Dr. Jill Stein, Green Party candidate and Harvard-educated medical doctor, told the Washington Post last week that “people have real questions” about vaccines.
Jill Stein on vaccines: People have "real questions" https://t.co/rwZtjdjRgL
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 29, 2016
She’s not “anti-vaxx,” she told the Post‘s Dave Weigel, but she voiced concerns about the “vaccine approval process” through the FDA and corporate influence over the process. Weigel quickly took her to task, noting that most of the doctors on the vaccine review board work for colleges and Universities, not “Big Pharma.”
Stein went on, however, to talk about her concerns over the vaccine schedule, and the “rampant” presence of mercury in some shots given to children — something the anti-vaccine movement has regularly linked to increased diagnoses of autism, despite medical evidence that there is no link.
Outlets like Forbes and Jezebel quickly took Stein to task for her lack of curiosity — and her lack of research, particularly with regard to the mercury issue (it was never “rampant” says Forbes, and the “mercury” used in some vaccines isn’t the same as the neurotoxin).
But social media was even more brutal.
Jill Stein, while saying vaccination is important, does quite a bit of dog-whistling here to the anti-vaxx crowd https://t.co/hnlvodqQx4
— Justin Green (@JGreenDC) July 29, 2016
Yeah, this is why I can't get behind Jill Stein. She panders to the worst aspects of the Left: https://t.co/2gu1Gb4095
— Austin Gilkeson (@osutein) July 29, 2016
Jill Stein, like Donald Trump, believes a bunch of nonsense about vaccines because of course she does. https://t.co/euZjGlhTUJ
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) July 29, 2016
And social media had questions about Jill Stein’s position on the idea that vaccines cause autism.
Hey @DrJillStein, do you believe vaccines cause autism?
— colin meloy (@colinmeloy) July 30, 2016
To clarify the statements she made in the Post interview — and apparent confusion over whether she was decidedly anti-vaccine — Stein Tweeted that “there is no evidence” linking autism and vaccines.
But she quickly changed her Tweet to say that she “was not aware” of information linking autism and vaccines.
There's no evidence that Thin Lizzy sucks OH FUCK I mean I'm not AWARE of any evidence that Thin Lizzy sucks wait uh pic.twitter.com/eEUfJSJlEh
— Ol' TGB (@twitersgoodboy) July 31, 2016
Her second Tweet is still up.
I'm not aware of evidence linking autism with vaccines. Let's do more to support autistic people & their families. https://t.co/eISgfxQ5vm
— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) July 31, 2016
The change is clearly intentional. As Gizmodo notes, neither of her statements completely disavow the link between autism and vaccines — a link that studies say simply doesn’t exist — and the second statement seems to pander directly to anti-vaccine activists. Neither statement is medically accurate, and both seem to stoke public distrust.
Stein made her last word on the subject an attack on Hillary Clinton, for her stance against single-payer health care.
While I support vaccinations, Hillary refuses to support a health care system that guarantees all Americans are covered to receive them.
— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) August 1, 2016
