This is OT, but you asked.
McCarthy has a son, and she was very public about the fact that he had autism. She was all over TV talking about it. At the same time, there was a doctor, who has since been totally discredited, who created a huge commotion in the autism community by saying that vaccines cause autism in children.
That would be Mr. Wakefield, isn't it? Mr. because he's since been thrown out of the doctor community and his license revoked. He should have been charged with serial murders.
The parents of many autistic children who were desperately looking for a cause of their childrens' autism all got involved in the discussion. Jenny McCarthy became the "spokesperson" for the anti-vaccine movement, and advised parents not to have their children vaccinated or they might develop autism. Who knows how much harm that caused?
Deaths. My father needing to be inoculated against whooping cough because it made a comeback in this area. Me, ditto, although I keep that up to date anyway. Autism rates did not change.
A very valuable preservative being removed from vaccines, so that only single-use vials can now be manufactured. But that really only killed people in the Third World, so I don't imagine most people care that much. Autism rates did not change.
Children with helicopter parents who now send things like "measles pops" through the friggin' US mail to avoid exposing their children to "harmful vaccines." Autism rates did not change.
Children with helicopter parents who now don't have them vaccinated nor do they get the disease as a child. This risks their life--since childhood diseases tend to hit harder in adults--and their fertility (mumps is a real joy) and the lives of children around them (rubella is not good for pregnant women). Autism rates did not change.
You might say I feel very strongly about the subject and have no respect for Miss McCarthy.
Then the doctor was totally drummed out of the medical community and his study was debunked. Expert after expert said there was no connection between vaccines and autism. But the damage had been done. Many people are still convinced there is a connection, and many kids are not getting vaccinated and getting diseases they wouldn't get if they were vaccinated.
Worse. If I remember correctly--and I may not--her child
did not have autism in the first place. I could be wrong.