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. Last year, he lied about it under oath.
Since Trump took office in 2025, the U.S. has recorded more confirmed measles cases than in the previous 20 years combined. With more than two months to go in 2026, the US has already DOUBLED its 2025 total.
Liz Essley Whyte and Jennifer Calfas at WSJ:
The Pan American Health Organization, an international health body, has revoked the U.S.’s measles elimination status, people familiar with the matter said, a stunning reversal for a nation that has kept the vaccine-preventable disease at bay for decades.
The U.S. achieved measles elimination status in 2000 after robust immunization campaigns and the creation of a program that made shots free for millions of children.
Many public health experts and epidemiologists expected the U.S. to lose elimination status, as outbreaks over the past two years have exploded to highs not seen in decades. States such as Pennsylvania, New York and Wisconsin reported five measles deaths so far in November from unrelated outbreaks.
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Measles is considered eliminated when a country has no continuous spread of the virus for at least 12 months. PAHO makes its determination based on a review of recent outbreaks and a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows whether disparate outbreaks are linked or whether any one outbreak lasted more than a year.
Measles has largely been under control in the U.S. over the past 30 years, with often just a few dozen cases recorded annually. Over the past two years, states such as Utah, Texas, South Carolina and Pennsylvania have all reported big outbreaks. In 2026 alone, the CDC has reported more than 5,400 cases—a level not seen since before measles was eliminated.
The acceleration of cases coincides with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure as health secretary. Since joining the administration, Kennedy has tried to cut the number of shots on the childhood vaccine schedule, promoted long-debunked claims that immunizations cause autism and cut federal funding for some vaccine research.
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Under Kennedy, the CDC has backed away from long-held immunization recommendations. The Trump administration has called for children to receive fewer vaccines and to specifically separate the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine, into individual shots—a shift public health experts say would sow confusion. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective in preventing the disease.
