This post isn't about fluoride in the drinking water. I've covered that subject in posts before and if you read any of those (just enter fluoride in the search box at the top of this page) you know my stance on the subject.
Today I want to briefly discuss other things that are changing in US health policy. About six months ago the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy, Jr, fired all 17 members of the panel of vaccine advisers at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). The committee was then 'stacked' with his handpicked replacements.
Hepatitis B
Last week those new committee members voted to end the recommendation that all newborns be vaccinated against hepatitis B. That recommendation had existed for decades. As a healthcare professional, this worries me.
Hepatitis is an incredibly infectious virus. It is considered one of the most highly infectious blood-born diseases and is between 50-100 times more infectious than HIV. Basically it doesn't take much exposure to the virus in order to become infected. It is transmitted via blood or body fluids containing blood. It can survive for at least seven days on environmental surfaces outside the body, which contributes to its high transmission rate. The higher the viral load in an infected person, the greater the likelihood of transmission to others.
It is especially dangerous for babies. 95% of adults who become infected will stage a full recovery. However, with newborns who are infected by their mother only 5% infected at birth will clear the infection. Think about that for a moment, if a baby is infected by their mother there's a 95% chance they will suffer with hepatitis B for their entire life.
Infection with hepatitis B can result in liver cirrhosis and liver cancer in around 25% of those who have chronic hepatitis B infection. 90% of babies infected develop chronic hepatitis which is what causes those diseases.
Simply put, not vaccinating babies against the disease sentences some of them to potentially fatal diseases.
Measles
I won't go into depth on this one, but measles was practically eradicated in the US until there was a non-scientific push by some well known non-experts. The information that was spread was not validated by science. It created a massive wave of fear. Parents want what's best for their children and many parents elected not have their children vaccinated out of fear.
As of December 2, 2025, a total of 1,828 confirmed measles cases were report in the US. There have been 46 outbreaks reported in 2025 and 87% of reported cases are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024 with 69% of cases being outbreak-associated.
Wrapping Up
This change of US public health policy is endangering lives. Decisions regarding the health of children are being made by believing pseudoscience, rumors, innuendo and then publicizing it as the truth. This creates a population of misinformed and frightened parents that are being fed pseudoscience as fact and they are deciding that there are dangers from vaccines. The science that proves vaccines to be safe and effective is ignored. I don't know how this ends. I don't know how this gets better.
Unfortunately in a couple of decades innocent people will pay the price for this and it saddens me. As a healthcare provider I feel compelled to speak up. Often bad decisions happen when people that know better keep silent. This isn't a political subject. I don't like politics.
We've all seen situations where an individual takes a position and then 'cherry picks' some facts (often even taken out of context) to support their point of view. This is similar, but taking it to the extreme. Not only are the facts 'cherry picked', but the decision makers who opposed this line of thought were removed and replaced with 'cherry picked' individuals who are well known supporters of bad science. By doing this, it gives their decisions the appearance of objective and scientific based research. Unfortunately it's anything *but* science.
If I could see objective, well done science that would prove these changes are beneficial, I'd be happy to take a look at it. If my stand can be proven wrong, I'm willing to change my stance. However, until that happens my concerns are going to continue. I want what's best for the health of children and I don't think these changes will bring that about.
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