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.
Unfortunately, Republican politicians and conservative media figures are increasingly joining up with the anti-vaxxers. Even before COVID, they fought vaccine mandates and other public health measures.
As of September 12, 2024, a total of 251 measles cases were reported by 31 jurisdictions: Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
There have been 13 outbreaks (defined as 3 or more related cases) reported in 2024, and 70% of cases (175 of 251) are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 4 outbreaks were reported during 2023 and 49% of cases (29 of 59) were outbreak-associated.
