Trump's vaccine stance could lead to health crisis among children: Experts warn
Pediatricians are stunned by the possibility that vaccines proven to save kids’ lives could be banned under a second Trump administration.
Some pediatricians are stunned by the possibility that vaccines proven to save kids’ lives could be banned in a second Trump administration.
On Sunday, former President Donald Trump told NBC News that if he wins Tuesday, he’ll “make a decision” about whether to outlaw some vaccines based on the recommendation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious vaccine critic without any medical training. Kennedy ran for president as an independent before he endorsed Trump. The president doesn’t have authority to ban vaccines but can influence public health with appointments to federal agencies that can change recommendations or potentially revoke approvals.
Despite decades of evidence proving the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines, anti-vaccine discourse picked up steam when Trump indicated that, if he’s elected to a second term as president, he’d tap Kennedy for a “big role” in his administration, most likely to “work on health.”
The potential for a vocal vaccine opponent to be placed in a position to make pivotal decisions about the shots gravely concerns many pediatricians, who predict it would lead to deadly outbreaks not seen in the U.S. in decades by accelerating the number of parents who reject vaccinations for their kids.
“I have watched a child die in the hospital of a vaccine-preventable illness because her parents refused to vaccinate her. Many parents today have not witnessed that — yet,” said Dr. Catherine Ohmstede, a pediatrician at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. “If this trend continues, that is the reality we are going to face.”
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