Here are 16 celebs who have taken a public stance either for or against vaccinating kids.
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Amanda Peet: Pro
Image Credit: Brian To/WENN.com Peet, who is a mom to two, is outspokenly pro-vaccine. She famously called parents who opt out of vaccinating their kids “parasites” in an interview, a statement she later retracted in an apology letter.
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Jenny McCarthy: Anti
Image Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com Probably the best-known anti-vaxxer ever, McCarthy famously propagated false research that showed a link between childhood vaccines and autism. Countless studies have since proven there’s no connection between the two, but the idea has stubbornly stuck in the debate rhetoric, due in large part to McCarthy’s influence.
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Salma Hayek: Pro
Image Credit: Daniel Tanner/WENN.com Hayek is a spokeswoman for One Pack = One Vaccine, an initiative dedicated to providing tetanus vaccines to moms and kids in Africa and Asia.
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Bill Maher: Anti
Image Credit: Brian To/WENN.com Political pundit Maher tweeted during 2009’s swine flu epidemic, “If u get a swine flu shot ur an idiot.” On his show, he compared getting the vaccine to willingly infecting yourself with a disease.
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Jennifer Garner: Pro
Image Credit: Dennis Van Tine/Future Image/WENN.com Garner joined the American Lung Association in 2007 as part of a campaign called Faces of Influenza, in which she encouraged all people to get vaccinated against the flu.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Anti
Image Credit: Dennis Van Tine/Future Image/WENN.com Kennedy has made references to the unproven autism-vaccine connection in speeches and, in 2008, participated in an anti-vaccination rally led by fellow anti-vaxxer Jenny McCarthy in Washington, D.C.
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Kristi Yamaguchi: Pro
Image Credit: WENN Olympic skater Yamaguchi is another spokeswoman for Faces of Influenza. She’s spoken publicly about the importance of getting a yearly flu shot, saying it protects children if they — and everyone around them — are vaccinated.
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Jim Carrey: Anti
Image Credit: Daniel Deme/WENN.com It only makes sense that Carrey, Jenny McCarthy’s ex, would be against vaccinating. Carrey has participated in McCarthy’s rallies and written op-eds against vaccinating kids.
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Jennifer Lopez: Pro
Image Credit: Brian To/WENN.com Lopez, who is a mom to twins, is an advocate for Sounds of Pertussis, an initiative that calls for parents and caregivers to vaccinate themselves against whooping cough, creating herd immunity to protect babies who are too young to be vaccinated themselves.
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Holly Robinson Peete: Anti
Image Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com Peete has actually claimed she is not anti-vaccine, but she wrote an open letter to vaccine supporter Amanda Peet, claiming her son became autistic after receiving his MMR booster.
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Keri Russell: Pro
Image Credit: Joel Ginsburg/WENN.com Russell has starred in public service announcements urging parents to vaccinate themselves for whooping cough to protect kids who are too young to be vaccinated themselves.
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Donald Trump: Anti
Image Credit: Alberto Reyes/WENN.com Trump has tweeted numerous times about a supposed link between vaccines and autism, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that says the opposite.
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Marc Anthony: Pro
Image Credit: WENN.com Like his former wife, JLo, Anthony has advocated for vaccinating kids and adults. He’s filmed pro-flu vaccine PSAs in both English and Spanish.
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Kristin Cavallari: Anti
Image Credit: JLN Photography/WENN.com Cavallari has spoken publicly about her discussion not to vaccinate her kids. “We decided not to vaccinate,” she said in an interview last year. “You know what, I’ve read too many books about autism.”
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Bill Gates: Pro
Image Credit: WENN.com It’s no surprise that science buff Gates — as well as his wife, Melinda — is all about vaccines. In 2010, the couple pledged to donate $10 billion over the course of a decade to deliver vaccines, which they call a miracle to developing countries.
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Alicia Silverstone: Anti
Image Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com Silverstone penned a book titled The Kind Mama, in which she touts the supposed benefits of ditching feminine products, feeding kids vegan diets and eschewing vaccinations.
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