Global health experts are observing a notable shift in the United States’ role concerning international vaccination confidence. Heidi J. Larson of the Vaccine Confidence Project has characterized the U.S. as an “unexpected source of global instability” in this area. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), however, responded to critiques by stating that Mr. Kennedy was being “honest and straightforward” about medical products, including vaccines.
Scientists, including vaccine expert Peter J. Hotez, express concern that factual information is being overlooked. Hotez warns of the potential globalization of a “U.S. style anti-vax movement linked to MAHA wellness-influencer grifting and authoritarianism.” The article also contextualizes vaccine skepticism by noting its historical prevalence globally. Examples cited include the perception of medicines, including vaccines, as tools of colonization during French rule in Vietnam, which generated rumors of sterilizing women and girls, and similar fears in parts of Africa and among Indigenous groups in Canada. Additionally, the C.I.A.’s deployment of a fake hepatitis B vaccination program to locate Osama bin Laden in Pakistan is highlighted as an event that significantly damaged trust in medical interventions.
Source: www.nytimes.com