I am so tired of hearing that there are measles outbreaks all over the country. Yesterday, I saw an article from Lancaster Online that stated there have been six confirmed cases of the measles in Pennsylvania. Feb.13 and this is the first batch of cases that the county has seen in six years. The LNP article continues by stating that all of these cases are from unvaccinated people.
Trying to understand why there is a surge in people not getting vaccinated is a process destined to fail for me. My mind works in a way that directs me to oppose not getting vaccinated. I have gotten my flu shots and my Coivd-19 shots are all up to date. I never avoid getting my vaccines and it’s important for all of us to do this.
One defense that anti-vaxxers seem to rely on is the debunked autism link. There is not a link to the MMR vaccine and autism. They do not cause autism and have nothing to do with autism. Andrew Wakefield lost his medical license for publishing that study in 1998. That was almost three decades ago. There have since been a lot of studies that refute the autism link.
My thought about the lack of belief that some people exhibit in the link is that they do not trust science. I have asked anti-vaxxers,“why do they discredit the people who do the research about these vaccines?” A common answer is that being autistic is bad.
That is a deflection towards the original question, but let’s dive into that thought. Being autistic is not a bad thing and is not a death sentence. Autism is a spectrum of different ways that our brains work. I say “ours” since I am autistic myself. This gives me a perspective that I find valuable. Even if, and I am not saying it did, vaccines caused my autism, I would rather be autistic than to have the measles and die. I think of it as a harm to help ratio. My being autistic can be viewed as harmful, but at the same time it can be viewed as helpful. The ways the autistic mind works are fascinating and we are able to think in ways that others cannot. The harm of being dead from measles is self explanatory I think.
There is no one person to blame for this measles outbreak, but there is a concept that should be looked at in detail when thinking about this outbreak. Misinformation and propaganda being the two concepts in question. I bring these up because of one man and the main perpetrator to the current mistrust in vaccines. He is not wholly responsible and there are many that are also at fault here, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his handling of the Federal Health department have been a huge contributing factor in all of this.
When Donald Trump took office, he put RFK Jr. in a position he is not qualified for. He actively believes that there is a link between vaccines and autism and pushes this theory. Under his leadership the recommended vaccines for newborns has been changed. Where did he get his information that led to this decision? Not from science based research that is for sure, and it is infuriating that it all came from his opinions about vaccines. He is not a doctor and he does not have the knowledge required to run the Health Department.
I implore everyone to vaccinate and protect yourself from misinformation. Think for yourself and when you don’t know something, trust that your doctor is a good resource of information.
