How Measles, Whooping Cough, and Worse Could Roar Back on RFK Jr.’s Watch - KFF Health News
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Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.

Summary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination as the top U.S. health official under Donald Trump has alarmed public health experts, who fear his anti-vaccine stance could lead to outbreaks of diseases like measles, polio, and meningitis.

Kennedy has promoted debunked vaccine-autism theories and may weaken federal vaccination programs, delay new vaccines, and undermine immunization requirements.

Vaccine-preventable illnesses are already rising, with 16 U.S. measles outbreaks this year.

Experts warn that declining vaccination rates threaten public health, while drug companies and vaccine advocates brace for significant challenges under the new administration.

    • hemmes@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      16 days ago

      Exactly - of course it will.

      If you’re putting a person that has expressed content for vaccines, one of mankind’s greatest discoveries, in a position of authority over the management of vaccines, you will have a surge in all that vaccines helped to eradicate.

      It’s absolutely bonkers that there are folks that have completely fallen for the “vaccines are bad“ narrative. Who would’ve thought, right? “We got abortion, immigrants, trans kids,… What else can we throw into the mix? Vaccines is a funny word…“

      I had a Republican client tell me the other day that the Democrats want to allow abortion at eight months. That’s what she believes. I have really great relationships with my clients, and they’re generally really nice people. It really infuriates me and makes me sad.

    • Tikiporch@lemmy.world
      1·
      16 days ago

      Yeah, what the hell is going on with this headline? Is the author hedging their bets that maybe medical science is wrong and RFKJR, who has no medical or scientific training, is right?

  • HeyJoe@lemmy.world
    14·
    16 days ago

    The worst part is it will take way longer than we expect to turn on him. This will be treated like everything else, and the excuses will pile up. The blame shifted, and the media is lying, democrats making this worse than it is. it’s going to take way more people to suffer than probably should before we return to a majority and say enough is enough. I truly hate these people…

    • CeruleanRuin@lemmings.worldEnglish
      4·
      16 days ago

      Not to mention that the odds of harmful mutation increase dramatically with a larger population to circulate in. These people are playing with fire, and they’re going to blow us all the fuck up.

  • Etterra@lemmy.world
    8·
    16 days ago

    I’m very much not religious, but I’m rather familiar with Christian mythology. Trump ticks off just about every box for “antichrist” and now RFK is set up to full the role of Horseman of the Apocalypse (Plague). With Putin in and Netanyahu in the running for several each, I can’t help but feel grim amusement at the fact that so many so-called Christians deliberately (and blindly) voted for their own nemesis to run things.

    I know they’ve never actually read their own handbook, but it’s so absurd to see them doing exactly what alleged prophecy said they’d do. The fact that the book of Revelations was just a thinly veiled diatribe against Rome makes it almost funny that these idiots are not only once again setting history on loop, but are completely oblivious to a history that’s written in their own favorite book of fairy tales.

    • Cyv_@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      46·
      16 days ago

      Antivaxxer may do antivax things. Not a huge logical leap. And the article states preventable diseases are already on the rise lately with more people refusing to vaccinate.

      Failing to use simple logic. Now that’s a slogan, just for you :)

    • GingaNinga@lemmy.world
      34·
      16 days ago

      dude the raw milk thing alone is going to skyrocket preventable death and illness. Theres a reason pasteurization exists.

    • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      22·
      16 days ago

      Oh hey, this was your same response to LGBT people being worried about Trump taking office. Meanwhile the Project 2025 crowd is champing at the bit to ban medical transition for adults.

      You going to eat crow, or just be glad when it happens?

    • Ioughttamow@fedia.io
      13·
      16 days ago

      Yeah, haha, we definitely shouldn’t extrapolate based on what someone has done and said in the past. That would be silly. And apparently germ theory can’t hurt you if you don’t believe in it

      Edit: and if you actually are old, his policies are going to kill your first. So nice knowing you. If it gets you soon enough you might even get a headstone before we all start getting unmarked paupers graves

    • Free_Opinions@feddit.uk
      13·
      16 days ago

      For real. We already saw this with the first Trump presidency. An insane amount of speculation and fearmongering about what could happen and then turns out the vast majority of it in-fact did not happen and the people spreading these speculations pay zero reputational cost for being completely wrong. People are so incredibly addicted to drama it’s insane.