A single discredited study depressed US vaccination coverage for decades

Evidence

The ensuing vaccine hesitancy also spilled over to the United States, where coverage of the MMR vaccine has generally been closer to the 90 per cent target. Yet, in 2011, at least fifteen states had immunization coverage below 90 per cent and some national surveys reveal that about 30 per cent of parents with young children mistakenly believe that vaccines cause autism. The States has also witnessed a resurgence of measles outbreaks – an otherwise preventable disease – due in part to growing vaccine hesitancy and refusal. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 262

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader interest in how manufactured panics (cf. moral-panic literature on vaccination) translate into measurable public-health harm decades later. — connects to: Media false balance gave a discredited vaccine claim lasting public credibility — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 261; Plandemic video damaged public support for vaccination — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 210

Broader Connections

• Media false balance gave a discredited vaccine claim lasting public credibility #expands (0.90) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 261
• Plandemic video damaged public support for vaccination #exemplifies (0.75) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 210