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.
Since President Trump took office in 2025, the U.S. has recorded more confirmed measles cases than in the previous 20 years combined.
As of August 6, 2026, 2,465 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 2,449 measles cases were reported by 47 jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, 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, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 16 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
There have been 38 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 94% of confirmed cases (2,309 of 2,465) are outbreak-associated (936 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 1,373 from outbreaks that started in 2025).
