How one sincere conversation changed the mind of this self-proclaimed anti-vaxxer
CBC
Jason Lerato says he spent years as a self-proclaimed "anti-vaxxer," and it wasn't until recently that he had a change of perspective.
"For 20 years plus, you know I guess I could label myself … as a poster child or flag holder for all things anti-vaxx, maybe even as far as saying, 'Don't trust in the government' either," said Lerato. "That is definitely what I breathed and lived."
Lerato, 47, is a dispatcher for a trucking company and a married father of two who lives in Winnipeg. He got his second COVID-19 vaccine shot a few weeks ago thanks to a single calm conversation with health-care professionals in his family.
He never attended anti-vaccine rallies or protests, though he still acted on his convictions when he identified as anti-vaccine.
Lerato said he shared anti-vaccine content on social media to thousands of followers on Twitter before he recently deleted his account.
One time he pulled his daughters, both in Grade 6 at the time, from class the day the school ran an in-house HPV vaccine clinic.
Lerato came about his former convictions outside any influence from family; he grew up in a household where vaccination was accepted.
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