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   From: fdasrast@baraksa.su   
      
    onald Trump Has Long Linked Autism to Vaccines. He Isn’t Stopping Now That   
   He’s President.   
      
      
   Among the conspiracy theories in regular rotation by President Trump is his   
   insistence there is a connection between autism and vaccines.   
      
   He’s made this discredited link — a theory based and popularized on a now-   
   debunked and retracted study by Andrew Wakefield — via speeches, tweets, even   
   the Republican debate stage.   
      
   On Tuesday, in a conversation with educators and Secretary of Education Betsy   
   DeVos, Trump reiterated these concerns. “So what’s going on with autism?” he   
   asked a teacher in the audience. “When you look at the tremendous increase,   
   it’s really — it’s such an incredible — it’s really a horrible thing to   
   watch, the tremendous amount of increase.”   
      
   “Maybe we can do something,” he added.   
      
   It’s not surprising that Trump continues to suggest that vaccinations can   
   cause autism — he’s been saying as much for years. But as president, Trump’s   
   position carries outsized weight, and has the power to significantly impact   
   autism research and treatment, as well the number of preventable outbreaks of   
   viral-borne diseases such as measles and mumps.   
      
   There are indications Trump plans to set up a “vaccine safety commission”   
   headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal proponent of the theory that   
   vaccines cause autism. Kennedy told Politico as much, adding that he has met   
   with Trump’s staff and transition team “many times” since the election to   
   discuss the issue, hinting that a formal announcement from the White House is   
   forthcoming.   
      
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   For its part, the medical community has been consistent and adamant on this   
   point: There is no proven connection between vaccines and autism. While   
   autism diagnoses have risen noticeably over the couple decades — climbing   
   from one in 150 in 2000 to one in 68 today, according to the CDC — experts   
   attribute much of this to better diagnosis techniques and increased   
   awareness.   
      
   Meanwhile outbreaks of contagious diseases, such as measles, mumps, and   
   whooping cough, are making a comeback, driven in large part by parents   
   refusal to vaccinate their children for religious and philosophical reasons.   
   In 2000 measles was declared eradicated in the U.S. In 2014, there were 668   
   reported cases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. For measles   
   to be contained, around 95% of the population needs to be immune — dip below   
   that, and con   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)