Opinion: Former surgeon general: Vaccine-preventable diseases are still a major threat

Over the past several years, we’ve witnessed an alarming rise in vaccine hesitancy across the United States. From the reluctant parent to the social media-driven influencer, more and more Americans are questioning the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccines. As we approach the transition to a new administration — one that has promised to let vaccine critics like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “go wild” — the situation is likely only to worsen.

While there’s much to celebrate about the current focus on improving overall health — particularly the incoming administration’s emphasis on the MAHA agenda, which promotes better food safety, nutrition, and physical activity — it’s crucial that we remember these must be priorities in addition to addressing vaccine-preventable diseases, not in place of them. As I’ve said before, you can’t die of early heart disease at 50 if you already died from polio at 5. The reality is that vaccine-preventable diseases are still a major threat, even in the 21st century, and we ignore that at our peril.

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