Yesterday, I woke up to see an amazing op-ed in which longtime antivaxxer and now HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a call to action that included the MMR vaccine. Has he gone pro-vax? Not exactly, but it’s amusing to watch his fans howl.

Yesterday, I woke up to see an amazing op-ed in which longtime antivaxxer and now HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a call to action that included the MMR vaccine. Has he gone pro-vax? Not exactly, but it’s amusing to watch his fans howl.
A new study that mathematically models vaccination and measles spread shows why Texas is overdue for large measles outbreaks, thanks to its growing number of children whose parents claim personal belief exemptions to school vaccine mandates.
Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas two weeks ago, and the recovery effort will take years. As hundreds of thousands start to try to rebuild their shattered lives and homes, antivaxers have some helpful advice on how to avoid vaccines. That’s because to antivaxers, it’s always about vaccines. Always.
Whenever vaccine uptake falls to a level below that needed to maintain herd immunity, the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases climbs. It doesn’t take that dramatic of a decline. Here’s a study that shows how a small decrease in vaccine uptake can lead to a large increase in disease.
The usual stereotype of an antivaxer is a hippy dippy left wing granola cruncher. The case of Texas shows that increasingly the antivaccine movement is right wing. Worse, it’s becoming more political and harder for Republican legislators to ignore. I fear vaccine science is becoming as politicized as climate science, with results disastrous for public health.