Jerome Walker

My father’s life expectancy when he was born in 1901 was almost 50 years. My grandson’s life expectancy when he was born in 1999 was almost 80 years.

Much of this 30-year gain over a century is due to vaccines, which multiplied in the 1960’s while I was in medical training. Serious infections like polio, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, and mumps became much less frequent. The danger now is that vaccines have been so successful that many deadly diseases aren’t on most people’s radar.

There are some signs of back-sliding. Measles is highly contagious and can be fatal for small children. Once thought to be eliminated, it’s now on the rise with sixteen worrisome U.S. outbreaks this past year alone. Mumps is also making a comeback with annual U.S. cases now sometimes as high as 6,000. The CDC reports whooping cough is up 5-fold, to over 30,000 cases/year.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a man with a famous family but sad personal history including heroin addiction, has been proposed as the new Secretary of Health. He has no administrative experience, let alone medical or public health training.

Despite recent back-pedaling, his long-standing misinformed prejudices against vaccines are matters of public record. His ideas are contrary to science, common sense, and public opinion, which all overwhelmingly favor continuing routine vaccinations.

Please contact your senators and urge them to reject his candidacy for someone more appropriate. Your and your family’s health and perhaps even lives are at stake.