and efficacy of vaccine can lead toward people not getting vaccinated … and not getting herd immunity.”

More:Active cases of COVID-19 continue to drop in South Dakota

Advanced Medicine Conference event started Friday at Convention Center

The Advanced Medicine Conference (AMC) kicked off Friday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center and will run through Monday. The conference features dozens of speakers, including several who’ve recently been identified as originating sources for various myths and untruths about the coronavirus pandemic and the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

Among the featured speakers are Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Ty and Charlene Bollinger, three well-known vaccine skeptics who regularly share medical information that isn’t vetted with evidence-based science with their social media followers and through various media forms, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

More:Six more COVID-19 deaths reported in South Dakota

A recent study by CCDH found the three were among 12 of the most prolific sources for medical misinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Expected to draw about 1,200 attendees, this year’s AMC is the third annual event. Previously, it’s been held in Charlotte, North Carolina. “However, the venue has now shifted to Sioux Falls, SD which does NOT oppose our belief systems, philosophies and ability think and will allow us to have an event free of political rhetoric, medical myths, unscientific extrapolations and biased conclusions,” according to a website where tickets to the event go for anywhere between $120 to $2,300.

After learning this spring that the Sioux Falls Convention Center would host the 2021 AMC event, Immunize South Dakota sent a letter to the city of Sioux Falls unsuccessfully urging officials to take action to stop the event from taking place at the city-owned venue.

More:Sioux Falls, Minnehaha officials continue slow march forward on medical marijuana regulations

While the convention center is owned by the city of Sioux Falls, its third-party management company known as ASM Global is responsible for event bookings, including the AMC conference.

ASM Global declined to comment for this article.

Mayor Paul TenHaken said late Friday afternoon in an email that the city of Sioux Falls does not involve itself in ASM Global’s booking decisions.

“The city contracts with ASM Global to run our convention center campus facilities and they do an outstanding job,” he wrote. “Despite what some may think, our office does not get into the business of picking winners and losers to use our public venues.”

*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Argus Leader can be found here ***