Trump leads, and his party follows, on vaccine skepticism

Former President Donald Trump pushed for the development and distribution of covid-19 vaccines four years ago. Operation Warp Speed ​​undoubtedly saved millions of lives. But many Republican supporters are vaccine skeptics, and Trump rarely talks about one of his biggest public health improvements.

“The Republicans don’t want to claim it,” Trump told a late September interviewer.

At least 17 times this year, Trump has threatened to withdraw money to vaccine-mandated schools. Campaign spokespersons stated the vow only applied to covid-mandated schools. KFF Health News found no differentiation in Trump’s comments, suggesting he would similarly tackle vaccination rules for deadly pediatric diseases like polio and measles.

The Trump campaign declined to comment on this piece.

Trump has led a landslide shift in his party’s vaccine views, as shown by Republican primaries’ misleading claims and conservative speakers’ baffling conspiracies. Republicans increasingly concerned about vaccine hazards. Politico and Morning Consult found that a thin majority of voters valued inoculation risks over benefits in September 2023.

Following the rhetoric, statehouses have adopted anti-vaccine policies. Boston University political scientist Matt Motta, who studies public health policy, said preliminary data reveals that 42 anti-vaccine measures were passed in 2023, roughly a ninefold increase from 2019.

It seems like a crusade in some states: The 2024 Texas GOP platform bans mRNA technology, which scientists believe could improve cancer treatment.

Last month, vaccine skeptic Robert F. McCarthy wrote: Kennedy said during a recent visit with Tucker Carlson that he would “intervene great in helping make choices for the people who run the FDA, NIH and CDC.”

Trump may come out of the blue: He met with representatives of vaccine campaigners, including an organization that opposes mandates and specific vaccines, at his New Jersey golf club in 1999, according to the correct website “Gateway Pundit”.

Trump can promote anti-vaccination views by spreading doubt and undercutting the federal government’s vaccine recommendations. He plans to name Kennedy and “top experts” to a group on chronic diseases, some of which Kennedy’s nonprofit has connected to inoculations. At a rally accepting Kennedy’s endorsement, Trump said, “Nobody’s done more” for “the health of our families and our children”.

Judith Winston, former general counsel of the Department of Education under Obama, said it’s hard to predict how Trump’s most frequent proposal—defunding schools that require vaccinations—would be implemented.

She claimed the Department of Education cannot cut public school financing all at once, so a second Trump administration would have to cut funding program by program.

A legal justification for this move is unclear. Winston added, “I am unaware of any federal law that mandates school districts either provide or not provide a vaccine,” adding congressional action is likely. All 50 states need school-based vaccines.

Trump’s approach to anti-vaccine groups comes as vaccination hesitancy and preventable disease rise. This summer, Oregon saw its largest measles outbreak since 1991.

Former CDC director Tom Frieden warned that the situation could worsen: In the 1990s, vaccine skepticism and thousands of measles cases increased in the U.S. CDC: We haven’t returned to the awful old days, but measles cases have quadrupled this year.

He stated, “It was highly disruptive.” “Measles caused lifelong hearing and cognitive problems in many children. Few died in this country.” The World Health Organization reported approximately 100,000 deaths from the disease in 2022, largely among children under 5.

Harvard professor and health politics expert Robert Blendon said polling reveals a large Republican subset of Americans are vaccine-skeptical. He claimed the group’s mistrust regarding covid vaccinations is growing into criticism of vaccines in general. “This is the result of the rebellion against these COVID-19 vaccine orders.”

Vaccine opposition splits GOP. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed GOP presidential campaign focused on vaccination rejection. This year, there have been special anti-vaccination campaigns in Wyoming and Missouri.

Doctor and primary opponent of Missouri Republican congressman Bob Onder accused a Facebook ad of taking millions of dollars from pharmaceutical companies for vaccine testing of “He took advantage of our pain,” ad some said. The suffering was yours.

His campaign manager, Charley Lovett, told KFF Health News that Onder “has never done covid vaccine research” and opposes mandates. Lovett stated Onder “conducted” an AstraZeneca-sponsored monoclonal antibody research to prevent covid in high-risk patients — not vaccines.

Even though Onder won the Republican primary, his vaccine-disparaging opponent received just over 37% of the vote. Anti-vaccine candidates usually become policymakers. Texas, where vaccination politics were nonpartisan, is affected. Researchers found that from 2009 to 2019, lawmakers enacted 19 pro-vaccine bills, including one permitting pharmacists to immunize.

By the end of the decade, the consensus had passed. Small groups led by Facebook had an impact. State legislative testimony on Texas’ vaccine choice in 2021 targeted pro-vaccination lawmakers, some of whom lost in GOP races.

Summer Wise, a former Republican executive committee member in Texas, created misinformation about the use of stem cells in vaccines, bogus research on the vaccine link about the intersection of fencing and autism, and reported conspiracy theories about Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist who promoted vaccines.

“Vaccines are an easy way for politicians to instill fear in voters, which they can then use to control a bloc,” Wise added.

The Texas GOP’s 2024 platform includes a ban on mRNA technology and a litany of proposals that might undermine immunization, such as enabling medical residents and professionals to skip vaccines for religious reasons. The state Bill of Rights should also allow patients to opt out of vaccine-related obligations.

America’s anti-vaccination tactics could escalate under a second Trump administration. Roger Severino, who leads the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, authored the health facilities component of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s Republican administration planning program.

The memo suggests restricting CDC ability to give “prescriptive” vaccine or quarantine guidelines to schools and other locations. The Heritage Foundation spokesman stated that Severino has claimed the agency’s credibility has been damaged and it must explain “all the vaccines on the schedule being taken in combination.”

Lawrence Gostin, Georgetown University public health law professor, said the idea misunderstands CDC history and authorities. He said the agency “rarely if ever” makes binding recommendations.

“When the next outbreak occurs, we will look to the CDC to provide guidelines based on reputable evidence,” he said. “We don’t want an agency that is powerless in a public health emergency.”

Republican intellectuals imagined a vaccination dystopia. Heritage president Kevin Roberts’ unpublished book titled “Dawn’s Early Light.” The book, foreworded by Republican vice presidential contender JD Vance, is harsh on immunizations.

In one portion of the book, Roberts imagines the federal government using new powers to “deplatform drivers” for “failing to follow the latest vaccine mandate.” “Yet another powerful tool of social control falls into place,” he added.