Former President Donald Trump left the White House amid a public health emergency that helped amplify his own messages. Now, as he campaigns to regain the presidency, he’s once again politicizing long-held best practices for stopping infectious disease.
Again with covid-19 on upsizing and between An ongoing measles outbreakFormer president takes aim at school vaccine need from campaign stump, promising Defund districts that require students to receive certain vaccines.
The real danger in Trump’s words is not the actual loss of education funding — that threat is toothless, experts say — but the continued normalization of anti-vaccine attitudes.
People are already losing confidence in vaccines: Only 40 percent of Americans do faith Vaccinating their children is crucial for parents, which has dropped from 64 percent in 2001. This is perhaps the most alarming trend in public health right now.
We have tools to stop many infectious diseases – if we take advantage of them. Trump’s words make it less likely that people will do so.
Can Trump really defund schools for vaccines?
Trump had a famously complicated relationship with the Covid-19 vaccine during the pandemic. Although he officially supported them and his administration played an important role in their development, he simultaneously The induced vaccine dilemma On the right, where a tangle of conspiracy theories fire the shots as part of a sinister public health agenda. Before he was elected Dr entertainment Theories about a link between vaccines and autism (advanced by his frenemy in the 2024 presidential race, RFK Jr.). Footage leaked recently advises He still shares this opinion privately.
Now, Trump is promising to prioritize action against schools with vaccine or mask mandates and those that “teach” critical race theory.
“On day one, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school that pushes critical race theory, and I will not give a dime to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate,” he said. to say Christian Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative Christian group, in July.
When I heard Trump’s comments, I immediately thought: This can’t be right.
I’ve covered education policy for years, and I knew that the federal government pays relatively little for public education in this country — 10 percent or so. Much of this comes from state and local governments.
And Trump can’t do whatever he wants with federal education dollars.
Federal funds are approved in bulk Primary and Secondary Education ActFederal law that has set most federal education policy since the 1960s (with several updates over the decades). There are fairly certain strings attached to this spending, with the federal government very limited in how states and local jurisdictions spend much of their school funding.
That would limit Trump’s ability to build some justification for cutting funding from schools if he tries to follow through on his threat. Kevin Careywho leads education policy at the New America Foundation and is an occasional Vox contributor, told me. (Desegregation Washington, DC, is a rare example Withholding of funds.)
But Kerry worries that Trump could still influence local school decisions, especially if he’s elected, and even if he can’t actually block funding, because he could still use school administrators to create fear of lawsuits or more subtle retaliation if they tell the federal government. denied desire
Trump can shape vaccine attitudes positively and negatively
Soft effects like this are where the real risk lies. Trump’s words reach many. A small library of research on how Trump has affected the Covid-19 information ecosystem and public attitudes toward vaccines is worth so much.
A meta-review of 1 million news articles about the pandemic found that nearly 40 percent of them featured Trump and attributed false claims to him. Coverage of certain topics, such as miraculous cures or profound conditions, corresponded to Trump or the enemies he was fighting at a particular time.
quite a few Study connected Messages that feature Trump’s endorsement of the Covid-19 vaccine alongside actual vaccination increases are another measure of his influence. On the contrary, Being a Trump voter was associated with a lower likelihood of vaccination, reflecting the conspiracy theories and anti-public health sentiment rampant in Trump’s base.
One Pew survey found People who trusted Trump most for epidemiological information were least likely to vaccinate. This may help explain why Trump-voting segments of the U.S Population-adjusted more deaths were seen during the pandemic.
When Trump launches not only the Covid-19 vaccine, but routine childhood vaccinations that have been around for decades and have proven effective in preventing deadly diseases, he is adding fuel to a dangerous fire.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine – The common “MMR” shot which Required for almost every state — has been dip Starting in the 2019-2020 school year. They are now below the 95-percent coverage threshold that experts believe is necessary for herd immunity to stop widespread transmission of the virus. Families who do not want to vaccinate their children have a number of exemptions reached record levels. States, mostly with conservative politics, have been Offer more relaxation Currently available vaccine requirements.
Meanwhile, the incidence of measles in the United States Their total matched 2023 Within the first few months of 2024. A local outbreak has been observed in Oregon About two dozen cases From June; At least two people were hospitalized.
A disease that was once effectively eradicated in the United States — and which school mandates helped stamp out — is making a comeback.
Donald Trump may choose to maintain his extraordinary influence to try to restore public faith in vital public health systems. He did this half-heartedly during the pandemic and it had the desired effect. Instead, he casts doubt on the value of vaccines, and acknowledges the dangers that come with vaccine hesitancy.
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