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.
Jim Wappes at CIDRAP
The US measles total grew by 81 cases this week, to 1,362 confirmed infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update.
In addition, yesterday local and federal officials detailed New Mexico’s response to its 99-case measles outbreak last year, including a 55% increase in uptake of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to a paper in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
The CDC confirmed 2,284 measles cases for all of last year, which was a 35-year high. The country could well exceed that total before summer. The United States will likely lose its measles elimination status—which it gained in 2000—in November, when officials assess all the new data.
The CDC said all but nine of the 2026 cases are from 30 states and New York City, with the rest travel-related. With two new outbreaks confirmed this week, the nation now has 14 outbreaks this year. Of all confirmed cases, 94% are associated with an outbreak.
