R.F.K. Jr. Likely to Swap U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule for Denmark’s. The shift would mean fewer shots recommended for children. But a Danish health official found the idea baffling, saying the United States was getting “crazier and crazier in public health.”
Replacing the U.S. vaccine schedule with one like Denmark’s would be negligence.
Denmark is a nation of about 6 million people — smaller than the Atlanta metro area It has universal health care, national patient registries and a highly homogeneous population with low rates of vaccine-preventable diseases. Its immunization program is designed for a system where every child is tracked, every parent has access to care and every gap is quickly closed.
The United States is a nation of 340 million featuring enormous geographic, socioeconomic and demographic diversity. Millions are uninsured, with more probably coming soon. Many lack consistent prenatal care. Children enter daycare earlier because of restrictive parental leave policies. Disease burdens differ dramatically. Public health infrastructure is heterogeneous, sometimes varying county by county.
This is similar to the president looking into an Australian-style retirement program for America.
Australia, as is Denmark, is much more structured than the U.S. and offers more benefits. It doesn't always work to pick and choose parts of a program and expect the parts to succeed.
|
|
In 2025, the United States has recorded the most measles cases in more than 30 years, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.
...
The total number of cases nationwide has topped 1,900, with infections confirmed in at least 42 states.
Measles should not be taken lightly. There is a vaccine.
It could be worse. Is the CDC able to keep up and report up-to-date data? Are all states reporting valid and up-to-date data?
|
Topics:
|
|
States should use expert medical society recommendations to shape their own vaccine policies. They can direct public health departments and clinicians to follow the guidance. If medical societies fail to organize quickly, states could create their own independent vaccine advisory boards. That approach is far from ideal — 50 separate boards with varying recommendations would add confusion — but inaction is worse.
...
Relying on states will create a patchwork of protections. In states with weak public health leadership, children will be left behind. But this approach offers key benefits.
It protects residents in states committed to science-based policy.
Yeah, yeah, Tennesseans won't benefit from this policy, but some Tennesseans could travel to a sane state.
|
Topics:
|
|
A child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious — but preventable — respiratory disease since 2015.
As the measles outbreak in Texas keeps spreading, parents who previously chose not to vaccinate their children are now lining up to get their kids the shots needed to protect them from the serious illness.
...
124 cases of measles have been confirmed since late January, mostly in counties in West Texas, near the New Mexico border. So far, 18 patients have been hospitalized, often because they were having trouble breathing.
...
Nearly all were either unvaccinated or hadn’t received their second MMR shot, which is usually given around age 5. That dose, plus one given around a child’s first birthday, are 97% effective at preventing measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Oh, haven't they defunded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yet?
Measles is considered one of the most contagious viruses in the world. It’s spread through tiny respiratory particles that can live in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person was there.
That’s why a mobile health care unit offering measles testing and vaccines for people who are not sick enough to be hospitalized has set up shop in emergency department parking lots in Lubbock and surrounding areas.
Preventive healthcare and regulations are not bad. We were the leaders of the world in these areas. Why does this administration want to destroy our country?
|
Topics:
|
|
The lawyer, Aaron Siri, helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death.
Why CDC is working to end Polio globally,
In 1988, there were 350,000 cases of wild polio across 125 countries1 – with an estimated 1,000 children per day becoming paralyzed.
The world has come a long way in stopping polio since the launch of GPEI in 1988.
In 2023, there were a total of 12 confirmed cases2 of wild polio in two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Efforts to eradicate polio over the last few decades have prevented more than 20 million cases of paralysis.
Experts fear polio is spreading undetected in Gaza.
The World Health Organization warned there is a "high risk" that the virus will spread “within Gaza and internationally if this outbreak is not responded to promptly and optimally.”
We must continue to do the good work. We can only hope the new administration doesn't take us back to an age where healthcare is only for the few.
|
Topics:
|
|
Auburn University is giving away scholarships, unlimited meal plan upgrades, priority class registration and other perks to encourage students to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
One of the top prizes is an A-zone parking pass for the semester, which are usually for school employees. Students could also win $1,000 scholarships, VIP graduation parking passes and a chance to have lunch with Auburn President Jay Gogue.
|
Topics:
|
|
Discussing:
- Natural gas cost nearly double from a year ago (3 replies)
- Many in Nashville still without power (2 replies)
- Snow! Again. Maybe. (1 reply)
- President & Mrs. Obama: a wake-up call to every American (3 replies)
- Are you snow ready? (2 replies)
- Geographic Clarification (1 reply)
- Small dam in Walland to be removed (2 replies)
- Embarrassed? (1 reply)
- Feds looking for West Knox detention location? (6 replies)
- Search for Mike Johnson's Spine (2 replies)
- Trump says his 'own morality' is limit to his global power (3 replies)
- Pentagon seeks to reduce Sen. Mark Kelly's retirement rank over video urging troops to refuse illegal orders (2 replies)
TN Progressive
- Alcoa Safe Streets Plan Survey (BlountViews)
- WATCH THIS SPACE. (Left Wing Cracker)
- Report on Blount County, TN, No Kings event (BlountViews)
- America As It Is Right Now (RoaneViews)
- A friend sent this: From Captain McElwee's Tall Tales of Roane County (RoaneViews)
- The Meidas Touch (RoaneViews)
- Massive Security Breach Analysis (RoaneViews)
- (Whitescreek Journal)
- Lee's Fried Chicken in Alcoa closed (BlountViews)
- Alcoa, Hall Rd. Corridor Study meeting, July 30, 2024 (BlountViews)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
- July 4, 2024 - aka The Twilight Zone (Joe Powell)
TN Politics
- Jobs report shows a historic stall in hiring last year (TN Lookout)
- ICE to open second Tennessee immigrant detention center in Lebanon (TN Lookout)
- Department of Homeland Security enters shutdown, amid dispute over funding (TN Lookout)
- Trump administration completes rollback of Obama-era greenhouse gas regulations (TN Lookout)
- Department of Homeland Security shutdown nears, as US Senate remains stuck on funding (TN Lookout)
- Stockard on the Stump: Tennessee AG short on solutions for transfer portal (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- Lady Vols rebound with win over Tigers (Knox TN Today)
- Takeaways from Powell Elementary School meeting (Knox TN Today)
- Dishing It Out: Ground Beef Orzo (Knox TN Today)
- HEADLINES: News and events from the World, the USA, Tennessee, Knox & Historic Notes (Knox TN Today)
- Hiss & Tell is back for Valentine’s Day at Zoo Knoxville (Knox TN Today)
- Regional Forensic Center: 19 deaths linked to new synthetic opioid in East Tennessee (Knox TN Today)
- Hiking with Harrington: Smoky Mountains in the snow (Knox TN Today)
- Einstein, Zoo Knoxville’s African grey parrot, passes away at 38 (Knox TN Today)
- Solar+Storage supports Episcopal Diocesan House on journey toward carbon neutrality (Knox TN Today)
- Cupid’s Sweet Treat! (Knox TN Today)
- Humane Society has unique Valentine’s celebration (Knox TN Today)
- Tale of Two Proposals (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- Knoxville Weather: Widespread rain Sunday ahead of a big warm-up (WATE)
- Man who claimed to be Abraham Lincoln convicted of 2021 manslaughter in Morgan County (WATE)
- Three injured in East Knoxville house fire (WATE)
- 13-year-old leukemia survivor enjoys special weekend on Rocky Top (WATE)
- DOJ opens civil rights investigation into Lincoln Memorial University (WATE)
- Watch WATE’s 2026 Honoring Black History special (WATE)
News Sentinel
State News
- UTC women fall to ETSU on late basket in overtime - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Personal Finance: The rise and risk of social media ‘finfluencers’ - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Turn signals, Chickamauga mayor’s removal, Signal Mtn. developer and more Rants - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Valentine's Day - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- Ring Ends Deal to Link Neighborhood Cameras After Super Bowl Ad Backlash - The New York Times (Business)
- Former President Barack Obama speaks out on ICE shootings in Minnesota: "This is not the America we believe in" - CBS News (US News)
- Police seal off road near Arizona home of Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother - The Guardian (US News)
- Heavy rain will soon hit parts of California and Oregon. Here’s when and where. - The Washington Post (US News)
- Trump Erased the Endangerment Finding. Here Come the Lawsuits. - The New York Times (US News)
- Newsom says Trump’s attacks are bringing Europe together - Politico (US News)
- Trump officials condemned Don Lemon. He’s bigger than ever after arrest. - The Washington Post (US News)
- US military reports a series of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria - NPR (US News)
- Meta Adding Facial Recognition to Its Smart Glasses That Identifies People in Real Time, Hoping the Public Is Too Distracted by Political Turmoil to Care - Futurism (Business)
- TSA agents are working without pay at U.S. airports due to another partial government shutdown - CNBC (US News)
- Amazon’s Massive Presidents Day Sale Has Travel Gear as Low as $3—Save Up to 83% on Samsonite, Apple, and More - Travel + Leisure (Business)
- OpenAI and Anthropic spark coding revolution as developers abandoned traditional programming - Fortune (Business)
- Stock Market News, Feb. 13, 2026: Indexes Close the Week With Losses; Inflation Slows - The Wall Street Journal (Business)
- FDA refuses to consider Moderna flu shot in move experts claim is part of ‘anti-vaccine agenda’ - The Guardian (Business)
- Anthropic's CEO says we're in the 'centaur phase' of software engineering - Business Insider (Business)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South
