It Takes A Certain Percentage To Get Protection.

It not a fixed percentage but you need certain amount of people to get vaccinated to stop the spread of a disease. Like measles which requires about 94-95% immunity in a population to achieve herd immunity, every disease is different. (This is from a digital edition of the article in the Hartford Courant. So I don't have a link to it.)

GOP’s new anti-vaccine laws will hurt kids while pleasing its base

By Lisa Jarvis Bloomberg Opinion

October 13, 2024

In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, U.S. politicians aren’t just bad- mouthing vaccines — they’re pushing through laws that undermine them.

If the trend continues, we risk losing the layer of protection we enjoy from preventable diseases like the measles. And we risk losing more lives to seasonal illnesses like the flu and COVID.

A new report by Boston University researchers documents the problem. The team, led by political scientist Matthew Motta, found 376 anti-vaccine bills introduced in states around the country in 2023. The vast majority, 84%, were introduced by Republicans; 42 have been signed into law. Although Motta’s research can only provide a snapshot of a single year, several vaccine experts I spoke with sense that such legislation is increasing.

The trend comes amid a groundswell of data suggesting weakening interest in vaccinations.

The latest evidence came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said that the number of kindergartners who are up to date on routine immunizations had yet again declined.

Lies kill!

There are many people who have autoimmune disease that could die is they get certain disease, the Republican party is the ME, ME, ME party! They don't care about others it is only about them.

Vaccine skepticism takes root in Republican Party led by Donald Trump

Conspiracy theories, false claims by candidates and a surge in state laws targeting vaccines highlight party’s anti-science tilt.

San Francisco Chronicle 

By Darius Tahir

Oct 7, 2024

More than four years ago, former President Donald Trump’s administration accelerated the development and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. The project, dubbed Operation Warp Speed, likely saved millions of lives. But a substantial number of Republican voters now identify as vaccine skeptics — and Trump rarely mentions what’s considered one of the great public health accomplishments in recent memory.

“The Republicans don’t want to claim it,” Trump told an interviewer in late September.

Instead, on at least 17 occasions this year, Trump has promised to cut funding to schools that mandate vaccines. Campaign spokespeople have previously said that pledge would apply only to schools with COVID mandates. But speeches reviewed by KFF Health News included no such distinction — raising the possibility Trump would also target vaccination rules for common, potentially lethal childhood diseases like polio and measles.

How many people have to die because of Trump? The Courant writes,

The latest evidence came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said that the number of kindergartners who are up to date on routine immunizations had yet again declined.

[...]

In 2023, 42% of Republicans said that parents should be able to decide whether their child receives the MMR shot — that’s twice the number as before the pandemic, and three times the number of Democrats who oppose public school vaccine requirements.

All of this can create what’s called a policy feedback effect, Motta says.

Policymakers amp up the anti-vaccine rhetoric, influencing public opinion about their safety and efficacy. That shift in opinion, in turn, creates an incentive for politicians to propose laws they think their constituents will support.

We’re seeing that vicious cycle in action with vaccines right now, Motta says. “Quite concerningly, this isn’t the end. This is the beginning of the anti-vaccine legislation.”

This is shear craziness!

Take Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has pushed through a number of laws and executive orders around COVID vaccines. Meanwhile, the state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has habitually undermined vaccination efforts, whether by spreading misinformation on the mRNA technology behind Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 shots or by his disturbingly blasé response to a recent measles outbreak in his state.

Floridians are taking note. Last year brought an alarming drop in MMR vaccination rates among kindergartners in the state. Around 94% kindergartners had been vaccinated pre-pandemic, but last year just 88% were up to date on the shot, according to the CDC. Meanwhile, the number of kindergartners with an exemption for one or more vaccine had risen to nearly 5% last year. (Vaccination rates below 95% are associated with a greater risk of outbreaks.)

What can get us out of this mess? Let’s start with the easiest and most immediate fix, which is improving access. The majority of people still want to get their children vaccinated, but some parents simply find it too difficult to obtain routine shots. Finding ways to ensure families can keep kids on track with their vaccines should be a priority.

This madness! This is the results of the lies that the Republicans are making!

The Chronicle goes on to say...

Polling shows a substantial minority of Americans, concentrated in the Republican Party, hold vaccine-skeptical positions, said Harvard professor and health politics expert Robert Blendon. And skepticism about COVID vaccines is blossoming into suspicion of vaccines generally among that group, he said: “It follows from this rebellion against the COVID vaccine mandates.”

Vote Harris/Walz and the Democratic line and vote "Yes" on the Connecticut ballot question to stop the lies!

 

And remember that there will probably be another Supreme Court justice seat opening up in the next four years! Do you want Trump or Vance appointing them?