Maureen McCormick is infuriated that anti-vaxxers are using her image as Marcia Brady from a 50-year-old episode of The Brady Bunch to downplay the dangers of measles. The 62-year-old discovered the reference to the 1969 episode, “Is There a Doctor in the House,” in which she and her brothers and sisters catch the disease.
“If you have to get sick, sure can’t beat the measles,” Marcia says as her TV mom Carol Brady, played by Florence Henderson, describes her brother Peter’s symptoms: “a slight temperature, a lot of dots and a great big smile.”
She told NPR she was furious when she discovered the meme, sent out in response to the worst outbreak of measles in the 21st century. “I was really concerned with that and wanted to get to the bottom of that, because I was never contacted,” .
“I think it’s really wrong when people use people’s images today to promote whatever they want to promote and the person’s image they’re using they haven’t asked or they have no idea where they stand on the issue,” she said, adding, “As a mother, my daughter was vaccinated.”
FAST FACTS:
- A vaccine for measles was developed in 1963. In 1969, there were more than 25,000 measles cases and 41 deaths from measles.
- As of last week, 390 cases of measles were recorded in NYC. Almost 700 cases have been reported in 22 states.
- Anti-vaxxers are opposed to vaccinating children for a variety of religious and health reasons.