How some parents changed their policy during the pandemic

ORINDA, Calif. — They held up signs that read "Defeat Warrants" and "No Vaccines." They chanted "Protect our children" and "Our children, our choice".

Almost everyone in the crowd of more than three dozen was a parent. And as they demonstrated on a recent Friday in the Bay Area suburb of Orinda, Calif., they had the same refrain: they were there for their children.

La most had never been to a political rally before. But after seeing their children isolated and discouraged at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, they became desperate, they said. On Facebook, they found other concerned parents who sympathized with them. They have shared notes and articles online – many of which are misleading – about the reopening of schools and the effectiveness of vaccines and masks. Soon these issues crowded out other concerns.

"I wish I had awakened to this cause sooner," said protester Lisa Longnecker, 54 years old, who has a 17 year old son. “But I can't think of a single bigger issue. He'll decide how I vote."

Ms. Longnecker and her fellow objectors are part of a potentially destabilizing new movement: parents who have joined the anti-vaccine cause and anti-mask during the pandemic, reducing their political beliefs to a single-minded obsession with these issues.Their thinking has hardened even as Covid-19 restrictions and mandates have been eased and lifted, in some cases cementing skepticism towards all vaccines.

Nearly half of Americans oppose masking and a similar share is against vaccination mandates for school children, according to polls. But what's clouded in these numbers is the intensity with which some parents have embraced these views. Where they once described themselves as Republicans or Democrats, they now identify as independents who only plan to vote t based on vaccination policies.

Their transformation injects an unpredictable element into November's midterm elections. Fueled by a sense of righteousness after the end of Covid vaccine and mask mandates, many of these parents have become increasingly dogmatic, convinced that if they do not act, new mandates will be passed after the midterms. .

To buttress their beliefs, some held rallies and disrupted local school board meetings. Others are raising funds for anti-mask, anti-vaccine candidates like J.D. Vance, the Republican Senate nominee from Ohio; Reinette Senum, independent candidate for governor of California; and Rob Astorino, Republican candidate for governor in New York.

In interviews, 27 parents who identified themselves as anti-vaccine and anti-mask voters described surprisingly similar journeys to their new views. They said they had been alarmed about their children during the pandemic quarantines. They pushed to reopen schools and yearned for normalcy. They grew angry, accusing lawmakers of disrupting the lives of their children.

Many gathered in Facebook groups that initially focused on promoting in-person schooling. These groups were quick to address other issues, such as anti-mask and anti-vaccine messaging. While some parents left online groups when schools reopened, others took more extreme stances over time, sinking into private anti-vaccine channels on messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram.

Finally, some began to question vaccines against measles and other diseases, where inoculations have long been proven effective. Activists who oppose all vaccines appealed to them even more...