HEALTHBEAT

OCTOBER 16, 2024

Importantly, 97% is above the threshold needed to reach herd immunity for measles (95% must be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks). Recent data on kindergartners during the 2023-24 school year show that New York’s MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccine coverage is 97.7%, making it the third-highest state in vaccine coverage.

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Your Local Epidemiologist

OCTOBER 11, 2024

38 states are below the herd immunity threshold (95%) for measles. Data from last school year shows more than 280,000 kindergartners are unvaccinated against MMR (measles/mumps/rubella; up from 250,000 the year before). Idaho has the worst coverage at 79%.

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Herd Immunity 68

Your Local Epidemiologist

OCTOBER 16, 2024

So, everyone else gets MMR to protect high-risk people through herd immunity (and everyone else.). Children <1 year are the most vulnerable to measles, and pregnant women are the most vulnerable to rubella but are not eligible for vaccinations. Note: RFK, Jr.

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Mental Health and Public Health Nutrition and Public Health Public Health Agencies Herd Immunity 63

Your Local Epidemiologist

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Vaccines, like MMR, work well because they are safe and effective and because herd immunity means there isn’t a lot of disease circulating, preventing breakthrough cases. Even if that neighboring state has a high vaccination rate, vaccines aren’t perfect.

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Public Health Law and Regulation Herd Immunity 94

Your Local Epidemiologist

DECEMBER 4, 2024

A position co-authored by Bhattacharya, the GBD claimed this approach would ultimately achieve herd immunity without the economic and social toll of restrictions. In October 2020, the GBD advocated for a distinct approach: isolate the vulnerable while allowing infections to spread among lower-risk members of the population.

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Herd Immunity Media and Health Communication Health Literacy Health Policy 103

The Hill

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

In op-eds , he has stressed the importance of herd immunity during the pandemic “But herd immunity is the inevitable result of viral spread and vaccination.

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Herd Immunity Environmental Health and Safety Food Security and Safety 95

The Hill

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

Makary has penned op-eds for the Wall Street Journal regarding vaccines for 5-year-olds and and herd immunity in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a 2021 opinion piece for The Hill, Makary slammed the FDA for pausing the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine during the pandemic due to concerns about blood clots.

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Herd Immunity 109

KFF Health News

DECEMBER 6, 2024

“It is a fantasy to think we can lower vaccination rates and herd immunity in the U.S. .” It’s unclear how far the administration would go to discourage vaccination, but if levels drop enough, vaccine-preventable illnesses and deaths might soar. “One in 3,000 kids who gets measles is going to die.

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Public Health Law and Policy Consulting Ageing and Health Herd Immunity Vaccination Programs 145

The Hill

MARCH 20, 2025

Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned that vaccine skepticism has eroded the importance of herd immunity in light of the measles outbreak in Texas, and put some of the blame on Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Former U.S. Kennedy Jr.

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Herd Immunity 96

NC Health News

DECEMBER 14, 2024

It is a fantasy to think we can lower vaccination rates and herd immunity in the U.S. Its unclear how far the administration would go to discourage vaccination, but if levels drop enough, vaccine-preventable illnesses and deaths might soar. One in 3,000 kids who gets measles is going to die.

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Public Health Law and Policy Consulting Ageing and Health Herd Immunity Vaccination Programs 98

Association of Health Care Journalists

DECEMBER 13, 2024

While considered a somewhat controversial pick Bhattacharya previously backed the herd immunity concept at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and argued against lockdowns, among other things he is considered more mainstream than some of the incoming administrations other nominees.

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Mental Health and Public Health Ageing and Health Climate Change and Health Emergency Preparedness and Response 97

The Health Care Blog

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

Dr. Marty Makary for FDA Commissioner : During the pandemic, he expressed a great deal of sympathy for letting herd immunity work, and opposed vaccine mandates/masking requirements. is in some sense frightening.” ” Dr.

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Healthcare Systems and Hospitals Herd Immunity Health Policy 62

The Hill

JANUARY 15, 2025

Bhattacharya was one of the authors of an open letter called "The Great Barrington Declaration," which criticized COVID mandates and called for herd immunity. Trumps health team also includes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the nominee to lead NIHs parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Herd Immunity 101

The Hill

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

and that the country could get to herd immunity even before the vaccine was developed. Bhattacharya was one of the three authors of the “Great Barrington Declaration,” an open letter that was co-signed by over 40 medical and public health practitioners that opposed lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

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Herd Immunity 88

The Hill

MARCH 25, 2025

Bhattacharya was one of the primary authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, a document signed by thousands of public health experts in late 2020 that pushed the argument of "herd immunity; allowing the virus to spread among lower-risk, younger people to build up immunity while having focused protection on older, high-risk people.

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Herd Immunity 114

KFF Health News

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

But remember, going back to what’s public health, the power of vaccines is in herd immunity effect. It’s important to keep in mind the majority of adults, around 70%, still say that childhood vaccines are really important.

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Mental Health and Public Health Public Health Law and Regulation Nutrition and Public Health Occupational Health and Safety 84

The Hill

DECEMBER 1, 2024

He wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal in February 2021 that the government was underestimating the rate of natural immunity from prior COVID-19 infections. He predicted that herd immunity would happen by April, which did not ultimately come to pass.

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KFF Health News

MARCH 7, 2025

In December 2020, Makary defied established scientific knowledge and said that vaccination of 20% of the population would be enough to create “herd immunity.” Some proved astute, while others look less prescient in hindsight.

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