Americans entered 2026 facing a terrifying reality: we are more at risk for illness today than we were a year ago. Why? Not because diseases have become more contagious or dangerous in one year. Rather, it's because President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., are systematically dismantling the public health infrastructure that helps keep Americans safe.
The evidence is stunning. In 2025, measles crossed 2,200 cases nationwide—the highest number in 34 years. Cases continue to rise, with over 1,280 cases so far in 2026. The United States is even at risk of losing the measles elimination status we earned in 2000. Seasonal flu also continues to rise across nearly half of our states, causing an estimated 340,000 hospitalizations and over 21,000 deaths so far this season as of the first week of March. In Massachusetts alone, flu has already killed over 300 people this season, including eight children.
Amid these dangerous outbreaks, President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are relentless in their anti-science crusade. Last September, we held a press conference the day after Secretary Kennedy promoted his anti-vaccine views, which reject decades of science supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccines, in front of the Senate Finance Committee. In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced sweeping, unvetted and unprecedented changes to children’s vaccine recommendations, eliminating six vaccines from the list routinely recommended for all children.
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