Since 1967, Tennessee has protected students, faculty, staff, and communities by requiring certain vaccinations for children to attend school. House Joint Resolution 28, by Rep. Gino Bulso, threatens to make these requirements unconstitutional. School vaccination requirements play a vital role in keeping diseases at bay. Measles eradication is a shining example of the success of such laws. The return of outbreaks is a chilling reminder of their importance…Tennessee once proudly led the rest of the country in preventing disease. HJR0028 threatens to make us a leader in increased illnesses, hospitalizations, long-lasting impairments, and even deaths. Our General Assembly has the opportunity to choose the kind of example we want to be to the rest of the country.

Advocates Jen Fisher and Dr. Daniel McGinley are featured in this NBC Nightly News piece about decreasing vaccination rates.

Caroline Kennedy was critical of her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s views on vaccinations on the eve of his confirmation hearings for Secretary of Health and Human Services. It comes as vaccination rates for some diseases have been decreasing. NBC News' Erin McLaughlin reports.

Jen Fisher can do only so much to keep her son safe from the types of infections that children can encounter at school. The rest, she said, is up to other students and parents in their hometown of Franklin, Tennessee.

Fisher’s son Raleigh, 12, lives with a congenital heart condition, which has left him with a weakened immune system. For his protection, Raleigh has received all the recommended vaccines for a child his age. But even with his vaccinations, a virus that might only sideline another child could sicken him and land him in the emergency room, Fisher said.

“We want everyone to be vaccinated so that illnesses like measles and things that have basically been eradicated don’t come back,” Fisher said. “Those can certainly have a very adverse effect on Raleigh.”

For much of Raleigh’s life, Fisher could take comfort in the high childhood vaccination rate in Tennessee — a public health bright spot in a conservative state with poor health outcomes and one of the shortest life expectancies in the nation.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” –  Philosopher and essayist George Santayana 

This could soon be our reality, as it seems we’ve forgotten how far we’ve come in preventing serious diseases and saving lives. 

Over 46% of children born in the 1800s did not make it to their fifth birthday.

Today, this number has dropped drastically, reaching its lowest point ever in 2020 where it is just seven deaths per thousand births.

Most of these deaths in the 1800s were from infectious diseases, which have also significantly declined over the last century. 

This is in large part thanks to vaccination and antibiotics created by medical science. In fact, vaccines have saved 154 million lives, including 146 million among children younger than 5 years old. Of those, 101 million were infants younger than 1 year old.

Dr. Leslie Treece is a practicing pediatrician in Cookeville, Tennessee with 25 years of experience in pediatric medicine. She also serves as the vice chair at Tennessee Medical Association Board of Trustees. 

Many years ago, in a small but lively Tennessee town, lived a man named Harold. Harold was deeply skeptical and had seen many things in his day. Whenever anyone wanted to talk about vaccines, he would wave them off, saying “Bah! Mumbo jumbo!” He did not trust vaccines at all. He would say, “All I need to keep me healthy is good food, enough sleep, and a strong immune system. There are too many vaccines these days. It’s all mumbo jumbo!”

Emily Delikat, MPH, CPH is the Director of Tennessee Families for Vaccines a statewide, grassroots, pro-vaccine advocacy organization.

“This level of engagement would have been unimaginable a decade ago. Today’s pro-vaccine advocates are not just reactive but proactive, building coalitions and mobilizing at a scale that we firmly believe will not just rival but overtake the anti-vaccine movement.

…

This preparation is critical as we anticipate new challenges at the federal and state levels. While RFK Jr.’s nomination is profoundly concerning, it has also galvanized the pro-vaccine community, creating a sense of urgency and unity that will be essential in the years ahead.

Yes, the challenges are real, and my heart breaks as we consider the real lives, careers, promising innovations, and economies that will be hurt by anticipated losses to our national infrastructure for health. But our story doesn’t end here. Pro-vaccine advocates are stronger, savvier, and more ready than ever before.

In the same way that high immunization rates shield our families and communities from the spread of disease, a united majority of pro-vaccine advocates will help protect us against the policies that threaten our collective health and well-being. “

Caitlin Gilmet is the communications director for SAFE Communities Coalition, the nation’s leading pro-vaccine advocacy organization.