The medical establishment’s condemnation of the childhood vaccine executive order conflates two issues and, in doing so, obscures a more important truth.
The vaccines essential for community protection — including measles, pertussis and polio — remain on the universal schedule.
The current measles outbreaks are a predictable consequence of coercive pandemic-era policies. Kindergarten vaccination rates were 95 percent during the 2019-20 school year and declined steadily throughout the Biden years. That is the origin story of the measles outbreak.
The executive order distinguishes between community and individual protective vaccines, applying shared decision-making to the latter. It is a move toward technology-enhanced, precision medicine. Parents can make decisions for their children based on that child’s health and have control over timing while still protecting their community. Offering alternatives brings people in. Mandating compliance pushes them out. Haven’t we already learned our lesson on this?
Americans will never get an apology from those who hid evidence and made the draconian decisions that shattered trust in public health. Rebuilding that trust requires meeting people where they are. The new childhood vaccination schedule is an important step in that direction.