New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice
A New Jersey advocacy organization that opposes mandatory vaccination requirements, particularly for schoolchildren.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice (NJCVC) is a New Jersey-based advocacy organization founded in 2008 by Sue Collins and Maureen Drummond. It campaigns against mandatory vaccination requirements and has focused especially on rules affecting children attending schools in the state. The organization presents its position in terms of parental and medical choice and rejects the description “anti-vaccine,” but its public messaging has included claims and arguments commonly associated with the broader anti-vaccination movement. The coalition has challenged the scientific and policy foundations of school vaccination mandates. Among the arguments attributed to its representatives are assertions that children receive insufficiently tested combinations of vaccines and skepticism about the role of vaccination in reducing diseases such as polio. These positions have been disputed by public-health specialists and other medical experts, who maintain that extensive evidence supports the safety and effectiveness of routine immunization and that high vaccination coverage helps protect people who cannot be vaccinated or who are particularly vulnerable to infection. NJCVC became visible in New Jersey’s debate over nonmedical vaccine exemptions. In 2018, the group helped mobilize opposition to proposed changes during legislative committee proceedings, contributing to a confrontational atmosphere around the hearings. On December 12, 2019, it was credited with helping bring approximately 400 protesters to the New Jersey State House while legislators considered a measure that would tighten exemption rules. The demonstration included parents who said they might remove their children from school rather than comply with vaccination requirements. Anti-vaccination activist Del Bigtree supported the protest. The organization also attracted attention in 2009 after representatives, including activist Louise Kuo Habakus, met with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie appeared to agree during the encounter with the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism, creating political difficulty for the governor and drawing criticism from medical and scientific communities. Medical commentators, including Paul Offit, have argued that advocacy by groups such as NJCVC can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. That criticism has been particularly salient amid concern over falling vaccination rates in New Jersey and the resulting risk to community protection against infectious diseases. The available reference material identifies the coalition as a state-level advocacy group but does not establish its current organizational structure, headquarters, leadership, budget, membership, or present operating status.
History
The New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice was established in 2008 by Sue Collins and Maureen Drummond as a state-level organization opposing mandatory vaccination. Its central concern has been the use of vaccination requirements for school attendance and the limitation of exemptions available to New Jersey families. The group frames its advocacy around personal, parental, and medical choice rather than the rejection of every vaccine, and it has objected to being categorized as anti-vaccine. Despite that self-description, the coalition has circulated or promoted several claims characteristic of anti-vaccination activism. These include doubts about whether children receive adequate testing when multiple vaccines are administered and arguments minimizing vaccination’s contribution to the control of diseases such as polio. Medical and scientific experts have rejected these claims, emphasizing the extensive evidence for vaccine safety and effectiveness. Critics have also warned that campaigns challenging routine immunization can increase vaccine hesitancy and weaken community protection. The organization became involved in New Jersey’s political debate over vaccine exemptions. In 2009, a meeting between coalition representatives and Governor Chris Christie became controversial when Christie appeared to accept the false association between vaccination and autism. The episode placed the governor in a difficult political position and brought wider attention to the coalition and its allies. The coalition was also active during legislative disputes in 2018 and 2019. Its call to action contributed to an angry crowd at committee hearings in 2018, when lawmakers considered a measure affecting vaccination exemptions. On December 12, 2019, it helped mobilize an estimated 400 people to the State House while legislators debated a proposal intended to tighten exemption regulations. Del Bigtree, a prominent anti-vaccination activist, supported the demonstration, and some participating parents stated that they would withdraw their children from school rather than have them vaccinated. Public-health commentators, including Paul Offit, have criticized the coalition and comparable organizations for contributing to declining vaccination confidence. The concern is not limited to individual decisions: lower coverage can increase the likelihood of outbreaks and expose people who are medically unable to receive vaccines. The available reference material does not provide reliable information about NJCVC’s current leadership, legal structure, funding, membership size, headquarters, official website, or whether it remains active. It is therefore best described as a New Jersey vaccination-policy advocacy organization with an uncertain present status.
- 2019
State House demonstration
[1]The coalition helped organize a December 12 protest of approximately 400 people against tighter vaccine-exemption regulations.
- 2018
Opposition mobilized at exemption-rule hearings
[1]The coalition helped generate a strong public response during committee hearings on proposed New Jersey vaccination-exemption changes.
- 2009
Meeting with Governor Chris Christie becomes controversial
[1]A meeting involving coalition representatives attracted criticism after Christie appeared to agree with the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism.
- 2008
Organization founded
[1]Sue Collins and Maureen Drummond founded the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice to oppose mandatory vaccination requirements.
Products and positioning
Parent- and individual-choice advocacy opposing mandatory vaccination, especially school-entry requirements and restrictions on exemptions.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019State House protest against tighter vaccine exemptions
New Jersey
A coalition call to action helped mobilize approximately 400 protesters at the New Jersey State House on December 12, 2019, while lawmakers debated restrictions on vaccine exemptions.
Outcome. The reference records the size and political setting of the protest but does not specify the final outcome of the measure.
- 2018Opposition to proposed New Jersey exemption changes
New Jersey
The coalition urged supporters to oppose legislation that would alter or tighten vaccination exemptions, helping draw an angry crowd to legislative committee proceedings.
Outcome. The available reference does not establish the final legislative outcome of the 2018 proposal.
Brand decisions
2019
Escalation to State House mobilizationStrategyBackground
New Jersey lawmakers were considering a measure intended to tighten the state’s vaccine-exemption regulations.
Action taken
The coalition issued a call to action and helped bring a large protest to the State House.
Aftermath
The demonstration intensified public attention around the exemption debate, although the available source does not document the legislation’s final disposition.
2008
Focus on opposing mandatory vaccinationStrategyBackground
The organization was founded amid continuing disputes over school vaccination requirements and the availability of exemptions.
Action taken
It adopted advocacy against mandatory vaccination, with particular emphasis on schoolchildren and parental choice.
Aftermath
The position shaped the coalition’s subsequent legislative lobbying, public messaging, and protest activity.
Sources1 sources
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