S*M*A*S*H*
Americans love shows about emergency rooms. But turning the whole country into one is not what the doctor ordered. Here’s a scene you’re unlikely to see on ER or Grey’s Anatomy. A doctor advises patients to avoid the vaccines proven to save millions of lives. Then when the associated disease predictably strikes and spreads, the doctor explains that this trend is no big deal. Stupid show, right? But here’s the worst part about the prognosis: You can’t turn the channel. Zeynep Tufekci on RFK Jr and Measles in the NYT (Gift Article): The Texas Measles Outbreak Is Even Scarier Than It Looks. “During a deadly outbreak, we’d ordinarily hope for a clear, direct call for parents to vaccinate their children. But this is the man who, during a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people (79 of them children), actively worked to undermine public trust in the one thing that would have helped most. America, brace yourself.” (At least until they stop funding braces.)
+ “Kennedy’s ‘Make America healthy again’ (MAHA) movement is not content with simply ignoring the need for vaccination. It also has a habit of dismissing pediatric death and disability. Kennedy, in particular, has spent years downplaying the harms of vaccine-preventable illnesses. In a 2021 podcast appearance, he described the time when he contracted measles as a kid as ‘a great week.’ ‘The treatment for measles is chicken soup and vitamin A,’ he told the host.” (No one tell him the chicken soup has bird flu.) The Atlantic (Gift Article): RFK Jr., America’s Leading Advocate for Getting Measles. “Contrary to what the health secretary says, the outbreak of disease in Texas is, in fact, unusual.”
+ A Texas pediatrician pulls no punches with her doctor’s orders. “I’m a pediatrician in Texas. Things are dire and we need your support – not your condescension. “Instead of using family connections to get your children coveted internships or fund legacy nepo-education, take your Ivy League family money and funnel it to those of us propping up the scaffolding of a flailing republic on your behalf. Don’t just talk about immigration policy at your next art gallery opening, fund local clinics along border towns. Don’t just post abortion outrage; volunteer to drive teenagers 15 hours across state lines, and support the clandestine underground network of women who hold girls’ heads in their laps while they sob and sweat, blood dripping down their knees.”
+ Our health and government spending strategies aren’t just putting Americans at risk. Urgent care is filled with people around the world we suddenly decided to stop treating. NPR: On Thursday word came: No more USAID funds for a clinic that gets HIV meds to kids.
+ “Starting Wednesday afternoon, a wave of emails went out from the State Department in Washington around the world, landing in inboxes for refugee camps, tuberculosis clinics, polio vaccination projects and thousands of other organizations that received crucial funding from the United States for lifesaving work. ‘This award is being terminated for convenience and the interest of the U.S. government.'” NYT (Gift Article): U.S. Terminates Funding for Polio, H.I.V., Malaria and Nutrition Programs Around the World. Musk says DOGE ‘restored’ Ebola prevention effort. Officials say that’s not true.
