Summary

Donald Trump’s nomination of anti-vaccine advocate David Weldon to lead the CDC has sparked celebration among anti-vaccine groups.

Weldon, a former congressman and longtime critic of vaccine safety, has promoted debunked theories linking vaccines to autism and appeared in anti-vaccine films.

His nomination raises concerns about undermining vaccine recommendations, public health messaging, and legal protections for vaccine manufacturers, potentially jeopardizing access to childhood immunizations.

Critics warn this move signals the Trump administration’s alignment with anti-vaccine ideologies, prioritizing politics over science-based public health policies.

  • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    80
    ·
    3 days ago

    We’re entering a phase of unprecedented government distrust. Right now, we have barely a safety net but at least it sometimes worked.

    Now, we have politicians (not experts) deciding whether medicine is good or not. Each state, hell, each DOCTOR will need to decide if a treatment is good for you or not and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

    Imagine these politicians completely denying any vaccine approvals. Even if your doctor wants to vaccinate you, they literally can’t.

    So many MAGA hats have benefitted from the protection of their government and are now going to see the consequences of their actions and were all going to pay that price.

      • GBU_28@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        18
        ·
        3 days ago

        Unfortunately, this carnival show is coming to you, at a rapid pace.

    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      3 days ago

      Imagine these politicians completely denying any vaccine approvals. Even if your doctor wants to vaccinate you, they literally can’t.

      Under current law they can. It’s not illegal to prescribe unapproved medicine, it just risky because FDA approval is considered a reliable standard. If the FDA goes to shit, they can look to foreign countries for more reliable guidance. Organizations need to learn to put their professional obligations over just following what the government says.

  • teft@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    102
    ·
    4 days ago

    I wish antivax idiots would just go visit a third world country. I know it won’t matter to some of them but maybe some would change their views when they see kids dying of diseases that have been eradicated in the US.

  • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    52
    ·
    3 days ago

    He is one of us!!” the co-director of the anti-vax group Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights wrote on Facebook. “Since before our movement had momentum. Dream Come True.”

    “Every day more good news!” wrote another prominent anti-vaxxer in West Virginia.

    Definitely the first states I think of when discussing where to get the best medical care.

    • Tikiporch@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      3 days ago

      If it wasn’t for public universities propping up healthcare in those states, they would have a serious problem.

  • Fedizen@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    38
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    3 days ago

    God I hope china actually does create a super virus to wipe us out. The level of fucking hubris here unimaginable.

    • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      3 days ago

      Hat would be the stupidest idea ever.

      You cannot control viruses. They’ll mutate and cross borders whether you like it or not, it WILL come back to bit you in the balls

      • Strykker@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        3 days ago

        Yeah but if the rest of the world gets vaccines like intelligent people we only lose the US, which is only sorta bad.

      • Fedizen@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        3 days ago

        I mean smallpox and polio are both proof you can control viruses as long as the viruses themselves follow certain rules.

        • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          3 days ago

          No, you can’t.

          You dan bit by bit remove it from the worod while thousands or millions die, sure, but you can’t make ti only attack the US while leaving your country alone.

          • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            3 days ago

            It’s a terrible idea all around, but with something like polio could you not just roll out a vaccine to your population hidden within the other vaccines already required within China, then once your population has it, roll out the strain that the vaccine was made for originally? The rest of the world wouldnt have the anti viral, and MAGA would oppose getting them. Meaning it would slow protections around the world, and decimating populations while it wouldn’t spread in their own until it mutated, which they should have been able to study possible mutations and create remedies during their trials.

            It would kill the global economy and their own… So it’d be dumb, but if there were actually supervillains like people seem to believe, why wouldn’t it work?

    • GBU_28@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      3 days ago

      Seriously. Go somewhere where not everyone gets a polio vaccine. It’ll blow your mind the suffering these people deal with. Deformity, budget/homemade prosthetics, obvious suffering and constant pain.

      Even if you accept that vaccines COULD cause autism at even a higher rate, holy shit it’s better than the alternative.

    • Doomsider@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      3 days ago

      In an alternative time line scientist have already found the cure for the common cold. In ours we are fighting over whether or not catching measles helps build character.

    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      3 days ago

      9 out of 10 doctors may agree on things, but there’s always the 1 out of 10 who is happy to promote quackery to gain notoriety and political promotion.

  • yesman@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    34
    ·
    3 days ago

    His cabinet is already stocked with batman villains lead by Elon Musk as the newly created secretary of layoffs. You’re going to have to do better than a everyday crazy Republican to outrage me at this point.

  • mkhopper@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    22
    ·
    edit-2
    3 days ago

    I wish anti-vaxxers would think really hard and realize that 99% of them received the MMR (and others) vaccine as a child.
    Numb fucks don’t understand that it’s vaccines that let them live as healthy as they have.

    And how many still receive flu vaccine every year? I’ll bet that while many are spouting anti-vaxxer bullshit out of one side of their mouth, they’re quietly scheduling the yearly shots out of the other.
    Can’t throw around lies when sick in bed.

    • OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      20
      ·
      3 days ago

      The problem is that no one knows all the times they didn’t catch a horrible disease because of vaccines. It’s impossible to ever know. But every time they seen anyone with autism it reinforces their ridiculous belief that they’re related.

    • WarlordSdocy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      3 days ago

      I haven’t met any anti-vaxers who still get flu shots unless it’s the people who are specifically against the covid vaccines because of them being mandatory and “experimental”. But yeah they definitely benefitted from getting those shots as a kid and even if they didn’t they still benefitted from everyone else getting them due to herd immunity.

  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    27
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    4 days ago

    So basically the only things standing in the way of V for Vendetta (movie version) coming true is

    a) the fascists achieving the technology and competence to deliberately create a pandemic without anyone finding out and

    b) the fact that RL Britain would NOT survive via isolation.

    SUPER. 🤦

  • Wooki@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    edit-2
    3 days ago

    This should not be surprising to anyone. US had, what, over a million covid deaths? Guess the public and politicians need reminding of the very visual and dangerous viruses that caused insurmountable suffering to its victims and families (thinking of polio & others).

  • Empricorn@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    19
    ·
    3 days ago

    Absolutely disgusting. I hope we don’t have any pandemics in the next 4 years. The world will suffer needlessly…

    • Hylactor@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      3 days ago

      The world will guaranteed suffer. Not needlessly though, it is quite by design for the benefit of billionaires and their politician henchmen. While the rest of us grovel and die, and supplicate and debase ourselves for table scraps, they’ll be dynamiting the planet into their image.

    • andrewta@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      3 days ago

      Next pandemic : “hey bird flu grab a seat”

      Bird flu: “why, I have them perfectly setup?”

      Next pandemic: “really? Watch this.”

      Bird flu: “fucking hell!”