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New ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Mayim Bialik Isn’t An Anti-Vaxxer

The new faces of Jeopardy! aren’t exactly getting off on the right foot. Mike Richards facing renewed backlash over his pregnancy discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuits while producing The Price…

Series Finale Party For CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" - Arrivals

Mayim Bialik attends the series finale party for CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on May 01, 2019 in Pasadena, California.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

The new faces of Jeopardy! aren't exactly getting off on the right foot.

Mike Richards facing renewed backlash over his pregnancy discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuits while producing The Price Is Right. And now Mayim Bialik is being criticized for her vaccine hesitancy in her 2012 book, Beyond the Sling.

“We made an informed decision not to vaccinate our children,” Bialik wrote in her parenting guidebook, “but this is a very personal decision that should be made only after sufficient research, which today is within reach of every parent who seeks to learn about their child’s health regardless of their medical knowledge or educational status.”

According to Vanity Fair, a representative for Bialik has now clarified her vaccine stance stating, “She has been fully vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus and is not at all an anti-vaxxer."

This isn’t the first time the Big Bang Theory star and neuroscientist has had to address her change in stance on being anti-vax. In 2015, Bialik tweeted, “dispelling rumors abt my stance on vaccines. i’m not anti. my kids are vaccinated. so much anger and hysteria. i hope this clears things up.”

The 45-year-old actress further explained how her thinking about immunization had evolved in a YouTube video titled, “Anti-Vaxxers and Covid.” Last October, Bialik shared that she and her two kids would be receiving both COVID-19 vaccines and flu shots. “This year I’m gonna do something I literally haven’t done in 30 years: I’m gonna get a vaccine. I know! And guess what? I’m actually gonna get two,” she said about getting the Covid vaccine and a flu vaccine.

“You might be saying, ‘Hey, wait a second, Dr. Mayim Bialik, you don’t believe in vaccines! You’re one of those anti-vaxxers! I know it, because I read it online,’” Bialik continued. “I wrote a book about 10 years ago about my experience parenting, and at the time, my children had not received the typical schedule of vaccines. But I have never, not once, said that vaccines are not valuable, not useful, or not necessary, because they are.”

She added that she received negative press about her parenting, was called a danger to her children, a disgrace to science and a member of the Hollywood Elite responsible for the killing of babies. “The truth is, I delayed vaccinations for reasons that you don’t necessarily get to know about simply because you follow me on social media."

Allergies, seizures and compromised immune systems are some examples Bialik listed as side effects children could be exposed to due to the ingredients in vaccines. "As of today, my children may not have had every one of the vaccinations that your children have, but my children are vaccinated.”

Bialik then went on to say that she believes children receive “way too many vaccines in this country” compared to when she was a child and that “the medical community often operates from a place of fear in order to make money."

However, she fully backs the Covid vaccine and believes that "herd immunity is critically important -- that's just science."

Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.