Let the devastating measles epidemic that just swept across Samoa, with its sudden surge in demand for infant-sized coffins, be a warning for New Jersey.

In particular, let it be a warning for our legislators: This is where scientific denialism and political stupidity can lead.

Back in 2018, two nurses in this small Pacific island nation mixed the vaccine powder with expired muscle relaxant instead of water. It was tragic human error, and two children died. But it was an accident, not evidence that vaccines are inherently dangerous.

Still, anti-vaxxers seized on that, scared parents and dramatically drove down vaccination rates. They bombarded elected officials with fraudulent arguments, just like they’re doing now in New Jersey.

As a result, measles spread to thousands of people, killing more than 60 children under the age of four. Those who survived may have permanent immunological damage.

“It is a perfect microcosm of what the anti-vaccine movement would have happen here,” as Republican Sen. Declan O’Scanlon says.

As he notes, any resurgence of a vaccine-preventable disease is a disaster, even a single case. The emergency response to just one confirmed case of hepatitis A in a ShopRite food handler recently cost Somerset County nearly $160,000.

Yet some of the same people who contributed to the deadly distrust of vaccines in Samoa are now doing it in New Jersey, too -- like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Pied Piper of this tragically wacko campaign.

It’s about fear and misinformation, yes. But also opportunism. At that dangerous intersection are people like Jamel Holley, a Democratic Assemblyman, and Republicans like Senators Joe Pennacchio and Mike Testa.

All opposed the recent, narrowly-defeated bipartisan effort to tighten vaccine requirements, and sided with the anti-vaxxers instead.

Holley, who circulated photos of himself wrapped in the protective arms of RFK Jr., raked in $100,000 from an event featuring the anti-vaxxer as a special guest -- perhaps to fund a future Senate run?

“I have no intentions at this present time,” was all he would say.

Thank you @RobertKennedyJr & #teamholley for your support. It means alot to our cause! pic.twitter.com/qdXjdTZRuQ — Jamel Holley ♍🔌 (@jamelholley) January 29, 2020

Pennacchio and Testa are also lending credibility to the anti-vaxxer movement, with bills that bar doctors from transferring patients who refuse vaccines and hold government liable for injuries caused by mandatory vaccinations, which are extraordinary rare.

Of the two, only Pennacchio would come to the phone. He acknowledges that he contacted no actual scientific experts before introducing these bills, yet insists, “What I want behind this is the science.”

He said he read articles on the Internet: “Social media is full of them.”

We wondered, if he doesn’t trust the overwhelming scientific consensus that vaccines are safe, does he believe the 97 percent of scientists who say human activity contributes to global warming?

“Am I Encyclopedia Britannica?” he countered.

What he is, believe it or not, is a dentist with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Let’s get real: this is about political pandering by people who almost certainly know better.

Plenty of well-meaning parents are genuinely confused by what they read online. But for politicians, something more cynical is at work. They are putting children’s lives at risk to further their careers, the worst type of legislative malpractice.

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