In today’s stories, a push to limit vaccine options in our state. We’ll explore the debate around vaccine safety. Then, a familiar face steps in to save a Minnesota company.
Transcript
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR: In today's stories, a push to limit vaccine options in our state. We'll explore the debate around vaccine safety. Then, a familiar face steps in to save a Minnesota company.
I'm Chantel SinGs.
Minnesotans may have fewer vaccine options if some lawmakers get their way. About a dozen Minnesota lawmakers want to make it illegal to make, possess, or administer m-R-N-A vaccines. m-R-N-A is a new type of vaccine; some say it makes them more effective, but others say it's dangerous. They introduced a bill calling this type of vaccine a "weapon of mass destruction" and designating it a public safety hazard. The language in the bill goes on to say that anyone who creates, acquires, possesses, or makes an mRNA vaccine available, could face criminal charges.
Coming up, efforts to fight the new vaccine developments here in Minnesota and nationwide have shifted how people view vaccines. These debates are creating more confusion in people's minds: Are new vaccines safe, or do they harm? Here's Britt Aamodt with more.
Britt Aamodt: You're not alone if you're confused about vaccines.
Dr. Rebecca Wurtz: People are very concerned about vaccines, partly because they're getting mixed messages, and it's a shame, because vaccines are incredibly safe.
Britt Aamodt: Dr Rebecca Wurtz is an infectious disease physician and Professor of Public Health at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Rebecca Wurtz: Some people are particularly concerned about the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine and a incorrectly reported association with autism.
Britt Aamodt: Minnesota saw an increase in measles cases last year. Medical experts say it's partly due to parents not vaccinating their children over autism fears.
Dr. Rebecca Wurtz: About 30 years ago, a British researcher published a paper that drew a connection between autism and vaccination, and it turned out that he had made up the data.
Britt Aamodt: But the idea that vaccines could cause autism has taken root in the media and online, and it's been an uphill battle for public health officials trying to change perceptions.
The atmosphere around COVID vaccines is even more charged. A group of Republican lawmakers in the Minnesota House would like to ban mRNA vaccines, which include the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines. They're labeling them "weapons of mass destruction." To some, this may look like political posturing. But to Minnesotans like Suzanna Newell, this conversation is long overdue.
Suzanna Newell: My first shot, it was a Pfizer vaccine, and it was fine. And then my second one within I think it was like 30 hours, I felt like I had been hit by a truck.
Britt Aamodt: That was April 2021, and since then, she's been plagued by a variety of symptoms that, at times, have left this triathlete in a wheelchair. Newell may have received a bad batch of vaccine, or her reaction could have been due to individual biochemistry or another unknown factor. She and others like her remain in the dark, as COVID vaccines were fast tracked to get ahead of the pandemic, which left little time to fully study potential risks.
Suzanna Newell: I think we need to research more. We need to be a little more open to the fact that reactions can happen and maybe dig a little deeper.
Dr. Frank Rhame: Everything I do has a downside and an upside.
Britt Aamodt: Dr. Frank Rhame is an infectious disease specialist with Allina.
Dr. Frank Rhame: In the case of COVID vaccine, the upside far outweighs the downside, but it often makes people feel crummy for a day or two, sometimes three, so it does create side effects.
Britt Aamodt: Dr. Rhame has seen a concern with COVID vaccines slip into a concern about all vaccines, and that has him worried.
Dr. Frank Rhame: If you look at what has produced health in our species: safe water, surgery, antibiotics and vaccines. And if we lose that one, it's going to hurt people.
Britt Aamodt: This is Britt Aamodt for North Star Stories.
ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.
Arctic Cat has new owners, and a familiar face is back at the controls. Brad Darling, a former general manager of the Thief River Falls-based snowmobile manufacturer, is leading the purchase with the backing of a private investment group. Darling left Arctic Cat in 2016 to become CEO for Canadian ATV company, ARGO. A press release announcing the sale says Darling will run the two companies separately. Earlier this year Arctic Cat announced it would lay off about 400 employees and shut down its Thief River Falls plant.
It's unclear how the sale will affect those plans.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.