How safe Americans are from diseases will depend on how they vote

In the United States, your safety from diseases like polio, measles, hepatitis, and Covid-19 now depends on whether you live in a Democratic or a Republican state.

As Republicans continue to pursue anti-vaccine agenda, there is a clear division among party lines on life-saving vaccines. While Democrats have embraced vaccination, Republican leaders have shunned them over conspiracy theories, religious beliefs, and purported libertarian ideals.

The Republican-controlled Florida on Wednesday announced an end to all vaccine mandates — the first state to do so.

Joseph Ladapo, the Surgeon General of Florida, said that the state had no right to tell people what to put in their body as the body “is a gift from God”. He went on to say that “every last one of them [vaccines] is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery”.

Florida’s decision, which came in the midst of US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s continued disinformation campaign against vaccines and dismantling of vaccine-related policies, prompted the Democratic states of California, Washington, and Oregon to form the ‘West Coast Health Alliance’.

Under the initiative, these Democratic states will form their own vaccination guidelines as RFK Jr —as Kennedy Jr is called— has essentially killed all federal vaccination programmes and research and development.

From ‘Make America Health Again’ to ‘Make Diseases Great Again’

With the removal of all vaccine mandates, the Republicans in Florida —and any other states that follow suit— are at the risk of resurgence of diseases that have been nearly eradicated in the United States from vaccination but could resurface if vaccination rates fall, such as polio, measles, chickenpox, and rubella.

In fact, the beginning of the resurgence of such diseases has already begun with measles.

This year, the United States has reported around 1,400 cases of measles and at least three deaths. More than half of these cases were reported in the Republican Texas, and two of the three deaths were also reported in the state.

The epicentre of the outbreak was the Mennonite community in West Texas where the vaccination rate was 82 per cent — well below the 95 per cent required to maintain herd immunity to prevent disease outbreak. Overall, around 70 per cent of cases were reported in unvaccinated persons.

As a result of consistent anti-vaccine agenda of far-right figures, vaccination rates have fallen up to 70 per cent in some areas, according to reports.

Health Secretary leads charge against healthcare

Health Secretary RFK Jr has emerged as the biggest anti-vaccine activist in the United States.

Since assuming office, RFK Jr has fired all 17 experts on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory committee and replaced them with anti-vaccine persons.

RFK Jr has also falsely linked vaccines to autism, falsely called Covid-19 vaccines “the deadliest vaccine ever made”, falsely said that mRNA vaccines contributed to virus evolution and are ineffective against variants of coronavirus. He further falsely said that vaccines “do not effectively shield against upper respiratory infections like Covid and flu” despite evidence over the years clearly stating the effectiveness of vaccines.

The Trump administration has cancelled around $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development and cancelled a total of 22 separate research projects.