Claim: The U.S. government plans to make vaccinations mandatory for all adults.
Example: [Collected via Twitter, April 2015]
Public health officials will be monitoring Twitter and Facebook posts for anti-vaccine chatter
God in Heaven help us! & wake the FREAK UP PEOPLE! This is NOT a vaccine debate this is about your RIGHTS!
Public health officials will monitor Twitter and Facebook posts for anti-vaccine chatter that may indicate...
Origins: On
Public health officials will be monitoring Twitter and Facebook posts for anti-vaccine chatter that may indicate non-compliance with federal vaccine recommendations and state vaccine mandates.
This month, federal health officials are rolling out a national adult immunization plan that contains a new Mandatory Adult Vaccination and Electronic Tracking Program. The government is urging Americans to fulfill their obligation to support and comply with the anti-choice requirement to relinquish responsibility for personal health and well-being to federally appointed health officials through pharmaceutical enhancements.
Perhaps owing to the volume of alarmist health claims that have originated with Mercola, the subtle (relative to the site's scope) satire was lost on many readers despite its inclusion of the following passage:
The government has already begun monitoring Twitter and Facebook posts to detect anti-vaccine sentiment for the purpose of monitoring for non-compliance with federal vaccine use recommendations. As early as next month, the BioSafety (BS) Alert system will become fully functional, sending out text message alerts to any cellphone within a
BS Alert Rolling Out in April
Readers who made it all the way to the bottom of the piece before sharing it might have observed this addendum:
This piece is our annual April Fool's article. Some of the details herein are true, however, and the article could be suggestive of what we might face in the near future, should we fail to take corrective action to protect and preserve vaccine exemptions, informed consent, and medical freedom of choice.
NOTICE
Last updated: 2 April 2015