George Clooney wants everyone to stop the “dumbf*ckery”.

Yes, that includes the dangerous and deadly rise in the number of people who don’t believe in vaccinating their children.

Around the world, anti-vaccine or vaccine choice groups, as they commonly refer to themselves, are becoming larger, better organised, and funded in part because of their prolific use of social media.

The spread of misinformation isn’t only confined to the internet, though.

Hundreds of people gathered this week at an anti-vaxxers rally in the Atrium, a ballroom in Monsey, about an hour north of New York City, reports The Daily Beast.

The event, advertised on WhatsApp and robocalls as a “Vaccines Symposium” and “a night of science, discussion, and truth,” featured mainly secular speakers, including anti-vax YouTuber Del Bigtree, “holistic pediatrician” Lawrence Palevsky, and Andrew Wakefield, the disgraced gastroenterologist and author of a now-retracted 1998 study linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism.

“Your news anchors and the media outside this building just want to talk about measles,” Bigtree told the rapt crowd. “I want to talk about autism. I want to talk about the greatest epidemic of our lifetime.” The audience burst into applause.

Let’s break that down – a YouTuber, a practitioner of holistic medicine with an interest in growing their business, and a debunked gastroenterologist – a specialisation that has nothing to do with autism – are the supposed “experts” in this scenario.

Meanwhile, measles is on the rise at a rate not seen in years, with nearly 500 cases reported so far in New York alone. The outbreak has led to fear among parents of infants who are too young to be immunised and are at risk of infection.

Although study after study has shown childhood vaccinations to be safe and effective, there are still parents who refuse to get the shots for their kids.

Officials who have struggled to contain the measles outbreak put out a warning that the symposium was dangerous.

“Tonight’s event and the misinformation being shared at it runs counter to every statement from the medical experts and elected officials of our county,” Rockland County Executive Ed Day, Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht, and Rabbi Chaim Schabes wrote in a joint statement. “This type of propaganda endangers the health and safety of children within our community and around the world.”

If you’re wondering why a rabbi weighed in, it’s because this epidemic of misinformation and measles infection is affecting the Orthodox Jewish community at an alarming rate.

Jewish leaders have stressed that there is nothing in religious law or custom that precludes vaccination. Back to the “experts” at the gathering:

Bigtree—whose anti-vaccine YouTube videos have been played on an ultra-Orthodox parenting hotline—also picked up on the thread of anti-Semitism during his keynote speech, comparing the use of vaccines to experiments on prisoners during the Holocaust.

“Your children are part of the greatest experiment in the history of mankind,” said Bigtree, who was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League and other groups for wearing a yellow Star of David during a speech in Austin, Texas last month.

Various communities across the States, and the rest of the world, are turning away from science and towards misinformation.

For the sake of your survival and sanity – vaccinate your children.

[source:dailybeast]