Another Protest Featuring Antivaxxers

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Sammy Caiola and Bob Moffitt at Capital Public Radio:

Where jobs and the economy were at front of mind during last Friday's protest at California’s Capitol, Thursday’s demonstration against the stay-at-home order also focused on closed churches and government-mandated vaccinations.

The microphone passed from person-to-person, who each attempted to encourage the few hundred within earshot. One woman said she was honored to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those in attendance. The next person to speak took the microphone and said a prayer.

People who oppose mandatory childhood vaccinations have been a driving force in recent protests against California’s stay-at-home orders. Many who are passionate about the issue say they haven’t vaccinated their children yet.

“I don’t vaccinate my children because I’ve done research on it and from experiences,” said Yvette Apfel of Modesto. “A lot of the people who don’t vaccinate because of experiences and that is not taken into account when they give their account of what’s happened.”

Generally, concerns about childhood vaccines stem from the debunked belief that vaccines can cause autism or otherwise injure children.

Sam Stanton and Dale Kasler at The Sacramento Bee:

Arriving shortly after 8 a.m., some on a chartered bus from Southern California, demonstrators were dismayed to see the CHP officers in riot gear blocking the west lawn.

“We’re being treated like we’re criminals,” complained Maxi Greenwood, a protester who rode up from San Diego, as she eyed the CHP officers in riot gear. She added that demonstrators “are here to stand up for our rights and freedoms.”

Greenwood said she is member of Freedom Angels, a group that protests California’s vaccination laws and applied for a permit to stage Thursday’s rally on the Capitol grounds. The CHP has banned all protests on state property for the time being, however, relegating the demonstraters to the sidewalk.

The Daily Mail has photos.