How fringe anti-science views infiltrated mainstream politics — and what it means in 2024 - CBS News
Rates of routine childhood vaccination hit a 10-year low in 2023. In recent weeks, an infant and two young children have been hospitalized amid an ongoing measles outbreak in Philadelphia that spread to a day care center.
It's a dangerous shift driven by a critical mass of people who now reject decades of science backing the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines. State by state, they've persuaded legislators and courts to more easily allow children to enter kindergarten without vaccines, citing religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs.
Growing vaccine hesitancy is just a small part of a broader rejection of scientific expertise that could have consequences ranging from disease outbreaks to reduced funding for research that leads to new treatments. "The term 'infodemic' implies random junk, but that's wrong," said Peter Hotez, a vaccine researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. "This is an organized political movement, and the health and science sectors don't know what to do."
A bit troubling. Seems like recent anti-vaxxing caused by spread if misinformation via partisan politics is one of the reasons. Crazy that it's come to this. It's best to trust the science and your doctors, who will likely recommend measles vaccines for your child. The doctors know better than a politician like DUI Matt Geatz, who probably has other things in mind.
Hopefully science prevails again.
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