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.
From CDC:
As of April 16, 2026, 1,748 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 1,738 measles cases were reported by 33 jurisdictions: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. A total of 10 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
There have been 19 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 94% of confirmed cases (1,637 of 1,748) are outbreak-associated (388 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 1,249 from outbreaks that started in 2025).
Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Dani Blum at NYT report on RFK Jr's appearances at hearings yesterday.
:When asked during his confirmation hearings if he could “assure mothers, unequivocally, that the measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism?” he said he would do so only “if the data showed” that the assertion was true. The scientific consensus is that there is no link between the measles vaccine and autism. Appearing on Capitol Hill Thursday for the first of seven hearings on Mr. Trump’s budget, Mr. Kennedy sparred with members of two House committees on vaccines and Mr. Trump’s granting of clemency to a nursing home entrepreneur.
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A recent poll by the nonpartisan Annenberg Public Policy Center found that fewer than 40 percent of Americans were very confident or somewhat confident that Mr. Kennedy is providing the public with “trustworthy” information. More than half of Americans felt that way about Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, whom Mr. Kennedy has criticized.
Mr. Kennedy’s stance on vaccines, and his effort to roll back longstanding vaccine policy, has become a sore point with the White House, which has made clear that it wants him to pivot away from talking about vaccines and stress more bipartisan issues, like healthy eating, ahead of November’s midterm elections.
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Republicans mostly threw Mr. Kennedy softball questions about topics like ultraprocessed foods and other of the health secretary’s priorities.
But one Republican, Representative Blake Moore of Utah, who said he was the father of a 10-year-old neurodivergent son, told Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that he was “underwhelmed” with the Trump administration’s efforts on autism. He cited in particular Mr. Trump’s announcement in September — without any new evidence — that Tylenol might cause the disorder.
“My wife was hurt, and she felt for a split-second until we came to our senses and we talked about this, that there was any way she was responsible,” Mr. Moore said. “We don’t even know if she took Tylenol during her pregnancy, but that was a hurtful moment for her.” He urged the administration to do more to search for potential causes.
