‘I don’t like mandates’: Trump won’t give a direct answer about vaccine and school policies
After confirming he’s considering ending childhood vaccination programs, Donald Trump had a vague response regarding whether he thinks schools should mandate vaccines.
Recently, Trump sparked concern when he revealed he and his Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., were considering ending childhood vaccine programs. He has increasingly shown interest in debunked claims that there’s a connection between vaccines and autism, as he suggested to Time vaccines could be causing “the autism rate” to rise to a level “that nobody ever believed possible.” He also stated the administration might ban certain vaccines if he thinks they’re “dangerous.” Adding to concerns is the fact that Kennedy’s lawyer and ally, Aaron Siri, who has been helping him review candidates to work in the Department of Health and Human Services, petitioned the FDA to revoke the polio vaccine.
Health professionals have warned about the devastating effects that banning vaccines or spreading misinformation about vaccines can have. Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb predicted vaccine rates will go down, even though just a 5% loss in vaccination will cost many lives. Now, Trump has expressed skepticism about vaccine mandates in schools.
Donald Trump won’t say he supports school vaccine mandates
During a recent press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump again broached the topic of vaccines. He first indirectly addressed the news that Siri once advocated to revoke the polio vaccine, assuring attendees that Kennedy was “much less radical” on the topic. He stated, “I found him [Kennedy] to be very rational …. you’re not going to lose the polio vaccine.” Even as he defended the polio vaccine, though, Trump refused to provide a straight answer when asked if schools should mandate vaccines. Instead, he vaguely responded, “I don’t like mandates. I’m not a big mandate person.”
The answer is hardly reassuring. It doesn’t matter if he personally likes or dislikes mandates. Vaccines and mandates have helped eliminate diseases like smallpox and poliovirus in the United States. Additionally, vaccine school mandates establish herd immunity, making it difficult for contagious diseases to spread throughout the population. Meanwhile, all states allow exemptions to mandates for medical reasons, while some also allow exemptions due to personal beliefs. Given that necessary exemptions are available and most people can acquire exemptions due to their beliefs, there’s no reason to suddenly eliminate school vaccine mandates entirely.
It’s also strange that Trump claims he and Kennedy are being “rational” on the subject of vaccines but then shows skepticism to school mandates. Their vague and conflicting statements aren’t adding up. If he’s not wholly opposed to vaccines and is keeping an open mind, why would he already be balking at school vaccine mandates and childhood vaccination programs? It almost seems like Trump is trying to avoid voicing any extremely radical proposals on vaccines for the sake of popularity. At the same time, he’s still laying the stage to potentially challenge vaccines with these subtle displays of skepticism and non-answers every time it comes to the topic.
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