Alaska medical expert takes on 'false prophets' attacking the miracle of vaccinations

I recommend the new opinion column about the benefits of vaccinations, written by Dr. John Middaugh and posted on the website of the Anchorage Daily News. Here it is.

Middaugh, who served for decades as Alaska’s state epidemiologist, is someone whose guidance is invaluable.

I hope what he has written is the start of a discussion in Alaska about how we can begin to combat the viral disinformation that plagues our society in dealing with vaccines.

“Since the 1970s, Alaska has been one of the leading states in protecting its children and adults against vaccine-preventable diseases. Thousands of children and adults benefited from these programs, and the greater community of parents, teachers, health care providers and public health workers worked tirelessly to maintain vaccinations. Today a vocal minority of false prophets have attacked vaccinations with lies and misinformation. They reject science and dismiss the historical evidence of the miracle of protection against these horrible and life-taking diseases, in Alaska and around the world. Let Alaskans remember our history and continue to use our knowledge and resources to protect our children and loved ones,” Middaugh writes.

Those are words to read over and over again to absorb the lesson.

The leading false prophet at the moment is the crackpot RFK Jr., who is in office because of Donald Trump and the Republican Party on which Trump has an iron grip.

Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski helped RFK get where he is today by voting for him. They have yet to admit their grievous mistake in backing RFK or done much of anything to combat his attack on public health.

The Republican Party is not the only culprit in all this—as there are left-wing crackpots like RFK and ignorance is widespread—but the GOP has played a leading role in undermining trust in science and medicine for decades and we are now seeing the results.

There are immunization requirements in state law, which “have nearly eliminated vaccine-preventable childhood diseases,” according to the Alaska Department of Health.

Not enough attention is being paid to that record of success.

And when people assume there is no need for vaccinations or are conned by frauds in politics, diseases from diphtheria and polio to measles and mumps are given a chance to put lives at risk.

Here is a pamphlet on the state immunization requirements for child care and schools.

Florida, where the Republican anti-science cult is strong, is moving to do away with all the rules, which will allow sickness to spread.

In Alaska, far too many of our children are not getting vaccinated, a problem exacerbated by the provision in state law that allows anyone to opt out by claiming a religious exemption.

A medical exemption requires the signature of a medical professional. A religious exemption requires only a notarized signature of a parent or guardian claiming that immunization “conflicts with the tenets and practices of the church or religious denomination” the parent or guardian follows. There is no need to name the church or denomination, so anyone who is anti-vaccine can use this to evade the requirement in state law.

Here is the latest state report on vaccinations, which has some alarming findings.