In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread. Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.
A number of posts discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion.
Another leading anti-vaxxer is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust. Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
From the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy:
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today in its weekly measles update reported 29 more cases, bringing the national total to 1,197 cases and coming within 77 cases of matching the total from 2019, which was the most since the disease was eliminated from the country in 2000.
So far, 35 states have reported cases, one more than a week ago, which likely reflects Arizona’s first cases of the year.
Four more outbreaks were reported, bringing the national total to 21. For comparison, the CDC recorded 16 outbreaks for all of 2024. Of measles cases reported this year, 90% have been part of outbreaks. Last year, 69% of the illnesses were related to outbreaks.
School-aged children are the most affected group (37%), followed closely by adults ages 20 and older (33%), and children younger than 5 years old (29%).
