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 helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
He is now Trump's nominee to head HHS.
“It’s a real-life example of what this individual will [do] as the nation’s leading health-care official,” said Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D), a physician who responded to Samoa’s outbreak five years ago and said he witnessed the deaths of measles-afflicted infants. Green traveled to Capitol Hill this week in a bid to sway senators by sharing his story, part of a larger effort by advocates to scuttle Kennedy’s selection as secretary of health and human services by focusing on the Samoan crisis.
3.14 Action, a liberal-leaning advocacy group, this week began airing an ad featuring [Hawaii Governor Josh] Green and others who condemned Kennedy for raising doubts about vaccines ahead of Samoa’s outbreak.
