Politicizing healthcare — from vaccines to research and safety net funding — has led to some dangerous changes in public health in this country. Among them is the surge in measles and whooping cough cases.

Vaccine hesitancy fueled by intentional misinformation and disingenuous religious freedoms outrage has resulted in significant increases in the two potentially deadly illnesses. Across the country, there have been 1,983 measles cases in the first half of this year, according to an Ohio Capital Journal report that used U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The total for all of 2025 was 2,288, and THAT was the worst year since 1991.

As summer travel season ramps up, it is worth noting, South Carolina, Virginia and Florida already have more cases so far this year than they did in all of last year.

Dr. Andrew Pavia, a pediatrician and professor at the University of Utah, reported to the Infectious Disease Society of America in May that the U.S. is on track to lose the measles elimination status it gained more than a quarter century ago, according to the Capital Journal.

Meanwhile, Ohio and Florida are the states most affected by the rise in whooping cough cases. Deaths last year were at their highest level since 2010, and the numbers keep growing.

“The rising number of deaths from whooping cough, including among infants, is a reminder of the vital importance of vaccination,” Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, a pediatrician and professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told the Capital Journal. “Families who follow public health guidance on vaccination and other precautions can avoid a needless tragedy.”

It’s that simple. Those who have perpetuated false, fear-based narratives that have prompted some families to avoid life-saving vaccines did so almost entirely in the hope of building a political base. They are responsible for lives lost, and so far very few of them have demonstrated that they are ashamed of that.

“Until we can restore faith in vaccines and restore funding for our public health agencies and increase measles vaccine coverage, we have to anticipate that there will be many more outbreaks, and some of these may blow up into very large conflagrations,” Pavia said.

It’s time to fight back. Decent Americans who have been misled by politicians who demonstrate time and again they do NOT have our best interest in mind must resist the push to act in a way that is harmful to our kids, our families and our communities. We’ve got to draw a line and stop moving backward, before it is too late.