In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.
Texas does a particularly poor job with services and education for autistic people. It is also particularly receptive to the vaccine-autism myth.
Texas does a particularly poor job with services and education for autistic people. It is also particularly receptive to the vaccine-autism myth.
The group of 40 people gathered at a popular burger and fish taco restaurant in San Antonio listened eagerly to the latest news about the anti-vaccine fight taking place in the Texas legislature.
Some mothers in the group had stopped immunizing their young children because of doubts about vaccine safety. Heads nodded as the woman giving the statehouse update warned that vaccine advocates wanted to “chip away” at parents’ right to choose. But she also had encouraging news.
“We have 30 champions in that statehouse,” boasted Jackie Schlegel, executive director of Texans for Vaccine Choice. “Last session, we had two.”
Now they also have one in the White House.
President Trump’s embrace of discredited theories linking vaccines to autism has energized the anti-vaccine movement. Once fringe, the movement is becoming more popular, raising doubts about basic childhood health care among politically and geographically diverse groups.
Public health experts warn that this growing movement is threatening one of the most successful medical innovations of modern times. Globally, vaccines prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million children every year, but deadly diseases such as measles and whooping cough still circulate in populations where enough people are unvaccinated.
Not much evidence it's Trump-driven but not good nonetheless https://t.co/rcqbM7o25h— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) February 21, 2017
