Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the well being and human companies secretary, have to be leaping for pleasure as a result of his obvious purpose of constructing measles nice once more is lastly turning into a actuality.
The harmful illness, which was thought of eradicated within the U.S. in 2000, is making a full and terrifying comeback. Over 1,277 instances have popped up this yr alone, in accordance with information from John Hopkins College Middle for Outbreak Response Innovation. The illness has hit 38 states and the District of Columbia. Thus far, there have been 155 hospitalizations and three confirmed deaths brought on by measles.
This yr’s extreme outbreak is due largely to decrease childhood vaccination charges, which RFK Jr. performed a hand in as a distinguished anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. Thus far this yr, two wholesome however unvaccinated youngsters and one man have died to this point, matching the entire variety of measles-related deaths that occurred between 2001 and 2024.
Amid this worrying state of affairs, Kennedy, in his new position, has steered pushing the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention additional away from vaccines. He has fired consultants on a federal vaccine panel and canceled grants that fund analysis round essential vaccine analysis, all with President Donald Trump’s complicity.
Earlier this yr, Kennedy posted on X about swimming in Rock Creek, a Washington-area waterway that’s polluted with sewage runoff.
In the meantime, Kennedy, who is thought to swim in sewage runoff, has been telling pregnant ladies and kids that they not have to get vaccinated towards COVID-19. That transfer has put Kennedy knee-deep in authorized bother as effectively, with the serially shirtless grandpa being sued on Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics and different doctor teams.
“We will not stand by while a single federal official unilaterally and effectively strips Americans of their choice to vaccinate with actions that thoroughly disregard overwhelming scientific evidence and decades of established federal processes,” Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Illnesses Society of America, stated in an announcement obtained by Axios.
Then once more, anybody who is aware of Kennedy and his cohort is aware of this was the purpose.
Earlier than moving into his newest position, the MAHA guru has falsely linked childhood vaccines to autism, a lie that has been completely debunked.
And whereas Kennedy tried to distance himself from his statements throughout his Senate affirmation listening to earlier this yr, everyone knows that actions matter greater than phrases.
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