Teens for Vaccines featured in Teen Vogue. Arin Parsa raises awareness on the mental health issues faced by teens of vaccine-hesitant and anti-vax parents.

Original story by Fortesa Latifi

Excerpt

In California, Arin Parsa founded Teens for Vaccines in 2019 during a measles outbreak when he was 12-years-old. Now, he describes the organization as a “youth collective of ambassadors … who really believe in the lifesaving power of vaccines. No one should get sick, live in fear, or die from preventable diseases.” Arin and his ambassadors have published a guide for how teens can talk to their vaccine-hesitant parents about their wish to be inoculated. He encourages teens to have an empathetic mindset but stay persistent. And if all else fails, the organization outlines minor consent laws and local immunization coalition contacts.

There’s a deep mental health component to the inability to get vaccinated, Arin says. “Teens are struggling... because they can’t protect themselves and their loved ones. They live in fear.”

Read the original story by Fortesa Latifi here.