‘Pure science fiction’ says Ohio doctor on anti-vaccine conspiracy theories

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A viral video out of the Ohio Statehouse has many people talking about vaccine conspiracy theories.

On Friday NBC4 spoke with Ohio doctors who say this kind of misinformation is dangerous.

This week at the Ohio House Health Committee, many showed up to testify for a bill that would ban the government, businesses, and schools from requiring any vaccine. The testimony turned to conspiracy theories and the video gained national attention.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures all over the internet of people who have had these shots and now they’re magnetized,” said Dr. Sherri Tenpenny. “They can put a key on their forehead. It sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them and they can stick, because now we think that there’s a metal piece to that.”

But that’s “pure science fiction,” cautions health experts.

“It’s obviously very unfortunate, this person is terribly misinformed and really it just boils down to being purely science fiction,” said Dr. Joseph Gastaldo, M.D. and Infectious Disease Specialist.

Dr. Gastaldo says these types of lies are often spread by the anti-vaccine community using social media.

“For the uninformed consumer it’s very easy for people to see things online that sound very reputable,” said Dr. Gastaldo.

ObGyn Dr. Anita Somani, M.D. says it’s important to share vaccine facts instead of these types of videos.

“The more it’s repeated the more it becomes part of the common social media, or the media that’s out there so we do have to be very careful not to repeat it. We need to repeat the facts,” said Dr. Somani.

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