How an Ontario town became one of North America's anti-vax capitals
There are many communities and public health units across Canada where, for one reason or another, vaccination rates lag way behind other population centres. In many places, this happens quietly. In Aylmer, Ontario, it happens very loudly. Aylmer isn’t a big town. And it wouldn’t be particularly notable, except for one man, and one church, and the national and international attention he has brought to it. Why are Henry Hildebrandt and the Church of God Restoration so against public health measures? What has the town done about their refusal to comply with them? How did Hildebrandt turn this small Ontario town into a magnet for prominent anti-vaxxers from across North America and if and when this is all over, what happens to a community that has been fractured? GUEST: Luc Rinaldi, writing for Toronto Life
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Show Notes
There are many communities and public health units across Canada where, for one reason or another, vaccination rates lag way behind other population centres. In many places, this happens quietly. In Aylmer, Ontario, it happens very loudly. Aylmer isn’t a big town. And it wouldn’t be particularly notable, except for one man, and one church, and the national and international attention he has brought to it.
Why are Henry Hildebrandt and the Church of God Restoration so against public health measures? What has the town done about their refusal to comply with them? How did Hildebrandt turn this small Ontario town into a magnet for prominent anti-vaxxers from across North America and if and when this is all over, what happens to a community that has been fractured?
GUEST: Luc Rinaldi, writing for Toronto Life
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