Needled by his vax talk

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s White House bid is leaving some people feeling queasy — but it’s his opposition to common vaccinations that could make people sick.

Trump has long trumpeted his unfounded belief that the vaccine to prevent measles, mumps and rubella has a direct link to rising rates of autism in the U.S.

And while most experts predict his presidential campaign will eventually collapse, they worry his spreading of the conspiracy could sway more parents not to vaccinate their kids, and lead to outbreaks of measles and other diseases that vaccines had all but wiped out in the U.S.

“As a political scientist, I think it’s extremely unlikely he’ll win the nomination, but his prominence does run the risk of bringing his views on vaccines back in the spotlight,” said Dartmouth University Professor Brendan Nyhan, who has researched the anti-vaccine movement’s conspiracy theories.

“Of the things he says that are wrong, this is the most direct threat to your and your children’s health.”

Trump has long trumpeted the debunked theory that current vaccines combine too many into one “massive dose.” His public comments go back to 2007, and culminated in an anti-vaccine Twitter rant last fall that he began with the memorable exclamation, “Tiny children are not horses!”

Trump reiterated his opposition to the current vaccine regime in February.

“You can’t pump that much fluid into a little baby’s body. ” he said.

With the topic back in the news, experts worry Trump could do more damage than he did with past remarks.

“He’s got a bigger megaphone now and a bigger megaphone means a greater opportunity to spread disinformation,” said Claremont McKenna College Professor Jack Pitney, an autism policy expert.

“It’s one thing to be an obnoxious jerk; it’s another to say something that causes people to get sick.”