Dem
47
GOP
53
Many readers have probably heard by now that an unnamed, unvaccinated child in Texas has died from the measles. This is the United States' first reported death from measles in 10 years. It's the first time an American child has died from measles in 22 years.
As you can undoubtedly imagine, many people are connecting this death with the anti-vaxx policies of the Trump administration, and in particular of "Health" and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. We are not physicians, and are certainly not epidemiologists, so we are not really in a position to judge. On one hand, the second Trump administration is only 5 weeks old, so pinning this on Trump and Kennedy is potentially dubious. On the other hand, Trump has been peddling anti-vaxx rhetoric for at least 5 years and Kennedy has been doing so for decades. So, giving them at least some of the blame for the dead child, as well as the 124 other people who have developed cases of the disease, may not be entirely unreasonable.
What we DO know about is politics. And so, we know that whether or not the measles outbreak is actually the fault of Trump and Kennedy doesn't really matter. What does matter is whether or not voters THINK it is their fault (see Biden, Joe — price of eggs). And it's pretty clear that a lot of voters do think that way. Once more time passes, and if there are more outbreaks of previously conquered diseases, and if more people die, that finger-pointing is going to become more aggressive.
For those folks who wish people did not have to die needlessly, we will give you some good news. In the part of Texas where the outbreak has taken place, a bunch of anti-vaxx parents have decided that maybe vaccines are not so bad after all. And so, measles shots at local clinics are up substantially. Better late than never.
And now, we must give you some bad news. It's all good and well for people to change their minds about vaccines when those vaccines are available. However, Kennedy has some power to keep some vaccines from ever existing in the first place. For example, the flu vaccine is actually composed of multiple strains of flu virus. Each year, a group of epidemiologists meets to figure out what strains will be included in the next year's vaccine. The goal is to get as much coverage as possible without giving recipients' immune systems more than they can handle. This year's meeting, which was scheduled for March, so as to allow production of vaccines in time for the next flu season (commencing in roughly September of this year) has just been canceled. HHS offered no details, so it's not clear why it's been canceled, or whether there are plans to reschedule it. Of course, it's at least possible that some other entity—say the California Department of Public Health—could step in and host, or that the private companies that make the vaccines could do the necessary work on their own.
Similarly, the federal government allocated $460 million for pharmaceutical giant Vaxart to try to produce a COVID-19 vaccine that can be administered in pill form. There are, of course, many people who are unwilling or unable to be given shots. Clinical trials of the pill were supposed to begin on Monday, with 10,000 people participating, and with $240 million set aside to pay the bills. However, Kennedy has now paused the program. Asked to explain, Kennedy said: "I look forward to working with Vaxart and medical experts to ensure this work produces safe, effective, and fiscal-minded vaccine technology." It seems to us that producing "safe, effective, and fiscal-minded vaccine technology" was what was already going on, so this sounds like bullsh** to us. What happens next is anyone's guess, but lawsuits seem very possible.
We must admit that while we are accustomed to head-scratching choices by Donald Trump and his administration, we are absolutely perplexed by the utter stupidity on display here. Remember, this is a president who was swept out of office primarily because of... his mismanagement of a pandemic. Why on earth would he go to the anti-vaxx well again? Why would he get within 100 miles of the anti-vaxx well? Who is he placating by not only appointing Kennedy, but also tolerating his public-health nuttiness? We just don't get it. In any event, as we note above, if there are outbreaks of measles, and whooping cough, and rubella, and COVID-19 in the next year or two, we are absolutely certain that Trump and the Republicans will pay a steep price at the polls. (Z)