A reader writes:
I’m glad you’ve brought to light the resurgence of pertussis (whooping cough). Julia Ioffe’s description of what it’s like to have the disease is right on, but your readers need to know that it’s even worse for babies to get pertussis. It can kill them. Immunity does wane over time, but there’s something you can do to decrease your risk of getting pertussis, as well as helping to protect those around you: make sure you’ve gotten a booster shot called Tdap (which includes a booster for tetanus and diptheria as well) that’s been available for adults since 2005. Please use your large readership to spread the word.
Another:
I teach at Ohio State University, where we’ve had a low-level pertussis pandemic for several years now. I caught it myself in 2007, along with several of my friends. My doctor told me it’s common at the university because small kids get it and pass it on to their college-age siblings (whose vaccinations have worn off) and they bring it back to campus with them. As it turns out, I’ve been afflicted with a chronic cough since then, and it appears this will be with me for the rest of my life (I’m now 64). Pertussis has a side effect called bronchiectasis that is permanent damage to the bronchia. I spend the first hour of every day coughing.
When I complain to my engineering students that we live in a society that no longer believes in science, they always assume I’m talking about the GOP. I quickly remind them that there are as many lunatics on the left as there are on the right.
On that note:
A lesser recognized culprit in all of this is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
No matter your politics, the name Kennedy carries a certain intellectual heft that, when combined with Jenny McCarthy’s celebrity, creates a perfect storm of legitimacy given to bunk science. This Slate article sums it up nicely.
Another looks to the right:
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has promised a hearing in the Congressional Oversight and Reform Committee to address “the government’s failure to address the autism epidemic.” The last time Issa’s committee gave voice to Jenny McCarthy’s angry mob was in November 2012, when witnesses and congressman made inaccurate and unscientific claims about the safety of vaccines. Why again? Maybe because Issa received $40,000 in donations from Jennifer Larson, a Minnesota business owner and member of the anti-vaccine Canary Party.
Issa also appeared at Jenny McCarthy’s annual Autism One conference in Chicago, where a Who’s Who of medical quacks blame autism on vaccines, and aim to cure it with unproven remedies such as bleach enemas, chemical castration drugs, and chelation. Yes, bleach enemas.
The reader follows up:
Somebody just sent this [pdf] to me. It’s the agenda from last week’s congressional briefing, which paved the way for Issa’s anti-vaccine hearing in December. Issa’s flirtation with anti-vaccine crazies has escaped major media attention so far. I hope you can help bring this travesty to light.
The Dish 