NJCVC is a volunteer, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on promoting vaccination choice, informed consent and individualized medical decision making.
NJCVC is committed to preserving existing laws and advancing legislation that protects vaccination choice and informed consent. NJCVC opposes measures that erode the rights of individuals to make medical decisions in consultation with their healthcare providers. NJCVC’s primary focus is on creating and maintaining relationships within our State government, educating policymakers, and engaging elected officials across the political spectrum.
We recognize that understanding the complexities surrounding vaccination choice takes time. Individuals and families come to this issue with different perspectives, levels of knowledge, and personal experiences. NJCVC strives to meet people where they are, fostering respectful dialogue and productive discussion grounded in facts and mutual respect.
NJCVC advocates for individuals to take an active role in medical decisions related to vaccination and bodily autonomy. We collaborate with other organizations that share aligned missions, while focusing on our core role of legislative education, advocacy, and relationship-building. Government mandates undermine an individual’s ability to retain appropriate control over personal healthcare decisions, and we work to ensure those decisions remain voluntary and informed. NJCVC respects the importance of trust between patients and their healthcare providers and affirms that medical decisions should be made through that relationship and not imposed by the state.
We are not opposed to the responsible use of vaccination. NJCVC is open to all who support vaccination choice, informed consent, and the availability of options in medical care. We engage with elected officials, community leaders, and advocates from across the political spectrum because we believe this is an issue that affects everyone—and that meaningful change is achieved through broad, principled collaboration.
The History of NJCVC
The movement for informed consent and vaccination choice in New Jersey is not new. Organized efforts began in 1997 when Sue Collins formed Parents for Freedom of Vaccination Choice as a support group for parents to come together to discuss concerns and share information about vaccinations and vaccination options. This group later became the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination.
The current New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice (NJCVC) was founded in 2006, partially in response to government proposals to mandate flu shots for preschool and boosters of DTaP and meningitis for 6th grade students. (These requirements ultimately passed via the Public Health Council not through the legislature in December of 2007, making NJ the first state to require the flu vaccine for preschool.) Since that time the NJCVC has been working to educate legislators and the public about the importance of informed consent in vaccination. The Coalition is comprised of individuals, parents, grandparents, teachers, lawyers and health care practitioners from across the state. NJCVC aims to preserve the right of all individuals to make informed medical decisions for themselves and their families.
NJCVC Philosophy
NJCVC works to cultivate relationships with all people based on respect. We believe that conversations about vaccination choice are possible with everyone. We advocate for people to educate themselves on the complexities of this conversation to allow for dynamic conversations that can evolve over time. We strive to build relationships of mutual respect and continued connections. NJCVC realizes that vaccination choice is not an easy conversation for many people in the public eye and respects that it can take time for people to settle into the details and realize that its not as simple as many others want them to believe.