Ars Technica: Second child dies of #measles—#antivaccine advocate reported it BEFORE officials
https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/04/second-child-dies-of-measles-anti-vaccine-advocate-reported-it-before-officials/
…#RFKJr, an #AntiVaccine advocate, seems to have targeted more than just the most pro-#vaccine voices in the govt. During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy said he would “empower the scientists” as #health secy, but here are just a few of the MDs & PhDs who were reportedly targeted yesterday:
Pierre Poilievre is campaigning for his 8th term as a MP... all he has ever accomplished is hate, fear, and division.
How the #antivaccine movement weaponized a 6-year-old's #measles death
"The Right’s ‘Natural’ Meat Obsession Is a Regressive Fantasy" by @sentientmedia
<
>
Another component for Kennedy of what constitutes “natural” is taking on things like red food dye, seed oils and ultra-processed foods — while promoting tallow, raw milk and grass-fed beef.
</>
https://sentientmedia.org/mahas-natural-foods-obsession/
Vegans often are faced with fallacious arguments, and one of the most common is the Naturalistic fallacy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalistic_fallacy
However, this is often a bad faith disguise. The use of naturalistic fallacies in these contexts, such as the claim that consuming animals is "good" because it's natural, is a disguise for another more insidious fallacy: the traditionalist fallacy or "appeal to tradition".
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_tradition
The traditionalist fallacy is, in this context, the argument that "consuming animals is good because we've done it for thousands of years".
Traditionalism is heavily political, as the people are finding out again in places such as the US. It's sometimes known as "paleoconservatism", and it should be no surprise that the popularity of the "paleo diet" culturally connects to this.
Conservatives, ever since the rise of modernity (end of 'traditional' society, end of monarchism and feudalism) have been trying to reinvent the past through pseudointellectual and pseudoscientific efforts. This has been at the heart of incredible amounts of suffering and horror since then. I have some notes on that on my pinned thread: https://veganism.social/deck/@veganpizza69/110813538364525265
Bullshit & snake oil are not vegan.
#humor #politics #sciencehumor #antivaxxer #antivaccine
Science Humor antivaxxers
Thanks to our national vaccination program. Measles, Rubella, Raebis, Smallpox, Polio and Diphtheria have been eradicated in Portugal. This is not exclusive to Portugal as you can see in https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11359695/
Between the years of 2011 and 2014, we had 8 cases of Measles in Portugal and all imported by people from other countries.
Serves as an example of exactly the opposite of what #Antivaccine movement is saying.
https://www.dn.pt/arquivo/diario-de-noticias/sarampo-e-rubeola-estao-erradicados-em-portugal-5395254.html
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11359695/
#Antivaccine movement falsely blames measles shots for Texas outbreak https://www.nbcnews.com/news/texas-measles-outbreak-anti-vaccine-advocates-blame-shot-rcna193478 “As a #measles outbreak sweeps through Texas, officially sickening 124 people, mostly unvaccinated children, and hospitalizing 18, anti-vaccine groups are pushing a familiar and false theory: The highly contagious virus is being caused by the vaccine itself. (1/2)
Why the #Texas #MeaslesOutbreak Was ‘Inevitable’
Critics of Kennedy accused him of fostering #antivaccine sentiment in Samoa, months before an #outbreak ultimately resulted in 83 #measles-related deaths and more than 5,600 infections.
https://portside.org/2025-02-22/why-texas-measles-outbreak-was-inevitable
#Grocery prices climbed 0.5% compared with the previous month, or 1.9% on a yearly basis. That was driven in large part by a nationwide #eggs shortage caused by an outbreak of #AvianFlu / #BirdFlu, which has pushed prices up 15.2% over the past 4 wks [while Trump appointed an #AntiScience #AntiVaccine #ConspiracyTheorist to run #HHS which encompasses NIH, CDC, FDA, ASPR & other agencies that might respond to the outbreak]
#Energy costs also rose another 1.8% in the last month.
#RFKJr sought to pre-empt criticism of his #vaccine views, insisting he is not #AntiVaccine. An extensive review of Kennedy’s public comments by The Washington Post found he repeatedly disparaged #vaccines & falsely linked them to autism. He founded Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group.
#RFKJr told the panel that he is not #AntiVaccine, saying all of his children are vaccinated. This was actually a point that his cousin, #CarolineKennedy, raised in her letter opposing his confirmation yesterday — she described him as a “#hypocrite” for vaccinating his children while at the same time profiting from amplifying fears about #vaccines in many parents.
Sen #RonWyden entered Caroline Kennedy’s letter in its entirety into the record.
…Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, said #RFKJr’s finances showed “outrageous conflicts of interest that endanger #PublicHealth.”
“This disclosure shows that RFK Jr. made millions off of peddling dangerous #AntiVaccine #conspiracies,” she said in a statement. “Even worse, if he is confirmed, his finances will still be tied to the outcomes of anti-#vaccine lawsuits — even as he’d be tasked with regulating them as #health secretary.”
While most of Texas' vaccine bills 10 years ago were filed by Democrats to strengthen vaccine use, the opposite is now true — Republicans are filing most of the bills which aim to claw back vaccine requirements.
"As federal lawmakers prepare to decide [tomoorow 29 January] whether #AntiVaccine advocate #RobertFKennedyJr should be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services #DHHS, pediatricians from around the country are making emotional pleas to protect and support lifesaving immunizations."
#Vaccines prevent illness and save lives.
“Another factor is, of course, political opportunism. As anti-vaccine movements become more mainstream in conservative politics, politicians seem more likely to use the topic as a way to get votes and play to their base. This, in turn, makes being #antivaccine an ideological flag for those who identify with this community.” 11/11
“being fed a diet of #antivaccine messaging by conservative media (e.g., watching Fox News is “associated with increased negative public vaccine sentiment” and “increased vaccine refusal”); and the powerful, polarizing, misinformation-spreading and echo-chamber creating role of social media platforms (e.g., being part of a more right-wing online community is “associated with vaccine hesitancy in the U.S.”).” 10/11
Even Adults May Soon Be Vulnerable to ‘Childhood’ Diseases
#Outbreaks among the #unvaccinated are a predictable consequence of falling immunization rates. But even #vaccinated adults may be vulnerable to some illnesses.
There were more than 32,000 cases of #whoopingcough in #2024.
#Antivaccine campaigns often targeted the #MMR #vaccine, which protects against #measles, #mumps and #rubella. Experts tend to worry most about a resurgence of measles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/health/vaccines-children-measles-pertussis.html
https://archive.ph/Kxmn5
Another expensive court loss for #antivaccine mandate lawyer #FAFO | National Post https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/another-expensive-court-loss-for-anti-vaccine-mandate-lawyer “Two courts in B.C. and two federal courts had already quashed similar #Galati lawsuits, noted Justice Markus Koehnen in a strongly worded decision released last month.
The statement of claim “is so outlandish and so far outside of the spectrum of what is reasonable that there is no legitimate public interest in its pursuit,” Koehnen wrote. (1/3)
Nobody remembers what a nightmare the #antivaccine were back then.
