Newsweek reports: By Lisa Blunt RochesterShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.Six years ago, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, marking the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Over 400,000 Americans died during the first year of the pandemic, all while Trump was in office—equal to the number of Americans killed in World War II. The death toll continued to rise and frankly could have been even higher if not for Operation Warp Speed—a Trump-era project that helped create the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.
This investment in innovative vaccine science would go on to save millions of lives.History shows us that the Trump administration once supported vaccinations. They put time and money behind the creation of scientific research into life-saving vaccines. Flu seasons were normal and vaccination rates remained high.
Background
Now, measles, a vaccine-preventable disease, is spreading across America at a rate we haven’t seen since 1991, and we have experienced one of the worst flu seasons in 15 years.What changed? An administration that once supported science-based vaccination has elevated an anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist to the highest public health office in the nation—Robert F. Kennedy Jr....As a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Senate, I had the opportunity to question Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy this week about his views on vaccines, his confidence in his agency's ability to combat the alarming rise in measles cases, and the president’s confidence in him to handle the job.
Key facts
- Over 400,000 Americans died during the first year of the pandemic, all while Trump was in office—equal to the number of Americans killed in World War II.
- The death toll continued to rise and frankly could have been even higher if not for Operation Warp Speed—a Trump-era project that helped create the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.
- This investment in innovative vaccine science would go on to save millions of lives.History shows us that the Trump administration once supported vaccinations.
- They put time and money behind the creation of scientific research into life-saving vaccines.
- Flu seasons were normal and vaccination rates remained high.
What this means
The answers I received were insufficient, to say the least.You don't need a medical degree to see that this is not a drill.For the first time in 26 years, the United States might lose our Measles Elimination Status—meaning measles has been spreading for more than 12 months within our borders.In my career, I’ve been fortunate to serve as an official in Delaware’s statewide health agency, but what I consider a more important qualification is my role as a mother and a grandmother. I share the concern of a growing number of mothers across the country whose children are being hospitalized from measles for the first time in decades—and it’s not a coincidence.
For over 1,000 years, humanity has been battling measles. This highly contagious disease has killed an unknowable number of people over centuries. Yet, everything changed in the 1960s when, through American ingenuity, Dr.
Originally reported by Newsweek. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
