As measles spreads in South Carolina, RFK Jr's allies work to gut vaccine laws

"Doctors and advocates for children's health warn that removing or weakening mandates, particularly those that require vaccination in schools, will lead to lower vaccination rates and more illness and suffering for families. We will see more outbreaks. We will see children missing school, parents missing work, said Dr Jana Shaw, an infectious disease specialist who has conducted research on vaccine hesitancy."

"The groups pushing to end such laws say that vaccine mandates, including those that require children to get immunized to go to school, violate the freedom people should have to take part in activities such as school or work without getting immunized. They often underpin their justifications for that position by providing false or misleading information to their supporters that plays up the risks of vaccines and downplays the dangers of illness."

South Carolina faces a measles outbreak infecting nearly 1,000 people, the worst spread since the early 1990s. Anti-vaccine groups with connections to US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr are simultaneously pushing to eliminate immunization requirements in over 20 states, including at least six experiencing measles outbreaks. Key figures leading this campaign include Kennedy's former anti-vaccine organization, groups run by his publisher, and activist Leslie Manookian. Medical experts warn that removing or weakening vaccine mandates, particularly school requirements, will decrease vaccination rates and increase disease outbreaks, hospitalizations, complications, disabilities, and deaths. These groups claim mandates violate personal freedom, often using false or misleading information about vaccine risks while downplaying illness dangers. School immunization requirements remain crucial for maintaining high vaccination rates and preventing infectious disease spread.

Read at www.theguardian.com