Physician Slams ‘Phony-Baloney Health Freedom Propaganda’
US could see return of measles or even polio due to anti-vaccine rhetoric
A measles outbreak in Ohio among unvaccinated victims could signal an eventual wider return of such diseases as measles and polio in the United States, due to “phony-baloney” disinformation, according to a prominent health expert.
Central Ohio is experiencing a measles outbreak that has since October 22 left at least 82 children infected and 32 hospitalized, according to the City of Columbus Public Health department. Most of these kids, 74 of them, had never gotten the measles vaccine.
This comes after recent years when public health experts, the Biden administration and others have been battling vaccine disinformation and resistance concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think we're under-vaccinated as a population, certainly with respect to boosters. So if you look at those who are going into hospitals now, they're not only the unvaccinated, but those who have failed to get a recent booster,” Dr Peter Hotez, an American scientist, pediatrician, and advocate in the fields of global health, vaccinology, and neglected tropical disease control and a frequent commentator on public health matters. “So if you're more than four or five, six months out of your last booster, you have some vulnerability there. So that's the number one priority in terms of your COVID booster. Get your flu shot.”
Dr Hotez blames political rhetoric for recent poor vaccination.
“You're starting to hear the same kind of phony-baloney health freedom propaganda rhetoric now being used around childhood vaccinations,” referring to right-wing talk against COVID vaccination in the recent past. “So I am worried that we could see a return of measles, or whooping cough or even polio. And so this is going to be a big challenge, I think in 2023.”
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