1/5 thread, it's truly terrifying how the American "health freedom" #antivax anti-science movement has become a global phenonmenon
theguardian.com/world/2020/aug…
theguardian.com/world/2020/aug…
2/5 thread, he says he'll speak to the largest crowd in German history...
3/5 thread, the globalization of the American #antivax anti-science movement is something I predicted in 2017 (and have been working hard to combat). Here's what I wrote in @sciam back then blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/wil…
4/5 thread, unfortunately I never received the support or agreement of the US Govt to take this on, even after House and Senate hearings last yr following #measles epidemics across the nation. I tried to persuade multiple foundations, but they were too afraid of becoming targets
5/5 thread, so now we're in an awful situation. The US anti-science "health freedom" movement contributed to the deaths of 180,000 Americans, and now threatens Europe. With political will we can still win, here's my article in @PLOS @PLOSBiology journals.plos.org/plosbiology/ar…
6/5 thread, but governments and foundations have to stop this business of being wimpy and afraid, and stop with the nonsense that if we ignore it will go away. It won't. This approach has enabled a mess.
