#3006: Jami Hepworth

Jami Hepworth is not herself an MD but she is, apparently, the wife of an MD. Hepworth therefore does her antivaccine activism under the moniker “Skeptical Doctor’s Wife”. Whatever skills and knowledge of medicine her husband had access to in medical school has not been transferred to her by osmosis; indeed, she readily admits that her “increasingly unorthodox views according to the Western medicine paradigm have presented a bit of a rocky road for us”.

 

So Hepworth parrots all the standard anti-vaccine tropes, and although she claims to be “steeped in knowledge of the most relevant peer-reviewed literature”, she was apparently unaware that vaccines do not contain cell lines derived from aborted babies (which is, of course, a stock piece of intentional deception widely regurgitated on anti-vaccine sites). A perhaps more telling self-ascription of competence is her claim to also be steeped in “the gaps in the story about vaccines as shared by official sources” – yes, the stuff they don’t want you to know about. Like all anti-vaccine activists, Hepworth is more than anything else a conspiracy theorist.

 

Hepworth’s actual credentials consist of a BA in German literature from Brigham Young University, something she informed the public about when testifying against Nevada bill AB123, which was designed enhance the data collection process and centralize immunization information for rapid use during an outbreak. During the testimony, Hepworth referred to vaccination as an “example of medical cannibalism” and also stated that, over time, the cell lines actually used to grow viruses to make some vaccines “wane” (Hepworth avoids mentioning what mechanism she thinks is in play), meaning that vaccine manufacturers repeatedly “have to get new cell lines” (yes, it’s the vaccine manufacturers are engaged in the purchase and sale of abortion conspiracy theory because of course it is – this is the kind of person we’re dealing with here). She also, of course, asserted that vaccines are not tested against saline controls, because that’s what she has decided to believe; damn the facts and damn understand how vaccines or scientific testing works.

 

But yeah, it’s all there. Hepworth denies that herd immunity is real, because she confuses waning immunity from pertussis vaccination with lack of herd immunity, and she denies that anyone in developed countries dies of the diseases that wevaccinate against. And so on.

 

Diagnosis: In fairness, Hepworth is ultimately a minor figure – a conspiracy theorist with a facebook page where she complains about how ‘uncivil’ pro-vaccine advocates are because they refute her nonsense and advocate for vaccines. But she did try to get attention, so we’ll oblige her.

 

Hat-tip: Respectful insolence