Trump promotes vaccine resistance
Vaccines are an unalloyed triumph of public health. That Donald Trump is attacking vaccines—any vaccines—is obscene.
“ . . . on at least 17 occasions this year, Trump has promised to cut funding to schools that mandate vaccines. Campaign spokespeople have previously said that pledge would apply only to schools with COVID mandates. But speeches reviewed by KFF Health News included no such distinction — raising the possibility Trump would also target vaccination rules for common, potentially lethal childhood diseases like polio and measles.
“The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment on this article.
Trump has presided over a landslide shift in his party’s views on vaccines, reflected this campaign season in false claims by Republican candidates during the primaries and puzzling conspiracies from prominent conservative voices. Republicans increasingly express worry about the risks of vaccines. A September 2023 from Politico and Morning Consult showed a narrow majority of those voters cared more about the risks than the benefits of getting inoculated.
“A surge in anti-vaccine policy in statehouses has followed the rhetoric. Boston University political scientist Matt Motta, PhD, who tracks public health policy, said preliminary data shows that states enacted at least 42 anti-vaccine bills in 2023 — nearly a ninefold surge since 2019.
“In some states, it has the look of a crusade: The 2024 Texas GOP platform, for example, proposes a ban on mRNA technology, the innovation behind some COVID-19 vaccines that scientists believe could have significant applications for cancer care.
“Last month, Trump made an appeal to anti-vaccine voters by landing the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation’s most prominent vaccine skeptics — and appointing him to his transition team. In a recent tour with former Fox News broadcaster Tucker Carlson, Kennedy said he was “going to be deeply involved in helping to choose the people who run FDA, NIH, and CDC.””
What has happened to America that a political grifter with zero public health experience can persuade tens of millions of people that facts and evidence don’t matter and they should rather suffer and die based on the ruminations of Dear Leader?
Feh.
Trump promotes anti-vaxxer fears
“ . . . on at least 17 occasions this year, Trump has promised to cut funding to schools that mandate vaccines. Campaign spokespeople have previously said that pledge would apply only to schools with COVID mandates. But speeches reviewed by KFF Health News included no such distinction — raising the possibility Trump would also target vaccination rules for common, potentially lethal childhood diseases like polio and measles.
“The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment on this article.
Trump has presided over a landslide shift in his party’s views on vaccines, reflected this campaign season in false claims by Republican candidates during the primaries and puzzling conspiracies from prominent conservative voices. Republicans increasingly express worry about the risks of vaccines. A September 2023 from Politico and Morning Consult showed a narrow majority of those voters cared more about the risks than the benefits of getting inoculated.
“A surge in anti-vaccine policy in statehouses has followed the rhetoric. Boston University political scientist Matt Motta, PhD, who tracks public health policy, said preliminary data shows that states enacted at least 42 anti-vaccine bills in 2023 — nearly a ninefold surge since 2019.
“In some states, it has the look of a crusade: The 2024 Texas GOP platform, for example, proposes a ban on mRNA technology, the innovation behind some COVID-19 vaccines that scientists believe could have significant applications for cancer care.
“Last month, Trump made an appeal to anti-vaccine voters by landing the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation’s most prominent vaccine skeptics — and appointing him to his transition team. In a recent tour with former Fox News broadcaster Tucker Carlson, Kennedy said he was “going to be deeply involved in helping to choose the people who run FDA, NIH, and CDC.””
What has happened to America that a political grifter with zero public health experience can persuade tens of millions of people that facts and evidence don’t matter and they should rather suffer and die based on the ruminations of Dear Leader?
Feh.
Trump promotes anti-vaxxer fears