by Barbara Loe Fisher
There have been hundreds of media stories published in the U.S. and around the world since Jan. 14, 2015, the day after it was first reported that visitors to Disneyland got measles and presumably infected other people in California, Washington, Utah and Colorado.1 Like wildfire, the story spread globally even though there was – and still is – limited information about the 51 lab-confirmed cases of measles public health officials say are linked to the happiest place on earth. According a Jan. 23 Health Advisory issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “no source case for the outbreak has been identified.” 2
Demonizing of Parents and Their Children
The U.S. has a population of more than 320 million people and 38 million people live in California, so it is curious why a handful of measles cases prompted one California newspaper to quickly place blame on parents making informed vaccine choices, calling them “ignorant” and engaged in a “self-absorbed rejection of science.” 3 Astroturfers 4 and trolls 5 6 saw that kind of talk as a green light to do more of it on public comment boards, suggesting that children with vaccine-related brain injuries are genetic mutants and calling mothers of vaccine injured children “liars” and “witches.” 7
Pediatrician Leads Blame and Shame Game…
