The Make-A-Wish Foundation is disputing what it calls a “misinformation” campaign about whether children who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 will be eligible to have their wishes granted.
An edited video of Make-A-Wish Foundation CEO Richard Davis that went viral on social media over the weekend caused a stir by suggesting that only vaccinated children would be eligible to grant wishes. Stars like actor Rob Schneider and numerous donors declared that if the foundation had decided not to give desires to unvaccinated children, they would no longer support it.
The confusion arose because the viral video clip cut off before Davis finished his explanation in the two-minute, 22-second video about which children would be eligible. The outbreak of COVID-19 led Make-A-Wish to postpone granting some wishes — for all children, whether vaccinated or not — that might put them at risk.
The video, emailed on June 9, was meant to inform families of Make-A-Wish children and foundation volunteers that certain types of wishes, including those involving air travel or large crowds, would resume being granted again in September and that planning to fulfill them could begin. But specific wishes for unvaccinated children deemed risky will continue to be on hold until medical guidance changes.
“We respect everyone’s freedom of choice,” Davis says in the full video, in which he also acknowledges that some children may be too young or ill to be vaccinated. “We can’t wait until Sept. 15, when we can expand the types of life-changing wishes we can grant.”
To clarify the “misinformation and falsehoods on social media and in some media outlets,” the foundation issued a more straightforward statement:
“Make-A-Wish has not, does not, and will not deny wishes to children who are not vaccinated… Make-A-Wish will continue to grant wishes to children who are not vaccinated.”
The foundation said it had expected some backlash about its decision to delay granting wishes for some Make-A-Wish children. But it chose that because it “focused on listening to medical experts and doing what was right and in the best interest of the health and safety of all our wish families.”
Since the pandemic’s beginning, the foundation has granted over 6,500 wishes to children and their families, regardless of vaccination status.
The foundation also said it continues to work with Make-A-Wish kids to reimagine their wishes, stressing that any child fighting a critical illness is eligible for a desire.
Nor will a child’s vaccination status be taken into accoconsideredtive situations involving an end-of-life diagnosis,” where a particular process will be used to fulfill the child’s wish.
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