Trump to public schools: drop your vaccine mandates or lose funding
Donald Trump believes that public schools should not require vaccinations. Vaccines have made measles — highly contagious and not benign — a thing of the past for most. As long as the community vaccination rate remains above 95 percent, that is.
“I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate…“
Richmond, VA. Mar. 2, 2024
In the U.S. one-in-five people who contract measles lands in the hospital.
As of Feb. 29, 2024, measles infections have been reported in 16 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. Remember: 9-in-10 people exposed to measles who have no immunity will get sick.
- In calendar 2023, 20 jurisdictions reported measles infections.
- In calendar 2022, it was six jurisdictions.
- In calendar 2021, it was five jurisdictions.
- In calendar 2020, it was eight.
“Measles is a huge concern and directly related to declining measles vaccination rates,” according to Priya Soni, MD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s. “There is no scenario where getting the actual measles infection is somehow better for your child then getting the vaccine.”
CBS News has “identified at least 8,500 schools where measles vaccination rates among kindergartners are below that 95% threshold that the CDC identifies as crucial for protecting a community from measles.”
Trump sandwiched his dunking on vaccines between “get[ing] rid of slums … and tent cities” and “fully upholding” the Second Amendment against “the cheaters” in November. Reading the transcript of that 91-minute rally ramble is a slog.
With every story that highlights the stakes at play in this election, voters should remind themselves: “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”
Our children deserve good health, don’t they?
Cartoon by Kathy E. Gill with Photoshop, MidJourney and DALL-E.
This is the first in a periodic series focused on the stakes facing voters in this presidential election. Story and credits for Oprah Winfrey quote.
