The Data Don't Vote

But we live with the consequences

Jul 24, 2026

I don't often write about current events.

But this one matters.

We've reached a point where political narratives are beginning to outweigh decades of scientific research in public health. That should concern all of us, regardless of our politics.

The question of whether vaccines cause autism has been studied for decades by researchers across the world. Hundreds of studies, involving millions of people, have consistently failed to find evidence that vaccines cause autism. That conclusion wasn't reached because it was politically convenient. It was reached because that's where the evidence led.

Science isn't supposed to change with an administration. The data don't vote.

As a nurse, watching confidence in decades of evidence erode isn't just frustrating. It's heartbreaking.

I care because I care for the people affected by these decisions. But I also care because I am one of them.

I have Type 1 diabetes. I have autism. After one of my immunoglobulin levels came back low, my immune system is now being monitored closely. My mom lives with common variable immunodeficiency and depends on weekly immunoglobulin infusions to help her immune system do what it can't do on its own.

When we undermine public confidence in well-established science, the consequences don't stay theoretical. Vaccination rates fall. Diseases we had largely brought under control return. The people who pay the highest price are often those who can't protect themselves.