We are grandparents. We are passionate, committed and yes, radical. Make no mistake about what we stand for. In the 1960s and 1970s, we marched for civil rights, fought and protested wars and demanded justice. Today, we march again. This time it’s personal: We are defending our grandchildren’s right to health, their right to vaccines.

The erosion of public trust in vaccines did not happen overnight. But now we have seen the worst measles epidemic in more than three decades, with nearly 1,500 reported cases and at least three deaths so far this year. What Ohio pediatrician Arthur Lavin has called “the unfortunate rise of misinformation, disinformation and misguided parental anxiety” about vaccines puts all Americans at risk, including our grandkids.

This urgent danger led to the launch this month of Grandparents for Vaccines, our volunteer-led grassroots movement. Our goal is simple: to inspire hesitant parents to protect their children — our grandchildren — without delay. We began by collecting our stories — memories of childhood illnesses, the fear of polio and the relief when the Salk and Sabin vaccines arrived. Our lived experiences anchor this work.

A major boost came with our recent op-ed for Progressive Perspectives, a project of The Progressive magazine. It was titled “Why Grandparents Must Lead on Vaccines.” Our column, distributed by the Tribune News Service, was picked up by numerous news outlets across the country, from Florida to New Jersey to Hawaii. Readers began posting links and sharing their own stories on social media. Some doubted we could succeed without funding, but the response has shown otherwise. When a timely, urgent idea emerges, it takes flight.

KGW8, the NBC affiliate in Portland, Ore., aired a news report about the group and its purpose. Then MSNBC host Rachel Maddow amplified our message, reading excerpts from our op-ed as it appeared in the Charlotte Observer. She underscored what drives us: Grandparents worried about their grandchildren’s health are “doing something about it — something simple and direct and therefore also kind of radical.”

In just days, Grandparents for Vaccines has caught fire. From a few hundred members on Grandparents Day (Sept. 7), we now count thousands. People have been moved to post their own stories about the importance of vaccines on the Grandparents for Vaccines YouTube Channel.

The story told by Jan is unforgettable. At age six, she and her twin brother Frankie were struck by polio. Frankie died within days; Jan survived but struggled to walk again. Her parents enrolled her in the Jonas Salk vaccine trial so no other family would endure what they had. She became one of the 1.8 million “Polio Pioneers” of 1954.

Stories continue to flood in, sometimes a hundred per hour. But our power is not only in storytelling. Research shows that strong relationships with grandparents can reduce risky behaviors like smoking and drug use, support healthier eating habits, lower the risk of obesity and even strengthen mental health amongst children. Our role as grandparents is not only emotional and cultural — it is profoundly biological and behavioral, shaping health outcomes across generations.

The work of Grandparents for Vaccines is just beginning. The group will host events, panels and campaigns nationwide. As Maddow noted, we will tell younger generations what it was like to live in a world of polio, measles and whooping cough, and why we cannot go back.

We invite every grandparent to open their treasure chest of stories. Share them with your children, your grandchildren and each other. There is no perfect formula, only this: Begin with “Once upon a time…” and let the truth carry forward.

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Donna A. Gaffney and Teri Mills are both nurses and leaders of Grandparents for Vaccines. This column was produced for Progressive Perspectives, a project of The Progressive magazine, and distributed by Tribune News Service.

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