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.
As of May 7, 2026, 1,842 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 1,830 measles cases were reported by 39 jurisdictions: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 12 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
There have been 25 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 93% of confirmed cases (1,712 of 1,842) are outbreak-associated (428 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 1,284 from outbreaks that started in 2025).
