It Could Happen Here Anti-Vax America: Anti-Vax Genealogy
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Jun 17, 2025 
In this discussion, Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and molecular virology expert at Baylor College of Medicine, delves into the unsettling resurgence of vaccine hesitancy in America. He traces the historical roots of the anti-vaccination movement, connecting it to political ideologies and misinformation. The conversation also highlights the legacy of medical distrust, especially in Black communities, and the impact of unethical experiments like the Tuskegee Study. Hotez emphasizes the urgent need to combat myths linking vaccines to autism and address declining vaccination rates.
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Origins of Anti-Vax Movements
- Anti-vaccination movements date back to the 1800s, opposing compulsory vaccination laws and promoting alternatives like homeopathy.
- These movements unite diverse people through shared beliefs in medical freedom and conspiracy theories across political lines.
Medical Abuses Fuel Mistrust
- Enslaved Black women were subjected to medical experiments without consent, like Marion Sims' silver sutures trials.
- The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment withheld treatment from Black men to study disease progression, fostering lasting mistrust.
Vaccine-Autism Myth Persistence
- Claims linking vaccines to autism have been repetitively debunked, with anti-vaccine groups shifting focus to new false causes.
- RFK Jr. has notably promoted these false links, complicating public health messaging.
