Concerns Growing Over Incoming HHS Chief, in Light of Previous Behavior

In order to quell my anxiety over the results of the election, I no longer read the newspaper, watch the news, or look at social media. These actions have surprisingly alleviated a lot of my stress. I am aware, however, that the incoming president has selected a vaccine-denier to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Here are just some of the agencies under the HHS umbrella, in addition to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the mission of which is to protect public health, informing the public about diseases and working to prevent them. Its recommendations are guidelines, but it does have the authority to set rules regarding migration into the United States, as it pertains to communicable diseases (remember COVID-19?) There are multiple centers under the CDC, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which administers ICD-10-CM, to name a few. As an aside, the incoming president appointed the doctor-turned-TV celebrity Mehmet Oz as the director of the CDC, to run this $1.1 trillion enterprise.
• HHS also includes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the safety of medical devices, medicines, and biologics, as well as food, cosmetics, and tobacco products.
• The National Institutes of Health, which manages research, and
• The Office of the Surgeon General, Heath Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

What elicited this? I recently read that measles cases rose 20 percent worldwide last year due to a lack of vaccine coverage in the world’s poorest countries and global conflict. I was shocked to learn that one hundred thousand people died from measles worldwide in 2023.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to man. A person with measles, on average, infects 12-18 other people if they are unvaccinated and vulnerable to the virus. In 2024, in the United States, as of early November, there were 277 measles cases, 71 percent of which were outbreak-associated. For comparison, there were 59 cases in 2023, and half of them were related to four distinct outbreaks. Before the measles vaccine was introduced, approximately 50,000 people were hospitalized from the disease and around 500 people died in the U.S. per year. There are also potential complications of seizure disorders, deafness, or intellectual disability.

Other diseases that have been reemerging include pertussis, influenza, and pneumococcal disease. Bordetella pertussis causes whooping cough, which led to approximately 9,000 childhood deaths per year prior to the availability of the vaccine developed in the 1940s. Around 35,000 people still die of the flu annually in the U.S. Many of these illnesses are recrudescent globally, and vaccine hesitancy in the wake of COVID-19 is contributing to the rise in cases here in the U.S.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is currently listed online as the on-leave “founder, chairman, and chief litigation counsel” of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense. He has repeatedly questioned the safety and effectiveness of routine vaccination and falsely referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” despite data showing it is overwhelmingly safe and effective.

RFK also espouses removal of fluoride from water. Fluoridated water reduces cavities in adults by 20-40 percent. It reaches all residents of a community and is not dependent on individual behavior to brush one’s teeth with fluoride toothpaste. Fluoridation is considered “the most equitable and cost-effective method of delivering fluoride to all members of most communities, regardless of age, educational attainment, or income level (MMWR, 10/22/99).”

I suspect there will be many changes in the coming months and years, which will affect us all personally and professionally. If you found this offensive, I am sorry.

The facts are the facts, and the opinions expressed are mine and not MedLearn Media’s. I will be hanging up my editorial hat at the end of next month, so if my “political bias” disturbs you, tune back in in 2025.

Programming note:

Listen to Dr. Erica Remer Tuesday mornings when she cohosts Talk Ten Tuesday with Chuck Buck at 10 Eastern.