Divorce Court

One of the virtues of Science is to keep people from accepting a first thought that makes no sense. It says, “Let’s just think about that. Does it make sense? Are you sure?“ It says “No, Mr. Aristotle, eels do not form from the mud at the bottom ofrivers.”Authoritarianstend to hear what they want and decide that it is true. “Surely vaccines are dangerous.” is one such thought. The voice that proposes the first thought can be seductive; it is confident and speaks in a tone that says how can you not know this? People hearing the supposedly authoritative voice of RFK Jr., skipped their children’s measles vaccinations on the pretext that vaccines cause autism.

RFK Jr had been in American Samoa in June 2019 and spread the idea that measles vaccine begets autism. Low rates of vaccination declined further. A tourist with measles introduced the infection to the under-protected Samoan population and an epidemic ensued, introduced by a tourist, peaking in the Fall of 2019. Measles virus is exceptionally infectious. Thousands of people were infected, and the island closed down--schools, factories, markets, and tourism. Vaccinators from CDC and several countries, arrived went house to house, vaccinating the residents. The population was about 195,000, and 13,666 vaccinations were given to previously unvaccinated adults and 1,113 children. By Mid-December there were no new cases.