Dem
47
GOP
53
Before 1796, when Dr. Edward Jenner clearly demonstrated that a vaccination with pus from a cowpox blister prevented a person from getting smallpox, it was normal for smallpox epidemics to kill off 10% of the world population, with mortality hitting 20% in densely packed cities. His discovery quickly spread and was used to vaccinate thousands of people by 1806. Napoleon had all his troops vaccinated and, at Jenner's request, had two English prisoners of war released, saying he could not "refuse anything to one of the greatest benefactors of mankind." As a consequence of Jenner's work, dozens of previously fatal diseases have been nearly eradicated.
All states require children to be vaccinated against a number of diseases in order to attend public school. Which vaccinations are required varies by state and age, but measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis A & B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and chicken pox are commonly required. The result is that most of these diseases are now extremely rare in the U.S. and other countries with vaccination requirements. Most doctors agree that vaccinations are probably the most important advance in medical history.
Now Florida wants to throw it all away. The state is going to phase out all vaccine mandates in the state. Florida state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said that mandates are an intrusion of people's rights bordering on slavery. Ladapo is Black and we wonder if all of his ancestors might have agreed with that, especially those who might have been enslaved. Ladapo has been denounced by numerous public health experts already. He has even been denounced by Bill Cassidy, who said abolishing the mandates is "a terrible thing for public health." Now, whose fault might this be, Senator?
The consequence of what Kennedy and Ladapo are doing is that many of the once nearly eradicated diseases may make a comeback, as measles has among unvaccinated people in Texas. In Florida, some parents will now undoubtedly opt out of having their children vaccinated, especially if insurance no longer covers it and they can't afford it. The children may now get measles, mumps, chicken pox, etc. and can infect other children who cannot be vaccinated because they are immunocompromised (e.g., due to chemotherapy). These immunocompromised children may now be at great risk, even though their parents do not object to vaccines. This discussion reminds us of this cartoon:
Of course, some of the children whose parents are anti-vaxxers may also get sick and die. Is this a good thing? Opinions vary. For those readers who don't watch The Bulwark podcasts, Sarah Longwell and Jonathan V. Last (JVL) often argue about this. JVL believes that people who voted for Trump should get the full Trump experience, even (especially?) if this includes their kids dying. They should feel the consequences of their votes, personally. Longwell disagrees, saying it is not the kids' fault that their parents are morons. If the anti-vaxxers get their way, natural selection will get to work and do its job. Nature may remove the anti-vax gene from the gene pool. Nature doesn't care.
We predict that Florida will not be the last state to drop vaccine mandates. We expect multiple red states to do the same thing, taking them back to 1795. Welcome to the late Middle Ages. During the early 1950s, polio was rampant, with many children confined to "iron lungs" for life, like this:
When Dr. Jonas Salk announced that his polio vaccine worked, that was the biggest news in the country for weeks. Salk was a national hero and feted from coast to coast. Here are some of the newspapers at the time of his announcement:
Now Florida will throw it all away because Donald Trump appointed a quack as secretary of HHS, and because Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) still thinks there is room for him in the 2028 MAGA presidential lane. (V)