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. Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.
Only 82.2% of kindergarteners in district-run schools had all five mandatory immunizations for illnesses such as mumps and chickenpox during the 2021-22 school year, Christina Clark, spokesperson for the School District of Philadelphia, told Axios. That’s down from an 89.9% immunization rate for kindergarteners during the 2019-20 school year. ... Immunization rates for 7th graders and 12th graders — who require additional vaccines — also dropped last year compared to pre-pandemic times, according to state data released last month.
Ciara McCarthy at The Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Routine vaccination rates for Fort Worth kindergartners have dropped to worrisome lows in the last school year, with just 86% of youngsters having received the vaccines that protects against measles, mumps and rubella. Fort Worth school district officials say they are stepping up outreach, enlisting campus nurses and principals to remind families that kids need to be up to date on their shots or else submit proof of medical or conscientious exemption to the vaccine.Jerod MacDonald-Evoy at the Arizona Mirror:
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health recently announced three measles cases in the county as the state has continued to see year-over-year drops in how many children are being vaccinated against the highly contagious viral infection.
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The vaccine is administered to children. In Arizona, the vaccination rates among children have been dropping every year. In some parts of the state, the number of schools with herd immunity has reached single digits.
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In Maricopa County, for example, there are 876 childcare or preschool facilities. Just 517 of them — not quite 60% — meet the 95% threshold that protects children in attendance from a severe outbreak.
Other counties are far less protected. In Yavapai County, only 20% of preschool or childcare facilities are protected. The figures are even worse at elementary schools: Just 14% of kindergartens and 17% of 6th grade classrooms have community immunity. A similar trend is seen in Mohave and Gila counties.
