Thursday, 7 September 2023

Americans can no longer ignore anti-vaxxers

Plus more health news |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
  
The anti-vax movement isn't going away and we need to adapt to it
By Rachel Sonis
Editor, Ideas

Immunization policy in the U.S. has reached a grim tipping point. While resistance to vaccination is not necessarily a new problem, the COVID-19 pandemic and the political polarization of vaccine mandates that followed have made it much harder to contain infectious disease and boost immunization rates.

Given this new world order, researchers Mark Navin and Katie Attwell—authors of America's New Vaccine Wars: California and the Politics of Mandates—urge Americans to rethink their immunization strategy. In their new piece for TIME, the authors argue that if we cannot prevent outbreaks, we must refocus our efforts to managing them.

Among their most salient points:

  • Abolishing non-medical vaccine exemptions, such as for religious objectors, will not prevent outbreaks. In this current political climate, it will make vaccine policy even more entrenched in America’s culture wars.
  • Community-level planning is essential, including ensuring workplaces and schools can quickly switch between in-person and virtual work and learning.
  • Families will have to increasingly make daily decisions about how to shield their kids from exposure to unvaccinated family and friends.

READ MORE

Share This Story
What Else to Read
Why You Should Think Before Telling Mothers ‘They’re Only Little Once’
By Amanda Montei
"When my first child was a toddler and I could not afford daycare, I tried embracing the phrase."
Read More »
Why Extreme Heat Is So Bad for the Human Body
By Tara Law
Here's what you need to know about the health risks of extreme heat and how to understand your own risk.
Read More »
Do Gummy Vitamins Work? Here's What Experts Say
By Markham Heid
They have far more sugar than traditional vitamins. (Originally published in 2019.)
Read More »
What to Know About Severe Asthma in Kids
By Markham Heid
In children, severe asthma can be an unruly medical condition.
Read More »
Type 2 Diabetes Remission Is Possible. Here's How to Do It
By Michael O. Schroeder
Patients with Type 2 diabetes can achieve remission, usually via weight loss.
Read More »
ONE LAST READ
Hospitals are considering bringing back masks

To mask or not to mask? While many of us were thrilled when mandatory masking was phased out, U.S. hospitals are now considering instituting requirements again. But as Katherine Wu reports in the Atlantic, this time hospitals have little guidance from policy makers, and have to make the decisions on their own

Read More »

If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here.

Today's newsletter was written by Rachel Sonis and Oliver Staley, and edited by Oliver.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment