How the anti-vaccine movement is downplaying the danger of measles

Anti-vaccine activists have reacted to worldwide measles outbreaks by spreading misinformation about the disease, falsely saying it's not dangerous.

As outbreaks of measles spread throughout the world, anti-vaccine activists aren’t just urging people not to get vaccinated — they’re taking a page from a well-worn playbook, falsely downplaying the dangers from the highly contagious respiratory disease. 

“The truth is, measles is not a super severe serious illness when you’re a child,” Mary Holland, president of the country’s best-funded anti-vaccine organization, Children’s Health Defense, said last week on the group’s online morning show. Children’s Health Defense was founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who took a leave from the organization in April to run for president. 

Holland, a lawyer, called government responses to recent outbreaks “fearmongering” and “crying wolf.” 

“It’s a couple days of spots and then you move on,” she said. 

But national health agencies warn the fear of measles is well-founded. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/measles-outbreaks-anti-vaccine-misinformation-rcna136994

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