While many critics of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz are focused on their criticisms of vaccines, that focus is somewhat misplaced. The data supporting the safety and efficacy of recommended vaccines is far beyond dispute. But the reality is that the damage to getting Americans to vaccinate has already been done. The soon-to-be nominees for Health and Human Services secretary and leader of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will be focused on another battle: over wellness and prevention.
There isn’t a lot left for vaccine opponents to do. There are almost no serious state mandates for childhood vaccines. Parents who want to opt out are easily doing so, as can be seen by the resurgence in measles and whooping cough. Nearly 40% of teenagers are not up to date on the HPV vaccine even as Australia and Scotland are on the verge of eliminating cervical cancer thanks to serious immunization campaigns. And huge numbers of adults are not getting vaccinated for Covid, flu, RSV, or shingles. The Biden administration totally confused the public about why in particular they needed “boosters” for Covid. Democrats avoided vaccination as an issue this election year because they knew that, post Covid, vaccination has become something of a political third rail. Could Kennedy and Oz make things worse — absolutely. But are matters already bad — sadly, yes.
Where both Kennedy and Oz have traction is in their focus on wellness and prevention. The emphasis on expensive cure and treatment in American health care is problematic, and the American people know it. That is why they disdain pharmaceutical companies for perpetuating treatments for enormous profits.
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