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.
From Bloomberg Government:
From Bloomberg Government:
Scalise GOP Chief on Virus Panel: House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-la.) will be the top Republican member on the House Select Coronavirus Crisis Subcommittee. Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Blaine Luetkemeyer (Mo.), Mark Green (Tenn.) and Jackie Walorski (Ind.) will also serve as the panel’s Republican members, though Republicans have blasted the panel’s creation as wasteful, Erik Wasson and Greg Sullivan report.Green is an antivaxxer.
On December 12, 2018, Felicia Sonmez reported at The Washington Post:
Rep.-elect Mark Green (R-Tenn.) is walking back comments at a town hall in which he promoted the conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism and said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may have “fraudulently managed” data on the topic.
Green, a physician who last month won the House seat being vacated by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), made the remarks Tuesday night in response to a question from a town hall attendee.
“Let me say this about autism,” Green said, according to a video of the exchange posted by the Tennessean. “I have committed to people in my community, up in Montgomery County, to stand on the CDC’s desk and get the real data on vaccines, because there is some concern that the rise in autism is the result of the preservatives that are in our vaccines.”
He added that, as a doctor, he could approach the issue “academically” and make his case against the CDC “if they really want to engage me on it.”
“But it appears that some of that data has been, honestly, maybe fraudulently managed,” he said.
In a statement Wednesday night, Green said that his comments about vaccines had been “misconstrued.”
“I want to reiterate my wife and I vaccinated our children, and we believe, and advise others they should have their children vaccinated,” he said.
