[ad_1]
Scott Gottlieb, FDA commissioner, warned that the agency could step in if state governments allow more children to go to school without being vaccinated despite the measles outbreak in the country.
"Some states have put in place exemptions of such magnitude that they are creating epidemics of a magnitude that will have national implications," he told CNN in a report released on Wednesday. .
Gottlieb questioned current state immunization exemptions, particularly in Washington, which announced a measles outbreak in January. In addition, New York is working to contain the largest epidemic of this type in decades, which began in October 2018 and already affects more than 200 people.
Gottlieb said that the current outbreak should lead state officials to become aware of the need to implement stricter policies regarding vaccine exemption. However, he warned that if "some states continue their momentum, I think they will force the federal health agencies".
To date, 47 states have allowed parents to avoid vaccinations for their children for religious reasons. This has led the FDA, along with other medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, to ask the government to remove this exemption.
"This is great news," said Adam Ratner, director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division of NYU Langone's Hbadenfeld Children's Hospital, about the move of the FDA official. "I think some states may need this kind of pressure," he said.
However, Richard Pan, pediatrician and state senator in California, noted that the federal government may have trouble settling in a state-controlled area. "Traditionally, entry requirements to the school were the responsibility of the states. A constitutional challenge could therefore arise if the federal government tried to legislate these educational requirements, "he said.
Pan recently asked US Surgeon General Jerome Adams to help the government encourage parents who are reluctant to vaccinate their children. "Our country needs your leadership to put an end to this attack on the health of our country by fighting the spread of misinformation about vaccines, which leads to an unwarranted hesitation about vaccines," wrote Pan. .
Adams said he supported the idea of boosting immunization of children across states.
[ad_2]
Source link
