Summary

Donald Trump plans to discuss potentially ending childhood vaccination programs with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his nominee for Health and Human Services.

Trump expressed openness to revisiting vaccine policies, citing concerns about autism rates, despite scientific consensus debunking links between vaccines and autism.

Critics warn reducing vaccinations could lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles.

Kennedy, known for questioning vaccine safety, would oversee the CDC if confirmed.

Public health experts remain concerned about the implications.

  • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Anybody with half a brain can see the collapse of the U.S. coming from a mile away based on what’s happening right now. Our institutions are at an all-time low in trust, all bcz of this orange dickhead, and Russian/Chinese disinformation campaigns.

    • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      all bcz of this orange dickhead, and Russian/Chinese disinformation campaigns.

      I mean yeah. But also because Americans are profoundly stupid. No excuses. As a whole, we’re stupid as fuck.

      • Hylactor@sopuli.xyz
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        14 days ago

        Our schools have been under attack by the usual shitheads ever since we won to get them integrated.

        Smart comfortable people don’t obey. Uneducated, poor people with two jobs and three kids don’t have any energy left over to crack a book and be disruptive.

      • OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        What’s this “we?” I take zero responsibility for the election of that idiot. I tried as hard as I could to get everyone I know to not vote for him.

        • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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          14 days ago

          Eh. It’s “we” whether you like it or not, unfortunately.

          Do we really differentiate between the good and bad Germans in Nazi Germany? Not really. History paints with broad strokes. In the future we’re all going to look like the bad guys, whether we fought back or not. It’s a shameful time to be an American.

          • Ech@lemm.ee
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            14 days ago

            What? There are quite a few Germans who rebelled against against the Nazis and are recognized for it.

              • Ech@lemm.ee
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                13 days ago

                Nobody said “most Germans”. They said “all”, which is not only untrue, it’s a malignment of those who did resist and serves to discourage future resistance, which is entirely unhelpful. If that’s truely where the US is headed, the last thing people need to hear is, “Everyone will think you’re a piece of shit no matter what you do.”

                • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works
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                  13 days ago

                  Thinking in absolutes is a childish thing to begin with, it has nothing to do with maligning the people who resisted.

                  Of course there will be varying accounts for those involved, but as a whole, Americans shoulder the responsibility of their country just the same as Germans shouldered theirs. I wouldnt hold it against someone who felt involved or responsible, and deciding at some point to rebel.

                  But that doesnt mean they still weren’t part of something awful for some period of time. Just like Americans are part of something awful right now, and for quite a long time.

    • NotSteve_@lemmy.ca
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      14 days ago

      And I swear you guys are going to take us down with you (as a Canadian). The Trump “jokes” about annexing Canada are really starting to get to me.

      So much for being good trading partners and friendly neighbours I guess

      Edit: this isn’t really directed at you in particular, it’s just that as Canadians we didn’t even get a say in this but somehow you voted overwhelmingly for him again and now he’s threatening to invade us before he even takes office. I’m fucking tired man (and a little drunk)

      • Adm_Drummer@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        Tell me about it. I can feel the rumblings of something awful coming for Canada. All because if this bullshit down south. Our rights are being threatened because of reactionary politics. Half the people I work with can’t seperate Canadian politics from American. They think it’s all the same.

        Drives me up the wall.

        • NotSteve_@lemmy.ca
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          14 days ago

          Fair, but he did win the popular vote which I really wasn’t expecting. I realise very little US Lemmy users are happy about it either, but the Canada rhetoric Trump is spouting is still freaking me out.

          • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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            12 days ago

            he did win the popular vote

            Frankly I also don’t believe that for half a second either. We had over a full year’s worth of “I am going to cheat in this election.” ‘He’s going to cheat and we’re gonna help him!’ “Mike Johnson and I, we have a nice secret surprise, it’s a secret, can’t tell you anything, but it’s going to guarantee I win the election.” ‘Hi, my name is Mike Johnson and I intend to help Trump cheat the election.’ “If Kamala wins the election is rigged no matter what happens. We’ve rigged it in our favor so obviously if we lose the Democrats have rigged the election.”

            And then, lo and behold, he wins, by an ass-hair percentage of a degree in exactly the states he needed to in order to take the presidency.

            Unless I’m the one counting those ballots by hand I don’t believe a fucking word of it. All trust in all branches of government has evaporated. But what can we do now.

      • 1985MustangCobra@lemmy.ca
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        14 days ago

        i swear if he really tries to annex us i would be defending our borders. But do you know what bothers me more? the Canadians who would defect and help the US annex us.

    • Gumby@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      I agree with everything you said except that all the blame lies with Trump and Russian/Chinese disinfo campaigns. This has been going on since the Tea Party George W Bush/Cheney Newt Gingrich Reagan probably before anybody reading this was born

  • garretble@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    “trump to discuss bringing back ever terrible disease we got rid of or mitigated in the 1900s with RFK Jr.”

  • eran_morad@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Okay, idiot republicunts. You happy now? Not only are eggs going to be MORE expensive because of bullshit tariffs, but your kids are going to die from measles and shit. Way to go, cunts.

    • blattrules@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      They won’t know about it until it personally affects them, then they’ll play the victim card.

    • dhork@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      Not their kids, they can afford the vaccines at list price. It’s the poors who will die, as Supply Side Jesus intended.

      • eran_morad@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        All those hillbilly fuckbrains who voted for trump? All those suburban moms who voted for a rapist? Nah bruv, those people can’t afford a $1200 vaccine or whatever the fuck. The traitor oligarchs can, sure. Perhaps they will meet their fate via a different route, nahmean?

      • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        How does that help them? It’s a vaccine. If just you have yours, it doesn’t work very well. It still helps some and objectively improves things so it’s still a good idea, but it’s not like having it when everybody does their job.

        • dhork@lemmy.world
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          14 days ago

          You are thinking like someone who gives a damn about other humans. Yes, everyone benefits when everyone who is able to gets the shot and we can keep the overall spread down.

          But what if you are the type of person who thinks that everything is a zero-sum game, and you’re not really a winner unless you have more than the other guy? What advantage is there to you, personally, if everyone benefits? It’s much better if you get the benefits, and people you hate do not.

    • trustnoone@lemmy.sdf.org
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      14 days ago

      I feel bad saying this, but part of me wonders if this is what they need. A real wake up call, a real understanding a real view of how bad a country can get if you throwaway the guardrails in place that was there to keep the very government in check and allow them to outright eat the poor to supplement the rich.

      I just hope it doesn’t destroy the country before they realise what’s taken from them.

      • sudo42@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        a real understanding a real view of how bad a country can get

        How many people died from Covid from refusing to wear masks and refusing to get vaxed during Trump? Then Trump claimed credit for getting the vaccine made.

        Yet here we are.

      • rumba@lemmy.zip
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        14 days ago

        I have a deep yearning for this to happen. But logically I find it far more likely that they’ll just blame anything going wrong on Biden and Obama initiatives.

        With the Supreme Court in play, They might just start locking up people for criticizing the government. It’ll be fake news soup to nuts

      • futatorius@lemm.ee
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        14 days ago

        These are not people who will learn from experience. They’ll just look for more scapegoats.

    • Eatspancakes84@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      To be fair, the price of eggs will likely be more affected by bird flu which will spread uncontrollably, since Trump will abolish all common sense regulations.

    • rumba@lemmy.zip
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      14 days ago

      As long as the liberals kids die too they’re fine with it.

    • UpperBroccoli@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      14 days ago

      Not to worry, they will probably come up with a near total ban on abortions and birth control, and then there’ll be that many more children, so that enough of them can survive to become wage slaves for the billionaire class.

  • BrotherL0v3@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    I hope at least a sizeable chunk of Trump voters regret voting for him. It breaks my heart to know that there are legitimately people who have paid attention to all his lies and already broken promises and still want the guy to lead the country. I don’t know how to salvage someone like that.

    • WeUnite@lemm.ee
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      14 days ago

      I researched this exact question. There is a way called deep canvasing https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-to-change-a-voters-mind-is-deep-canvassing/

      It’s scientifically proven. Try having a one on one conversation with someone. Listen to what they say and respond with empathy. Then gradually and calmly introduce your message that is related to what they said. For example if the person you are talking to said they are worried about grocery prices and specifically egg prices you could mention that bird flu was the root cause of the price increase and that Trump’s tariffs will raise prices on groceries. Building trust helps your message get across. I’ve had personal conversations with Trump supporters who trust me and you’d be surprised how much success you can have.

      • indomara@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        This is correct, I use this method a lot in my work with the disabled. Often with clients that struggle with mental health, it’s important to redirect negative thoughts and feelings, but you have to do this without jumping to condescending or infantilising language.

        The easiest way is to empathize with <negative thought or feeling> acknowledging it as worthy of the space it’s taking up and offering up something related that I might worry about. Then redirect with a similar subject, but framed in a way that gives more power over it. Maybe a news article that pointed out how <related thing> is being solved by someone, or overcome, or even simply made fun of.

        If you can laugh at something for being ridiculous it has less power.

        You don’t need to change their belief in <negative thought or feeling> you just need to redirect it and reframe it, they will then have a different mental relationship with it later, and over time change.

        • WeUnite@lemm.ee
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          14 days ago

          it’s important to redirect negative thoughts and feelings, but you have to do this without jumping to condescending or infantilising language.

          So much this! I used to be a Trump supporter myself and I’ve made some people angry because of my previous political views. I got yelled at for what I said. Even though in hindsight their reaction was somewhat justified all that did was reinforce my views and dig a deeper hole.

      • thax@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        14 days ago

        This is true in my experience. People are extremely mimetic and validation driven. If someone respects you, they listen and imitate. It can actually be frustrating to me as an adult, because I don’t find the aphorism “imitation is the finest form of flattery” to be flattering in many cases. It can start to look manipulative or lazy when it’s middle-aged adults floundering for approval.

        But your point stands: respect is an effective platform from which to share ideas. So many folks close off their minds, because they are lonely or otherwise insecure. If you can positively move either of those needles, they listen. From there, the only question is whether they truly internalize the idea, or whether they are chasing the feels of socialization.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        14 days ago

        I would never discourage anyone from trying this, but do you think people haven’t already? Most of these people are lost. Their brains have been turned to mush. This shit does not work on them.

      • Railing5132@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        I don’t think this is going to work. There are just as many younger trump/cultist/conservative voters now as there have been. Church attendance is not falling off and megachurches are getting more and more popular. People have been saying the same thing about the right-wing die-off as long as I’ve been a voter, and as much as I’d love to see it, I don’t see it happening.

        • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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          13 days ago

          Church attendance is not falling off

          It is, but far too slowly.

          And it’s falling off faster in the more moderate churches than it is in the noisy evangelical megachurches

        • Jimmycakes@lemmy.world
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          13 days ago

          Well I don’t mean in our lifetime but maybe hundreds of years from now it will finally happen. What other choice do we have?

    • Linktank@lemmy.today
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      14 days ago

      You can’t. They are lost causes who simply can’t be trusted to make the right choice for themselves or the rest of the country.

      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works
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        14 days ago

        Look at you mister! You are the smartest guy in the room, aren’t you! So smart yes you are! Adorable!

    • rational_lib@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      It’s been anticipated throughout the campaign, but kind of got overshadowed by all the other horrible stuff about Trump. RFK Jr. is the biggest anti-vaxxer in the world. Trump ran with him openly to get his cult on his side. This is the obvious result.

      • Tinidril@midwest.social
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        14 days ago

        It seems like every horrible thing about Trump never gets any attention because of the other horrible things about Trump.

  • ThanksObama@sh.itjust.works
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    14 days ago

    Kill the department of education and force religious curriculum. This whitewashing will hide the history of slavery and make indentured servitude a normal way of life. If you tell them Jesus said it, they will believe it because they can’t read or just don’t care to take the time and do it. Religion is about blind faith in something that may or may not exist. It is a form of control over those with little to lose.

    Ban vaccines so people are sick and weak. Make all other health care unaffordable. Make them starve by inflating prices. Make their bodies weak to avoid physical conflict. They can’t hurt you when they are barely able move or care for themselves.

    End sex education and ban abortion. People are going to get sick and die constantly. You will have a population falloff preventing any increase to your wealth and power if you don’t force them to have kids faster to fill the labor pool.

    Keep their wages low so you can buy out their housing. Force them to be reliant on you to put a roof over their heads. Make them work multiple jobs at little pay just to afford this rental housing. Having no home is a real killer of hope.

    Pit them against each other. Crime is up, must be the illegal immigrants! They are taking all your jobs! That black guy down the street is going to steal you stuff and your women. That Jew works at the bank and is the reason you can’t get a raise or a loan. Your neighbor is your enemy and They will take everything you have if don’t have a gun to protect yourself.

    I’m could keep going down the rabbit hole, but why bother. These assholes want us back in 1800’s where the rich control and own everything.

    Don’t let them fool you. The rich control both parties in this country. It’s just that one side doesn’t give a fuck about being open about what they are doing or public perception.

    I am not condoning violence, but this is where we are going to end up shortly if the rich stay comfortable. Freedom isn’t free, and we are almost out of fight due to apathy. Average people care more about what some ass clown doing in their social feeds than seeing what is about to slap them right in the face.

  • madcaesar@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Yes it must be the vaccines that are causing autism rates! Ignore the studies and decades of evidence that show they don’t, because they definitely do!

    It’s not all the micro plastic pollution, or car pollution, or chemicals in our water, or hormones in our food, no it’s definitely the vaccines!

    • This message is brought to you by Karen and Cletus
      • medgremlin@midwest.social
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        13 days ago

        I came here to say this. We’re just getting a lot better at recognizing it earlier to try to jump on getting the kiddos into therapy to limit the impact on their life as adults.

        • Vashti@feddit.uk
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          My dad was born in the 30s, and was just as autistic as me. His mother (born 1910) died when I was little, but I remember her being eccentric, and my mother called her “difficult”. They both lived perfectly normal lives, they were just very different from the others around them. I’m autistic and so is my nephew; that’s four generations, spanning a century.

          We have always been here.

      • CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        It, like ADHD, has a strong genetic component, but it’s not a 1:1 correlation.

        Epigenetics likely play a massive role also. Which might be the genetic correlation we’re seeing. Epigenetic influences have been shown to last multiple generations from the original trigger (specifically with the effects of trauma).

        In the case of autism and ADHD, the epigenetic triggers are likely environmental, such as microplastics, over usage of antibiotics, and various toxic chemicals we’re exposed to daily.

        My own personal theory is that the current rates of autism and ADHD might be affected (but not solely caused by) the use of lead in gasoline 50+ years ago. Lead exposure has lifelong implications and absolutely affects embryos as they’re developing. But that’s just a personal theory.

        Edit: Holy hell! This popped up on my Google News Feed only hours after making this comment.

        https://scitechdaily.com/born-before-1996-according-to-scientists-leaded-gas-may-have-permanently-altered-your-personality/

    • NotAnOnionAtAll@feddit.org
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      12 days ago

      Even if there was anything real about the claim that vaccinations increased autism rates, using that as a justification to stop vaccinations would still be a crazy stance. Autism is not a deadly disease, but many of the things we vaccinate against are.

  • K3zi4@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Pro-life crowd really trying to murder as many children as they can. That’s crazy. Good luck America.

  • gift_of_gab@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    Wow, the measles are going to absolutely ruin America, and then spread to the world. One of my family members was ‘immune’ to the vaccine for it, and a doctor took my aunt aside and told her that basically any large crowd was a danger to my cousin. IE. “Go to the fair and there’s a chance he catches it.” Luckily he was able to finally reach the % required that from the vaccine but I think he was 16 before that happened.

    So many children are going to die. I wonder if people who didn’t vote in the US are starting to realise what they’ve done.

    • CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world
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      and then spread to the world

      But the rest of the world still has the vaccine programs. Very quickly Americans will require proof of vaccination before visiting other countries. While there might be an uptick in cases outside of the US, it will be nothing compared to within.

      • gift_of_gab@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        We’re already having a problem with it in Canada, so I’m pretty damn nervous. I have family members who really rely on herd immunity.

        • CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world
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          Ya, I’m in Canada also. And unfortunately I know more than a couple of people who legit believe vaccines are a scam. But you can find idiots everywhere. I’m honestly not too worried about it here.

          • gift_of_gab@lemmy.world
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            12 days ago

            The issue is, especially for measles, herd immunity. There are some major problems with measles in particular, such as:

            Measles is so contagious that one infected person can spread the respiratory virus to 90% of people in the same room—and it can live in the air for two hours. Often, an infected person doesn’t even know they have measles for several weeks.

            and

            Early symptoms include a fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, all of which could be overlooked as part of a common cold. A skin rash doesn’t typically appear until three to five days after the first symptoms appear. Someone with measles is contagious four days before the rash begins and four days after. There is no cure for measles, but if you’ve received the measles vaccine or are immune from a previous infection, consider yourself protected.

            Another major problem is…:

            Depending on the disease, herd immunity may begin to show beneficial effects when just 40% of the population is vaccinated. But for particularly contagious diseases, that threshold is far higher, exceeding 80%. The vaccination rate should be about 96% to achieve herd immunity for measles.

            So we’re going to have immune compromised people getting and then spreading measels. It hits children the hardest, and we’re going to start seeing absolutely heart-breaking headlines about children dying to a completely preventable illness.

            • CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world
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              12 days ago

              Oh, I don’t disagree. Measles is horrible. It’s even been found to reset a person’s immune system. Like erased to newborn status.

              But what I mean about not being too worried, is that I have a modicum amount of faith in fellow Canadians. And once those insane policies start happening in the US, the entire rest of the world is going to place travel restrictions to/from the US.

              • gift_of_gab@lemmy.world
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                12 days ago

                But what I mean about not being too worried, is that I have a modicum amount of faith in fellow Canadians.

                I’m glad you do, and I don’t. If, as polls show he should rather easily, Poilievre wins the next election we’ll have a Prime Minister who marched with the Convoy. In addition, the Federal Conservative party voted in 2022 to not recognize climate change. The idea he’ll place restrictions down is, to my mind, flat out wrong. I think he’ll bow and kowtow to whatever Trump says, and from the amount of ‘Make Canada Great Again’ hats (And the full on MAGA ones as well, which is… bizarre) I see throughout the interior of BC/Alberta, I think there’s some serious indicators the voters will, too. John Rustad almost beat the BC NDP. Polls show 43% of voters in Ontario plan to vote for Doug Ford again.

                I am glad you have faith in Canadians, I just don’t understand where that faith comes from.

                • CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world
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                  12 days ago

                  I am glad you have faith in Canadians, I just don’t understand where that faith comes from.

                  Mostly from interacting quite a bit with Americans and seeing how much better Canada is by comparison. Don’t get me wrong, things are tending down, but we’ve got quite a ways to go before we get that bad.

  • jagged_circle@feddit.nl
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    14 days ago

    If vaccine requirements go away, this is bad

    If vaccines become illegal or prohibitively expensive, this is a disaster

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Thank you USA if you do this, it will most likely show our crazies here in Europe why exactly it is we do it.
    Of course I feel sorry for the children that will get needlessly sick.
    We may see Darwin awards on a national scale for the first 2nd time in history.
    Except this time is worse, because it’s parents killing off their innocent children through stupidity. But A kind of Darwin award nonetheless, since they are ending their genetic line.