“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. 

A helpful perspective from the Director of Arizona Families for Vaccines - "Kennedy’s messaging dangerously conflates good nutrition and physical fitness with immunity from disease, suggesting that vaccines and medicine are only necessary for those who aren’t “healthy.” While a balanced diet and regular exercise are vital to well-being, health also encompasses preventative medicine, including vaccinations. Vaccines are designed to prevent illness, keeping people healthy by shielding them from preventable diseases. By redefining “health” to exclude modern medicine, Kennedy misleads the public, starting with principles most people can agree on and ending in unscientific conclusions.

... It is essential that President Trump and MAHA advocates understand this balance and select leaders who recognize that a healthy America is one that embraces both diet and exercise as well as modern medicine."

“There’s a freedom piece on the other side of this argument,” said Caitlin Gilmet, communications director at the vaccine advocacy group SAFE Communities Coalition and Action Fund. “You should have the right to protect your family from preventable diseases.”

In January, Gilmet and other child health advocates offered free fried chicken biscuits at the Tennessee Statehouse, handing out flyers as legislators and aides drifted in to eat. One pamphlet enumerated the toll of a 2018-19 measles outbreak in Washington state that sickened 72 people, most of whom were unvaccinated: $76,000 in medical care, $2.3 million for the public health response and an estimated $1 million in economic losses due to illness, quarantine and caregiving.

Barb Dentz, an advocate with Tennessee Families for Vaccines, repeated that most of the state’s constituents support strong policies in favor of immunizations.

“Protecting kids should be such a no-brainer,” Dentz told Republican Rep. Sam Whitson later that morning in his office. Whitson agreed.

“Dr. Google and Facebook have been such a challenge,” he said. “Fighting ignorance has become a full-time job.”

Story by Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News