THE VACCINE COMMUNICATIONS WAR — Four public health experts came to Capitol Hill this week to advocate for routine childhood vaccinations as Senate committees prepare to consider Kennedy’s nomination next week. During a roundtable Wednesday hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Democratic panel members heard from two pediatricians, a nurse and an epidemiologist who reflected on how diseases widely feared by their parents or themselves early in their careers have been largely eradicated by vaccines. Many doctors currently in training haven’t seen many of the formerly common childhood illnesses, they said. Now, “measles land is what I fear we’re about to see,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Democrats pressed the speakers about how best to communicate the benefits of vaccines while acknowledging the public’s fears about serious side effects. They reiterated that the FDA and the CDC track adverse events closely but admitted assuaging parents’ fears remains difficult. “How do you get that information out there? Because, frankly, once you scare people, it’s hard to unscare, it’s hard to unring the bell. And I think that’s been the challenge,” Offit said. “Part of the challenge is there’s not a clear cause or causes for autism.” Split screen: On Tuesday, one of Kennedy’s boosters appeared on a popular podcast to talk about the Make America Healthy Again movement’s rise — and her own skepticism around the childhood immunization schedule. Dr. Casey Means, a former surgeon who’s now a wellness influencer close to Kennedy, noted that vaccine science isn’t her area of expertise. But she questioned the practice of vaccinating infants against hepatitis B within their first 24 hours of life — as is recommended — when mothers can be tested for the virus. “To me, that’s just, like, dystopian,” Means told Kristin Cavallari, a reality TV star who has said she didn’t plan to vaccinate at least two of her children. Hepatitis B can be spread through sex and intravenous drug use, as well as from mother to baby. But it’s also easily transmitted through casual contact with infected blood or saliva, and young children who catch it are at greater risk of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer later.
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