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 secretary of HHS.
Teddy Rosenbluth and Lucinda Holt at NYT:Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, attended the funeral on Sunday of an 8-year-old girl who died of measles amid an outbreak that has burned through the region and called into question his ability to handle a public-health crisis.
The child’s death, in a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, early Thursday morning, is the second confirmed fatality from measles in a decade in the United States.
The child died of “measles pulmonary failure,” according to records obtained by The New York Times. The hospital, part of UMC Health System, confirmed the death later on Sunday, adding that the girl was unvaccinated and had no underlying health conditions.
Mr. Kennedy conferred with the girl’s family but did not speak at the funeral ceremony, according to people in attendance.“My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief,” Mr. Kennedy said in a message posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the M.M.R. vaccine,” he added, referring to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
At the same time, Mr. Kennedy has stopped short of recommending universal vaccination in communities where the virus is not spreading.
And he has ordered a re-examination of whether the vaccine causes autism, a claim long ago debunked by research, to be conducted by a well-known vaccine skeptic.
Some are praising RFK Jr. for accurately noting “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.”
— Dr. Michelle Au (@AuforGA) April 6, 2025
That’s not enough.
He needs to state plainly, as below, that the MMR is safe, and that unvaccinated patients should receive it.https://t.co/q5riyuiFs3 https://t.co/WVOfWDUAP6 pic.twitter.com/4wydKXGbEr
