Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“I suppose it is good news that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he supports polio vaccination. But only in comparison to the alternative, like finding out that your cancer is ‘only’ Stage 3. Sure, it’s nice for him to acknowledge that polio is worth preventing. But when it comes to the proposed head of the Department of Health and Human Services, you’d rather that went without saying. The reason it doesn’t is that Kennedy has spent much of his life casting doubt upon one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. We’ve eradicated smallpox, brought polio to near extinction, and made various other killing, blinding and crippling diseases into rare curiosities. Yet that victory remains fragile thanks to the efforts of people like Kennedy.” (12/19/24)