{"id":8334,"date":"2017-03-19T16:37:09","date_gmt":"2017-03-19T20:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/?p=8334"},"modified":"2017-03-21T12:56:14","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T16:56:14","slug":"what-hhs-secretary-tom-price-should-be-saying-about-required-immunizations8334","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/what-hhs-secretary-tom-price-should-be-saying-about-required-immunizations8334\/2017\/03\/19\/","title":{"rendered":"What Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price Should Be Saying About Required Immunizations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In case you missed it,\u00a0Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price said this past week that the states should make decisions about\u00a0mandatory vaccination policies.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the actual clip:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">HHS Secretary Tom Price says it should be up to states to regulate whether immunizations are required <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/soyH0YpO5E\">https:\/\/t.co\/soyH0YpO5E<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CNNPolitics\/status\/842192138997792768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 16, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s notable\u00a0here isn&#8217;t the <em>content<\/em> of what he says &#8212; the states already make immunization policies &#8212; but that he seems to be so carefully parsing his words.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, his reticence might be the result of his belonging to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a group with <a href=\"http:\/\/aapsonline.org\/category\/vaccines\/\" target=\"_blank\">strong opposition to mandatory immunizations<\/a>. Or perhaps it&#8217;s the well-known views of his boss, who has publicly expressed\u00a0he&#8217;s not so sure about vaccine safety, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/449525268529815552\" target=\"_blank\">especially regarding the link to autism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So in that spirit, if Price is\u00a0feeling hesitant about expressing his own views, I&#8217;m going to offer him some alternative responses to Wolf Blitzer&#8217;s queries (plus a few more questions I&#8217;ve made up).<\/p>\n<p>Price is, after all, an orthopedic surgeon. Some input from an ID doctor might be welcome, akin to how we assist them\u00a0in managing a\u00a0septic hip.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Blitzer:<\/strong> \u00a0So you believe in immunizations, you believe all children should get a shot for polio, and other diseases?<br \/>\n<strong>Neo-Price:<\/strong> \u00a0Absolutely. We in the Department of Health and Human Services strongly support the state policies that require childhood immunizations. These policies have had a miraculous effect in reducing illness and death, particularly in children, and greatly\u00a0improve public health for all. Some prevent cancer. They even save money! Talk about a win-win-win-win.<br \/>\n<strong>Blitzer:<\/strong> \u00a0There are some\u00a0people who argue that it\u00a0should be up to the parent or parents to decide what&#8217;s best for their\u00a0child. What do you say to them?<br \/>\n<strong>Neo-Price: \u00a0<\/strong>When a policy is good for both the individual child and for society, we have to be firm that it&#8217;s enforced. And a critical component of vaccine effectiveness is <em>herd immunity<\/em>, especially with the most contagious infections such as measles. If we let immunity decline too much in the community, these infections will come roaring back. Let me show you this extraordinary short video:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An excellent gif for visualising herd immunity<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OfTnj7HRcH\">https:\/\/t.co\/OfTnj7HRcH<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/esJN2MKr30\">pic.twitter.com\/esJN2MKr30<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Educake Science (@educakescience) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/educakescience\/status\/838824505577508865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 6, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<strong>Blitzer:<\/strong> \u00a0I hear there has been an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2017\/01\/20\/vaccine-exemptions-states\/?s_campaign=tw&amp;utm_content=buffer2e3ce&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer\" target=\"_blank\">increase in so called &#8220;nonmedical vaccine exemptions&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0in the United States. What are your thoughts on these?<br \/>\n<strong>Neo-Price:\u00a0<\/strong>Frankly, each\u00a0nonmedical vaccine exemption is essentially\u00a0a misguided, selfish decision made by a parent at the expense of both the\u00a0child&#8217;s health <em>and<\/em> public health. They should be more than strongly discouraged &#8212; they should be abolished.<br \/>\n<strong>Blitzer:<\/strong> \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PaulSaxMD\/status\/822466942179086336\" target=\"_blank\">Well said<\/a>, Secretary! I assume, then, that you do not believe in the link between vaccines and childhood autism.<br \/>\n<strong>Neo-Price:<\/strong>\u00a0 Emphatically not. Vaccines are remarkably safe. After the fraudulent paper linking vaccines to autism was published, a torrent of scientific data subsequently found\u00a0no such link. And the paper, as you know, was subsequently <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(97)11096-0\/abstract\" target=\"_blank\">retracted<\/a> by <em>The Lancet. <\/em>It&#8217;s garbage science.<em><br \/>\n<\/em><strong>Blitzer: \u00a0<\/strong>One last thing before you go &#8212; there are some\u00a0who say the vaccine policies are being set by individuals who have hidden agendas\u00a0&#8212; conflicts of interest with the pharmaceutical industry, or with insurance companies, or are just ivory tower academics who don&#8217;t understand &#8220;real&#8221; people.<br \/>\n<strong>Neo-Price:<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) &#8212; which is organized by the Centers for Disease Control, a wonderful government institution &#8212; is a prime example of how doctors, scientists, and public health officials can come together for the public good. They carefully review the vaccine safety and efficacy data, and then issue policies that are broadly endorsed. It&#8217;s about as good an example as you can find for your tax dollars well spent. Makes me tear up a bit with patriotism just thinking about it.<br \/>\n<strong>Blitzer<\/strong>: \u00a0Thanks very much, Secretary. This has been most educational.<br \/>\n<strong>Neo-Price:<\/strong> Thank you for having me on. And let me know if you have any questions about your ACL repair. I am an orthopedic surgeon, after all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>My hunch is that Price will appreciate my articulating his position on vaccines more clearly. You&#8217;re welcome.<\/p>\n<p>If not, I&#8217;d better watch out &#8212; orthopedists are <em>much<\/em> bigger than ID doctors.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/secure.jwatch.org\/registerm?cpc=JWATCH&amp;promo=OJFOBLOG&amp;step=1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-925\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/03\/hivJWAd540x250.jpg\" alt=\"Register Now for more NEJM Journal Watch Content\" width=\"540\" height=\"250\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-indent: 20px;width: auto;padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px;text-align: center;font: bold 11px\/20px 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,sans-serif;color: #ffffff;background: #bd081c  no-repeat scroll 3px 50% \/ 14px 14px;cursor: pointer\">Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In case you missed it,\u00a0Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price said this past week that the states should make decisions about\u00a0mandatory vaccination policies. Here&#8217;s the actual clip: HHS Secretary Tom Price says it should be up to states to regulate whether immunizations are required https:\/\/t.co\/soyH0YpO5E &mdash; CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 16, 2017 What&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,9],"tags":[489,967],"class_list":["post-8334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-care","category-infectious-diseases","category-policy","tag-immunizations","tag-vaccines"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}