Noah McCourt: "Time to look past junk science when discussing autism disorder."

Mentioning my long-86ed former newspaper column earlier today served to remind me that Noah McCourt contributes writings to his hometown newspaper in Minnesota. You'll recall that in 2015, Noah and I got to know each other when he ran unsuccessfully for 6th district council (GOP) in New Albany. He later moved back to Minnesota and has stayed very much involved (see italics below).

"Noah brings a fresh perspective. We need young people like him to shift or refresh the narrative."


Here is his latest.

Time to look past junk science when discussing autism disorder, by Noah McCourt (Waconia Sun Patriot)

Noah McCourt is an appointee to the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and is himself on the autism spectrum.

The publication of Andrew Wakefield’s now debunked research that linked vaccinations as a cause for Autism Spectrum Disorder in 1998 brought with it a flurry of questions and inquiries into the safety of vaccines.

Since then those questions regarding the link have been answered. There isn’t one. There are many other environmental factors supported by scientific studies and empirical data. Countless advocacy groups have conducted studies in regards to the link between vaccines and autism and they’ve all come back with refutations.

Despite the lack of scientific data to support them, parental fears have flourished and the unsubstantiated claims have come to pose a significant threat to public health. In the past several years Minnesota has seen several outbreaks of diseases that were preventable, including Rochester’s pertussis outbreak in 2015 and this year’s measles outbreak ...