While many Americans haven’t heard of Make America Healthy Again — a rallying cry for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Donald Trump’s pick as the next Director of Health and Human Services (HHS) — most do find common ground with Kennedy on at least one health or nutrition-related issue, a new survey finds. Public perceptions of Kennedy have become increasingly polarized by political party in the past year. While most Americans expect him to have influence in Trump’s administration, only about half say they want him to, including a large majority of Republicans.
Certain proposals by Kennedy — such as requiring nutrition education in federally-funded medical schools, banning certain food additives, and increasing restrictions on pesticides — are popular, receiving support from majorities of Democrats and Republicans. His plans to lift restrictions on raw milk and to remove fluoride from public drinking water are more divisive. And few Americans — but a sizable share of Republicans — agree with Kennedy’s assertions on the dangers of vaccines.
Then there’s this:
Michigan sees increase in whooping cough cases, vaccinations urged ahead of holidays
Health officials say Michigan is experiencing its highest number of pertussis, or whooping cough, cases in over a decade.
Pertussis, a highly contagious respiratory infection, poses a serious risk to vulnerable groups like infants and unvaccinated individuals. Ahead of holiday gatherings, Michigan public health officials are urging families to stay up to date on immunizations to prevent the spread of serious diseases such as pertussis, RSV, COVID-19 and the flu.
As of Sunday, 1,530 pertussis cases across the state have been reported to the Michigan Disease Surveillance System this year, more than 2.5 times the yearly average of 596 cases from 2017 to 2019, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. More than half of the cases were school-aged children between 5 and 17 years old. Additionally, 66% of pertussis cases involved people who were either unvaccinated or had not received a vaccine in more than five years.
