Thanks to Barb W.
The arguments against routine vaccination are already escalating. Just last week, it was unearthed that a prominent lawyer on the RFK Jr. transition team questioned the safety of the polio vaccine, and the long-debunked measles-autism myth is finding new life online due to several high-profile interviews.
This is happening before the new HHS Secretary—a figure with a well-documented history of sowing doubt about vaccines—is confirmed. If confirmed, the noise will only intensify. In other words, this is just the beginning.
But as we navigate this storm by examining the data together, it’s equally important to come up for air and ground ourselves in perspective.
Recognize successes
The next four years are going to be a volume problem. Fake controversies and minor concerns will dominate the headlines, while the monumental successes of vaccination will remain largely invisible.
But make no mistake: Vaccines have saved more lives in the past century than any other medical intervention. The data is clear and compelling:
- Consider smallpox—once a global scourge, eradicated thanks to vaccination.
- Or polio, which paralyzed tens of thousands annually in the U.S. alone before vaccines turned the tide.
- Deaths from measles, diphtheria, and tetanus have plummeted to near-zero in most parts of the world with high vaccine uptake.
These successes are so profound that they’ve become invisible—people rarely see the diseases vaccines prevent and, as a result, sometimes fail to appreciate their value. This data visualization by Jia You at Science perfectly sums up vaccines’ dramatic positive impact. (continued)