US making diphtheria great again? Why SA's public health experts are worried about America's RFK Jr

Mail & Guardian

4 days ago

Misinformation fuelled by US health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr is creating a dangerous lack of trust in vaccines and South Africa's public health experts are scared. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
They used to call it the
Before vaccines were widely available,
But one
That's when US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr accused
RFK Jr's vaccine stance is completely at odds with the global public health community and years of science, ignoring
It's the latest in a long and storied history of RFK Jr's
South Africa has also been hit by
But, says Heidi Larson, the director of the
'Events in the US absolutely have global repercussions,' she says. 'They embolden others, especially those still undecided about vaccination, and that's where the danger lies.'
The trouble with RFK
Since launching in 2000, Gavi has been credited for protecting an entire generation —
The US had been among the top three
To support his attack on Gavi and DTP, the US health secretary points to a
'He cherry-picks a poorly conducted study and ignores mountains of evidence to the contrary,' says Salim Abdool Karim, a leading epidemiologist and director of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa,
A recent
South Africa, like many higher-income countries, uses a newer version of the vaccine than Gavi, called
Recent diphtheria outbreaks show how quickly things can go wrong when vaccination rates slow down.
The WHO found that the
Because it is such a rare and deadly disease that spreads easily through coughing and sneezing,
Deepfakes and institutionalised disinformation
As RFK Jr took to social media to spread more disinformation about vaccines, a video of an AI-generated Abdool Karim, a South African epidemiologist and virologist internationally recognised for his work on HIV/Aids and Covid-19, surfaced.
The video was a deepfake (a manipulated image created to misrepresent someone or something) and hijacked Abdool Karim's credibility and likeness to falsely warn viewers that those vaccinated against Covid-19 vaccines may be facing deadly danger.
In reality, Abdool Karim has been a vocal advocate for vaccines, including during the pandemic, when he chaired the ministerial advisory committee which guided the
In a
'
institutionalised disinformation'
,
where the very institutions once trusted to uphold science are now the ones spreading doubt. He draws a straight line between former president Thabo Mbeki's Aids denialism which led to the
'Where the state now becomes the source of the disinformation, you lose your bearings as to where to get the truth,' Abdool Karim said. 'That's why the right information about vaccines is as important as the vaccines themselves'.
MMR, autism and RFK
In the US, measles vaccination rates have been slipping steadily for years, largely because of the
He has claimed countless times that the
This week, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
'The chaos that is going on in the US … has a knock-on effect all across the world. It's critical for us to be proactive, rather than wait until the damage is done,' says Edina Amponsah-Dacosta, a virologist with the
For Amponsah-Dacosta, the current
Because measles is
When people think about measles, they often just consider the rash, she says. But measles affects many organs and the effect of the disease on the body can linger.
'It actually causes disease through all your systems, and so it can affect the brain. Some of the consequences can be delayed even many, many years, so that if you have measles now, you may develop problems much later.'
HPV wiped out cervical cancer
Just like some diseases take years to show problems, it can take years to see a vaccine's benefits.
An infection with certain forms of the
Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths in South Africa too.
In those not vaccinated,
RFK Jr has also featured the HPV vaccine in his misinformation parade,
Australia,
While South Africa's
Vaccine economics
Despite the cost of vaccines, they save money for governments because there's so much less illness and disability. A large
'There are not that many things that are as amazing as vaccines for child health — a miracle intervention', says Susan Cleary, the director of the school of public health at the University of Cape Town.
Her research group recently published a
But the knock-on effects of vaccination also help in the long term. By preventing diseases, vaccinations help to ensure people won't become ill in the first place.
'It's not just about saving lives, it's also about safeguarding livelihoods,' says Amponsah-Dacosta. 'They can go on to study just as well as anybody else in school … and their parents can contribute to the economy instead of spending money looking for treatments.'
Immunising against misinformation
Despite overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective,
Even more confusing for the public, says Larson, is that that fringe has now gone mainstream in the US. For example, in June, RFK Jr also
'Vaccines have become kind of a victim of their own success,' says Amponsah-Dacosta. Because of vaccines diseases like smallpox have been eradicated while deaths and disabilities from polio, tetanus, rubella have disappeared from view, lulling people into thinking vaccines aren't needed.
'Eventually, people get to hear misinformation, so the best practice is to provide people with sound information. This way, once they're faced with myths … they are already immunised against misinformation and can make the right decision.'
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