The candidates have done their best to spread fear and falsehood to serve small political gains, an unfortunate tactic that could eventually account for thousands of deaths.
The truth, written by Michael Specter in The New Yorker and bolstered by what little authority I have as a physician, thus might be worth repeating:
It is sad to have to write this, when it should be clear by now, but here it is: vaccines are the most successful medical intervention in the history of humanity. They have prevented millions of deaths. They are a triumph of human ingenuity and of our desire to alleviate suffering.
There are not too many. They are not administered too soon. They do not cause autism or allergies or cancer. The only thing “too bunched up” about vaccines, as a matter of fact, are the falsehoods and deliberate misconceptions spread by demagogues and then endorsed by people like Carson and Paul, both of whom should—and almost certainly do—know better.
By the way, for anyone interested in autism, a common and misunderstood condition, NeuroTribes; the Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman is fascinating reading.
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