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.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is in full damage-control mode after causing outrage with his comments about autism during his first official press briefing as health secretary.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, attempted to dial back the controversy in a sit-down Thursday night with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
He had triggered a firestorm by claiming that people with autism—a neurodevelopmental disorder—will never play baseball, go out on dates, pay taxes, write poems, or hold down a job. He also described autism as a “preventable disease” caused by a mysterious environmental toxin.
Kennedy has long claimed a link between vaccines and autism. The Health and Human Services Department’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reportedly conducting a study examining potential links between vaccines and autism—despite the theory having been thoroughly debunked by extensive scientific research.
“You actually got emotional yesterday while talking about children suffering from [autism],” Hannity said. “You said they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never pay taxes… people mistook that. Then you said they’ll never play baseball… they’ll never go out on a date, they’ll never be able to live unassisted lives.”
Kennedy attempted to clarify that he wasn’t referring to all people with diagnosed with autism, but only to those who are “nonverbal”, meaning that they do not communicate using spoken language.
“Let me say this,” he told Hannity. “There are many kids with autism who are doing well. They’re holding down jobs, they’re getting pay checks, they’re living independently. But I was referring specifically to that 25 percent—the group that is nonverbal.”
“That was clear,” Hannity responded.
No it wasn't. And RFK apparently does not know that there are nonspeaking autistic people who go to college.
RFK said he has never met autistic people his own age. But when his father visited Willowbrook in 1964, many of the people he saw were surely autistic people with misdiagnoses of "mental retardation" or schizophrenia.
