Notes of a Bobby Watcher: Episode 2

A glimmer of hope but still an anti-vaxxer

Caveats for these pieces, please, if you wish to respond.

1. No name-calling

2. No dis or misinformation

3. Do not hesitate to challenge me. But if so

4. Back up your claims with scientific information and references

5. No politicizing

6. No threats

7. Keep all remarks related to The Secretary

If I see any responses that deviate from these simple suggestions, I will delete them.

Watch Birds will be watching The Secretary . . .

I am concerned about the outbreak of measles in Texas and have been carefully watching The Secretary’s response. He was off to a slow start and seemed reticent to push hard for vaccination.

For example: Kennedy said there had been two deaths, but only one child has died. He claimed that measles patients were being hospitalized "mainly for quarantine," which is false and a misuse of the word quarantine.

Quarantine refers to separating people who have been exposed to an illness to see if they become sick. For people known to be sick, the term is "isolation." He should know better.

Measles patients are usually hospitalized with severe symptoms like severe dehydration, low oxygen levels, and antibiotic use to ward off secondary bacterial infections.

So you can understand why I paused.

Three days ago, The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an outbreak of 146 cases since late January. Twenty of the patients have been hospitalized. There has been one fatality in a school-aged child who lived in the outbreak area and who was not vaccinated.

Secretary Kennedy, the antivax proposer, “may” have come around a tad, just a tad, and I will give him some credit for the tad.

Sorta . . .

On Sunday, in an opinion piece published by Fox News, he said he was "deeply concerned about the recent measles outbreak."

"Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons," he noted.

He could have been more aggressive in suggesting the vaccine like,

“GET THE VACCINE, FOLKS. IT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE.”

You are in charge of the health of 73,000,000 American children that you promised to make healthy.

He directed federal health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to provide support to Texas health authorities.

A little different tone.

I was encouraged for those at risk for measles. Then he set me back.

Notwithstanding his response regarding the measles epidemic, I’m afraid Secretary Kennedy is still an anti-vaxxer.

This week, the Food and Drug Administration, unexpectedly and without reason, canceled a March meeting of scientists who advise the FDA on vaccine policy. A similar meeting at the Centers for Disease Control was also postponed.

What?

What are the implications for influenza vaccinations this coming fall? You need to know that it takes about six months to develop and grow a vaccine to make them available in late summer or early fall, so time is tight. I’m sure The Secretary is aware. If not, he should be.

This year’s flu season is proving to be among the worst in decades. Next year’s may be worse. The timeline is already tight to make an educated estimation on what flu strains will be a problem next year. Also, the virus can change between now and then. Scientists make their best attempt to match vaccines with virus changes, so timing is of the essence.

The panels evaluate what’s been happening with the flu in the southern hemisphere. The strains circulating there typically predict what’s likely to happeon in the U.S. four to five months later.

Here is a statement from the Infectious Disease Society of America:

Reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been ordered to remove public information on vaccines, including information encouraging people to get vaccinated against flu, is a problem. Americans with fewer tools to make critical decisions in consultation with their doctors to protect themselves and their families.

Postponing a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices delays vital discussions and needed decisions on a variety of vaccines by trusted and well-vetted experts. ACIP relies on a well-established, transparent, and evidence-based process for evaluating the optimal use of vaccines that play a critical role in strengthening public health.

Taken together, these actions run completely counter to the spirit of the commitments Secretary Kennedy made to uphold ACIP and continue disseminating credible, scientifically-based vaccine information through federal government websites and communications. Congress must hold Secretary Kennedy accountable for these actions. Weakening our nation’s vaccine infrastructure will lead to significantly lower immunization rates and result in many more outbreaks of serious, preventable hospitalizations and deaths.

https://fortune.com/2025/02/19/rfk-jr-investigate-childhood-vaccine-schedule-promising-not-change/

Secretary Kennedy's cancellation is just not good. As the most prominent voice promoting a debunked link between childhood vaccinations and autism and other health issues, Kennedy has helped cultivate a culture of skepticism toward medical science.

He does not listen to the scientists. Why? I believe Secretary Kennedy is an anti-vaxxer at heart. He has shown it by canceling the meetings.

I hope I am wrong.

We’ll see.