An uptick in mentions of measles in 2024 online discussions and forums shows many people are wondering whether vaccine hesitancy contributes to recent increases in the incidence of the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 284 cases of measles were reported in 32 states and the District of Columbia in 2024, with 16 defined as outbreaks involving three more people. There were four outbreaks in 2023.
Peter McCullough, M.D., a cardiologist who closely follows childhood vaccination recommendations and reports his findings on the Courageous Discourse Substack, says he doubts vaccine hesitancy is causing increases in childhood infectious diseases. Vast improvements in sanitation, diet, living conditions, and antibiotics have been much more important than vaccinations over the decades, says McCullough.
“[This] gives us great reassurance that if vaccination for the masses stopped [altogether], there would be no return of legacy diseases of human crowding and squalor,” McCullough told Health Care News.
Jane Orient, M.D., executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, agrees with McCullough.
“Deaths from childhood diseases had plummeted long before the vaccines were available,” said Orient. “Since the diseases never went away, they will come back to some extent [at times]. Parents may choose to get some vaccines if they do, but health outcomes may still be better [even] if most are unvaccinated. ‘Prevention is better than treatment’ is a sacred cow, which is not always true but creates lots of doctor visits and prescriptions.”
RFK Influence
Robert F. Kennedy, a vaccine critic and President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is expected to consider major changes in health care policy, including vaccine regulations and mandates. HHS oversees the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.
Kennedy has criticized the 1986 liability shield for vaccine companies, mandates for vaccinations, and supports a safety review of all inoculations and the combinations in which they are given to children. Kennedy has said there is a misunderstanding about his views on vaccines, and that testing should involve placebo-controlled trials, which currently are not required.
Chad Savage, M.D., an internist and founder of a direct primary care practice in Michigan, says he hopes Kennedy will halt ‘pay-for-performance’ programs (see article, opposite page) that incentivize doctors to push vaccines.
“The relationship needs to be between the doctor and the patient, not between the government or insurance company and the patient,” said Savage.
Orient says RFK would be an effective leader.
“I disagree strenuously with RFK on many things but agree with him on the need to investigate vaccine harms and to remove corruption in regulatory agencies, like revolving doors and royalties,” said Orient.
Ashley Bateman ([email protected]) writes from Virginia.
