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A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/us/flu-outbreak-air-force-base.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rFA.LASy.Em3OYzAscBzB&smid=nytcore-ios-share

Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?

Because some people are absolute [redacted].

One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.

But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.

It's worse than that.

We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.

It's not just a new generation. I saw an 89 yo woman at CAB this week who confided to me that her grandson had long-Covid and that Covid was a hoax. She'd read it in a 'really interesting' free paper called The Light apparently, so it must be true.

I couldn't resist asking her how he got long-Covid if Covid was a hoax. (I'll probably get struck off.)

What was her reply?

She hadn't considered that. 'Maybe it was the vaccine.'

A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/us/flu-outbreak-air-force-base.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rFA.LASy.Em3OYzAscBzB&smid=nytcore-ios-share

Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?

Because some people are absolute [redacted].

One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.

But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.

It's worse than that.

We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.

And plenty of them are in Reform.

There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.

Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.

Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.

Yes, used to be hipster lefty cliche, now firmly part of default right wingers (in the US).

Classic everythingism as seen on left and right now, in that positions that don't inevitably have to go together are treated as if you must agree with all of them.