The toppling of health care in the US has begun, and I fear will reverberate for decades to come. It is beginning with vaccine refusal.
• "2 Kentucky Infants Die of Pertussis as Cases Rise" (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• "Two Infants Die of Whooping Cough in Louisiana as Cases Climb Nationally" (CNN)
• "Whooping Cough is Surging in the US – What You Need to Know" (New York Academy of Sciences )
Ahead of pertussis is the more-deadly measles. It's back, and mostly among the young and unvaxxed. Details are here, from what's left of the CDC.
While vaccine-preventable deaths get attention, a perhaps larger problem looms: the decimation of preclinical research. Like pulling out a critical block in a game of jenga, cutting funding for research using non-human animals will ultimately topple the foundations of clinical trials that test new treatments in people.
To continue reading, go to DNA Science, where this post first appeared.