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 top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
A sizable uptick in measles cases in the ongoing outbreak in South Carolina has put the U.S. on the precipice of losing its elimination status.
South Carolina’s health department on Tuesday reported 20 new measles cases since Friday, bringing the state’s total this year to 179. That tally is higher than the number of measles cases recorded for the entire U.S. in six of the last 10 years.
This year, the country has counted over 2,000 measles cases, 93% of which were among unvaccinated people or those with an unknown vaccination status, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's by far the most since the disease was first considered eliminated in the U.S. 25 years ago.
Measles is considered eliminated in a country once it no longer spreads constantly for a full year. In the U.S., that deadline is fast approaching: Transmission of the highly contagious disease has been sustained since around Jan. 20. Unless that trend comes to an abrupt halt in the next three weeks — which is highly unlikely — the country could lose its elimination status, as Canada did in November.
