NewsLocal NewsIn Your NeighborhoodMcLennan County

Actions

New billboard in West claims 'Vaccines kill!'

"Vaccines kill" billboard in West
Posted at 10:41 PM, Oct 01, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-02 00:07:03-04

WEST, Texas — On the side of I-35 South in West, a new ad on a digital billboard reads "Vaccines kill!"

Christopher Key, a man from Alabama, is behind the sign. Key is the founder of "Vaccine Police," a website dedicated to what he calls "the truth" about vaccines.

"'They're safe and effective, they're safe and effective.' You can say it as many times as you want, but it does not make it true," Key said.

The sign is located just north of Slovacek's in West.

Key said there is a long list of reasons he wants people to avoid not just the COVID-19 vaccines, but all vaccines.

"I have to have studies. I have to have research," Key said. "I trust no man because I know man is evil. And I know man is all about money and power."

Medical experts said his claims are completely false. There are plenty of studies behind every vaccine on the market.

Dr. Amy Mersiovsky, the director of the department of nursing at Texas A&M University-Central Texas, said anti-vaccine sentiment can lead to a resurgence of previously contained diseases.

"We've had numerous outbreaks of diseases that we had pretty much eradicated because we lost our herd immunity, because so many people weren't getting their injections," Mersiovsky said.

Mersiovsky said that vaccine misinformation is nothing new, including Key's claim that the COVID-19 vaccine has killed 15,000 people, based on data from the CDC's VAERS database.

"Anyone can put information there," she said. "So if someone passes away from a heart attack, but they had their COVID vaccine last week, they can put data there."

The CDC has a disclaimer on the database that it contains "unverified reports of adverse effects" from vaccines.

Key stands behind the billboard. In fact, he said there are others around Texas, including in Ferris and Gainesville. He wants to put up more, even if most medical experts say they are misinformation.

He says he is paying for those billboards through crowdfunding. So far, he has raised more than $42,000 of his $100,000 goal.

25 News reached out to the company that owns this billboard, Dallas-based Primary Media, for comment on Friday afternoon but has not heard back.