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.
On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to appear before the Senate Finance Committee for the first of two confirmation hearings as President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services....The hearing is expected to be contentious due to Kennedy’s controversial views, including his repeated false claims linking vaccines to autism — a theory debunked by decades of scientific research.
...
Kennedy’s nomination to lead HHS comes as childhood vaccination rates are falling. According to KFF, a nonprofit group that researches health policy issues, less than 93% of kindergarteners had received all of their state-required vaccines in the 2023-2024 school year, compared with 95% in the 2019-2020 school year.
Parents are more hesitant than ever to get their children vaccinated, Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said Tuesday during a roundtable on vaccines hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
“The problem is not only that we’ve largely eliminated these diseases, we’ve eliminated the memory of these diseases,” Offit said, “and for that reason, parents are now more scared of the safety of vaccines, real or imagined, than the diseases they prevent.”
At the roundtable, Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee, noted the “danger” of reversing decades of progress on public health. He hasn’t yet publicly said whether he would support Kennedy’s nomination.
Kennedy’s long history of anti-vaccine activism, experts worry, could mean significant changes to childhood immunization policies.
As health secretary, Kennedy would have influence over the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent group of health experts that helps the agency make recommendations for states and insurers on what vaccines to cover, including childhood vaccinations.
Senators have stated that they’ve spoken with Kennedy about vaccines, highlighting the topic’s importance. Shortly after the election, Kennedy told NBC News that he won’t “take away anybody’s vaccines.”
“Let us be clear, there is an overwhelming consensus in the scientific community that vaccines have saved millions of lives, prevented massive human suffering and stopped the spread of infectious diseases like polio, smallpox and measles,” Sanders said.
Public health advocacy groups, including the Committee to Protect Health Care, expressed alarm about Kennedy’s views on the topic. Earlier this month, the committee posted a letter online, signed by more than 15,000 doctors, urging senators to vote against his confirmation.
