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.
Antivaccine sentiments have been expressed throughout American history. However, in this century, the antivaccine movement gained momentum around false claims that vaccines cause autism in the 2000s, followed by “health freedom” protests versus childhood immunization mandates in schools in the 2010s [1]. Starting in 2020 with the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, health freedom extended to adult immunizations and became a signature feature of political activism on the far-right. This politically charged movement organized and convinced countless Americans to shun COVID-19 immunizations in 2021–22 resulting in an estimated 200,000 deaths from COVID-19 among the unvaccinated U.S. population. Antivaccine activism became a major lethal force in America.
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In the U.S. most childhood immunization policies are set by state legislatures, with a primary goal to maintain high levels of coverage (90–95%) in schools and prevent breakthrough outbreaks [15]. There are fears that particularly in states where partisan leanings are strong and COVID-19 immunization rates are inadequate, there will be continued declines in childhood immunizations. Therefore, statewide vaccine coalitions and partnerships urgently need help to prevent the passage of onerous legislation that could for example ban pediatric COVID-19 immunizations, require pediatricians to read the full list of excipients in vaccines prior to parental informed consent signatures, stop disease data collection, halt school vaccine mandates, or encourage alternative or unproven immunization schedules. Without question, our system of childhood immunization has been highly successful at eliminating dangerous childhood infections [9]. However, that system now faces an unprecedented political assault that could reverse many of those public health gains. Urgent action is needed to forestall the return of diseases once believed to be consigned to history.
NCSL:
All 50 states and Washington D.C. have laws requiring certain vaccines for students to attend school. Many states align their vaccine requirements with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. All states allow exemptions from school immunization requirements for children who are unable to receive vaccines for medical reasons. State laws vary regarding non-medical exemptions, for religious or personal reasons. Personal exemptions are also referred to as "philosophical exemptions" by some states.
Thirty states and Washington D.C. allow exemptions for people who have religious objections to immunizations. Thirteen states allow exemptions for either religious or personal reasons. Two states, Louisiana and Minnesota, do not specify whether the non-medical exemption must be for religious or personal reasons. Five states do not allow any type of non-medical exemption.
