In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread. Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.
A number of posts discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion.
Another leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust. Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen."
He is now Trump's nominee to head HHS.
When vaccine skeptics play to patient fears and present vaccinations as a personal choice with potential serious risk, fewer people are willing to take them. And that jeopardizes the main purpose of vaccines − community immunity. The more people take a vaccine, the ability of a virus to spread is reduced and the more lives are saved.
In the case of COVID-19, studies have shown that the vaccines have prevented millions of deaths and hospitalizations.
Unfortunately, vaccine fears are spilling over to tried-and-true immunizations like MMR (against measles, mumps and rubella) and DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis), which depend on herd immunity to protect those who aren’t able to take them.
The MMR vaccination rate is dipping below 93% for the fourth consecutive year, with the herd immunity target at 95%.
A resurgence of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is now hitting the United States, with a spike in highly contagious measles sure to follow.
It is natural for patients to be nervous about a needle being jabbed into their arm and less afraid of an invisible virus, but it is the job of public health officials to put this in perspective, not exploit patients' fears for political advantage.
