Dear CHIFA colleagues,
From the BBC article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mzk2y41zvo
'Dr David Elliman, a consultant in community child health at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, said RFK Jr has perpetuated myths around vaccination with “an utter disregard for the evidence”.
“If he is appointed and continues in the same mode, I fear not just for the vaccination programme in the US, but similar programmes around the world, and for healthcare in general," says Dr Elliman.
"Vaccination has probably saved more lives and is better researched than most, if not all, aspects of healthcare. RFK Jr could set this back and be responsible for the death and disability of myriads of people, particularly children.”'
What can child health professionals (and others) do to reduce the risk of 'death and disability of myriads of children'? Perhaps a first step would be to consider Dr Elliman's words and build an evidence-informed case to predict the impact of RFK Junior's appointment. His nomination has been greeted with dismay in US political and public health circles. This might (or might not) prevent his confirmation as head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The next few weeks will be critical.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org