Whether or not Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary [the hearings were still underway at press time], tapping an individual with well-documented anti-vaccination views and advocacy lends legitimacy to those views, which could have a chilling effect on vaccinations, officials say. “There is a lot of myth and disinformation that can happen very quickly, so when you have someone at such a high level with beliefs that can decrease vaccination, that can potentially lead to a decrease in the vaccination rate, in which case it could increase disease,” said Dr. Christine Wu, deputy director of the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency. Wu’s Sonoma County counterpart echoed the sentiment. “Unequivocally I am concerned that vaccine skepticism is moving to the mainstream,” said Dr. Karen Smith, interim health officer for Sonoma County. Smith previously served four years as director of the California Department of Public Health and state health officer. Dr. Lisa Santora, Marin County’s public health officer, agrees. “It’s one of our concerns. We will have to increase our efforts of public education if there is disinformation or misinformation spread about disease prevention strategies such as vaccination.” An example is H5N1 in milk, Santora says. The highly pathogenic bird flu virus, also known as H5N1, is spreading in dairy herds throughout the state, with Gov. Gavin Newsom declaring an emergency in December. Though the threat of bird flu infection to the general public is low, North Bay health officials are urging residents to protect themselves by not drinking unpasteurized milk and also by vaccinating against seasonal flu. The H5N1 virus is spread to humans by drinking contaminated raw milk or direct contact with infected animals. However, not only does Kennedy oppose vaccination, Trump’s Health and Human Services appointee is a proponent of raw milk. His views could discourage residents from taking either measure. Smith notes that the Kennedy appointment could have far-reaching consequences both locally and nationally. “A very large proportion of the kids in the U.S. who get vaccinated before going to school get a vaccine paid for in large part by the Vaccines for Children program run out of the Centers for Disease Control,” Smith says. The program provides vaccines to children whose parents or guardians may not be able to afford them. In Sonoma County alone, 52% of households with children under 6 years of age struggled to cover basic needs, according to a 2021 United Ways of California study, Struggling to Move Up: The Real Cost Measure in California. In 2023, the program distributed over 74 million doses nationally. “That is the magnitude of that risk should federal officials try to un-fund this program,” Smith says. “I personally am very concerned about any funding that might be threatened by the personal beliefs of the individuals who have authority over the CDC,” Smith says. State legislation + public education = vaccination All three public health officers had good news about North Bay childhood vaccination, which has a major effect
on the health of adults as well as children. Childhood vaccines are the most critical vaccines, because it’s the kids who bring infectious diseases home to their parents, Smith says. A new state law that went into effect in 2016, as well as public health education efforts, have increased vaccination rates, the three public health officers say. California state law mandates that children entering kindergarten must be vaccinated. However, for many years, parents could simply check a box on a form saying they weren’t going to vaccinate their child due to personal beliefs and get exemption from the law. In 2016, a new state law eliminating the personal belief exemption went into effect, dramatically increasing vaccination rates—a law lobbied for by activists including Marin resident Carl Krawitt. His son Rhett, a leukemia patient at the time, was at risk of catching infectious diseases because the boy’s treatments weakened his immune system. California eliminated personal belief exemptions for vaccines on Jan. 1, 2016. The change was made by Senate Bill 277, which was signed by then-Gov. Jerry
Dr. Christine Wu
Dr. Karen Smith
Dr. Lisa Santora
Brown on June 30, 2015. The passage of the law was a major breakthrough, Smith says.
“When the personal exemption was an option, it was easy to just check the box and skip the vaccines,” Smith says. “When [the exemption] was eliminated and people had to get a doctor to sign off on a medical exemption, vaccination rates soared,” she says. In Sonoma County, “For the 2023-2024 school year, 93.5% of entering Sonoma kindergartners were up to date on their vaccinations,” Smith says. “That’s a really good rate. It aligns with California as a whole, which is at 94%.” In Napa County, for the 2023-2024 school year, 98-99% of Napa County kindergartners were vaccinated with all required vaccinations for school enrollment, Wu says.
44 NorthBaybiz
February 2025
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