The modern anti-vaccine movement — spurred by a fraudulent study linking vaccines to autism — has successfully thrust conspiracy theories and misnomers about vaccine safety into public discourse. Now, the crusade, driven by falsified science, is moving out of the fringe and into the mainstream in Texas, according to The Washington Post.
Jackie Schlegel, executive director of Texans for Vaccine Choice, highlighted the movement's progress during a fall 2016 panel on vaccines in Austin, according to the Post.
"We have 30 champions in that statehouse," said Ms. Schlegel. "Last session, we had two."
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The number of unvaccinated children in Texas has steadily risen since 2003, when the state expanded its exemption criteria. Personal-belief exemptions in the state surged from 2,314 in the 2003-2004 school year to 44,716 in 2015-2016, according to the Post. In some parts of the state, vaccine adherence is dipping below the 90 to 95 percent level needed to ensure herd immunity.
Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, a professor in the department of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told the Post 2017 could be the year the anti-vaccination movement gains ascendancy across the nation.
"We're losing the battle," said Dr. Hotez.
The movement also has an advocate in the White House. President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism regarding vaccines for years. In January, President Trump met with vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy to reportedly discuss the creation of a vaccine safety panel. Andrew Wakefield — the ex-physician whose discredited work launched the movement in 1998 — was also a guest at one of President Trump's inaugural balls.
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