You know, I never could wrap my head around why Maher latched onto the anti-Vax movement. Say what you will about a lot of his opinions, but he always seemed to have a fairly good grasp of science vs. pseudoscience. But the more he talks about vaccines, the more obvious it is he doesn’t even understand the basic science involved:

“I’ve never argued that vaccines don’t work. I just don’t think you need them. There are so many maladies now that used to be rare and now are much more prevalent—things like allergies, ADD, asthma, migraines, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue, colitis, more colds. I’m not saying vaccines cause any of them, but the modern immune system might be less robust than it used to be because it doesn’t get its full workout going through a disease like the measles. I’m glad vaccines exist, just like I’m glad antibiotics exist, but we’ve abused the hell out of them. Bugs that no antibiotic works on anymore? I worry about that a lot more.”

Uh, yeah. Your immune system doesn’t work that way. A vaccine exposes your body to a non-disease causing form of a pathogen (virus or bacteria) so it’s primed to react faster when you encounter the real thing. Measles doesn’t make your immune system “stronger”. It’s not like lifting weights. It’s more like training a soldier to target and shoot the enemy before deployment vs. just dropping him into a combat zone on the first day. Who do you think is going to fare better?

Also, maybe the reason we are seeing more of these diseases is because they’re primarily things adults get, and since people aren’t dying of measles at five years-old, they’re living long enough to get these other diseases. Not to mention, we are getting better at diagnosing some of those conditions, so it’s really a matter of missing less sufferers.

More: Bill Maher Lashes Out at Anti-Vaxx Accusations: ‘I’ve Never Argued That Vaccines Don’t Work. I Just Don’t Think You Need Them’