CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2025 OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“IF MEASLES OUTBREAK WORSENS, LOOK TO VIEWS
SPREAD BY RFK JR.”
So far, the ongoing measles
outbreak across this country and this state has not reached epidemic status. If
it ever does, and if large numbers of unvaccinated children die, blame will be
easy to assess.
Some, of course, will accrue
to President Trump, who last year bought out the presidential campaign of
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with a promise to make the nation’s leading anti-vaccine
crusader his secretary of Health and Human Services.
It's too soon to attribute
the current spate of measles cases strictly to RFK Jr.’s position, although he
has used his new bully pulpit to make spurious claims about the measles, mumps
and rubella (MMR) vaccine that until recently had seemed to relegate those
diseases to what Ronald Reagan called the “dustbin of history.”
In one Fox News interview,
Kennedy, who because of his lineage has always carried a metaphorical
megaphone, made a show of encouraging MMR vaccinations, but simultaneously
suggested natural immunity acquired though infection could be more protective
than vaccine-produced immunity – and never mind risks from the diseases
themselves – including death. Kennedy’s stance contradicts long established
medical evidence, but that is nothing new for him.
RFK Jr. next threatened to
fire all the government's top experts on infectious diseases and their
spread.
Kennedy long claimed routine
childhood vaccinations are responsible for large increases in diagnoses of
autism, a claim refuted in numerous medical journals. Another reason for
questioning Kennedy’s autism claims: childhood vaccinations have been in mass
use since the 1950s, complete with state laws requiring vaccinations prior to
public school attendance. Increases in autism incidence are far more recent.
This year has seen measles
cases turn up in many states, Texas leading with 400 cases as of March 28.
Texas also saw one of the two measles deaths in America this year, those two
deaths marking the first in this nation since 2015. It’s valid to wonder how
the parents of those two children feel about Kennedy’s claims of natural
immunity being superior to vaccine effects, which offer individuals a 97
percent protection rate even where there is no “herd immunity.”
It's also valid to note Texas
has among the loosest state laws on childhood vaccinations, granting exemptions
to any child whose parent claims to have a personal or religious objection. No
proof of prior belief is required.
California’s rules have been
tighter since 2015, religious objections no longer accepted. But medical
exemptions can be granted here when a doctor certifies a child has medical
problems with vaccines.
This rule has been exploited
by a few doctors who oppose vaccination, some signing forms after only cursory
exams and often with little knowledge of a child’s background.
Now some counties no longer
boast what is termed “herd immunity,” a vaccination rate assuring virtually no
cases of a targeted disease will occur. This is usually achieved with
vaccination rates topping 95 percent for some diseases and needing to be even
higher with others. For the MMR vaccine, even though the statewide rate for
full vaccination among schoolchildren (two doses each) stood at 96.2 percent
last winter, 16 counties did not achieve herd immunity during the current
school year.
Subsequently, cases of
measles have been reported over the last year in large counties like Alameda,
Orange and Los Angeles, and in smaller ones like Tuolumne and Sutter.
Among the fully vaccinated,
97 percent will not experience the high fevers and rashes of measles. But where
levels fall below herd immunity, death rates can reach one to three persons for
every 1,000 infected, reports the University of Chicago. Measles also can cause
encephalitis, with associated pneumonia, long-term neurological problems,
hearing loss and even brain damage.
Local health officials say
much of the drop in vaccination rates in counties like Santa Cruz (down from
94.1 percent to 91.8 percent over the last two years) stems from
misinformation, much coming from the Children’s Health Defense group long
headed by Kennedy.
He left that group before
Trump named him America’s top health official, but there is no evidence his
beliefs have changed.
The bottom line: If the
measles outbreak worsens, much responsibility will accrue to Trump and Kennedy.
-30-
Email
Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough:
The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch
It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias
columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
Suggested pull-out quote:
“Local health officials say much of the drop in vaccination rates in (some)
counties can be ascribed to misinformation.”
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