I am encouraged that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has advocated for the importance of children getting vaccinated against measles. But this is not enough.
More action is needed by HHS, particularly in regard to the flu. Each year there are new strains of the flu, which can be deadly for those with compromised immune systems and older people. Disturbingly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) abruptly canceled an annual meeting to develop the flu vaccine for next year. The FDA usually works in tandem with the World Health Organization (WHO) in developing the annual vaccine, but the Trump administration has withdrawn from WHO.
Will we develop an updated flu vaccine? If so, will it be different from the rest of the world? Even worse, will we simply not make a flu vaccine, inevitably leading to tens of thousands of preventable deaths? Does “make America great again” mean reverting to the flu epidemic of 1918?
This is no time to play politics. The health of the public is at stake. The flu does not discriminate on the basis of a person’s politics, but it does discriminate on the basis of whether or not a person is vaccinated.
Ellen Olshansky
Squirrel Hill