What could Trump’s nomination of RFK Jr. to HHS mean for patients?
Updated: 9:34 PM EST Nov 15, 2024
OVERHAULING THE NATION’S HEALTH SYSTEM. IT’S A TOP PRIORITY FOR PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL CHOICE AS SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. JOINING US NOW IS DOCTOR SCOTT HADLAND, CHIEF OF ADOLESCENT MEDICINE AT MASS GENERAL FOR CHILDREN. DOCTOR HADLAND, GOOD TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR COMING IN. GOOD TO SEE YOU, TOO. ALL RIGHT. AS YOU KNOW, ROBERT F KENNEDY JR ACCEPTED THE NOMINATION YESTERDAY. HE HAS ALREADY SAID HE WANTS TO END VACCINE MANDATES FOR CHILDREN. WHAT COULD THAT MEAN FOR YOUR PATIENTS? I WORRY ABOUT IT. A LOT FOR MY PATIENTS. YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT VACCINES SAVE LIVES. AND JUST TO PUT SOME DATA BEHIND THIS THIS SUMMER, THE CDC PUT OUT A STUDY SHOWING THAT ABOUT 1.1 MILLION LIVES HAVE BEEN SAVED OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS FROM VACCINATION AND THAT’S A LOT OF LIVES. JUST TO PUT THAT INTO CONTEXT, THAT IS THE COMBINED POPULATION OF BOSTON, CAMBRIDGE, SPRINGFIELD AND WORCESTER LIVES SAVED FROM VACCINES. AND SO THIS IS REALLY CRITICAL THAT WE DO WHAT WE CAN TO GET AS MANY PEOPLE VACCINATED AS POSSIBLE. AND TO BE CLEAR, MOST OF THE PATIENTS AND FAMILIES I WORK WITH WANT VACCINATION. BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT AS MANY PEOPLE GET VACCINATED AS POSSIBLE TO HELP PREVENT OUTBREAKS. SO I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, HOW MUCH IS MASSACHUSETTS IMPACTED? RIGHT. SO PUBLIC HEALTH DECISIONS, THEY’RE NOT JUST MADE ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL. THEY’RE ALSO MADE ON THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL. IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, THOUGH, HOW MUCH INFLUENCE DOES HHS HAVE ON THE LOCAL LEVEL? WELL, HHS DOES HAVE A LOT OF INFLUENCE OVER OUR DAY TO DAY PRACTICE. AS AN EXAMPLE, WHEN I GIVE A VACCINE TO A FAMILY OR TO TO A CHILD, AND I’M EDUCATING THE FAMILY, I HAND EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL THAT COMES FROM THE CDC, WHICH IS OVERSEEN BY HHS. THE OTHER THING THAT THE CDC DOES IS IT HELPS US TO TRACK OUTBREAKS. AND YOU KNOW, TALK TO ANY PEDIATRICIAN AND WE’LL TELL YOU A STORY ABOUT A PATIENT THAT WE CARED FOR WHO WAS UNVACCINATED, THAT HAD A REALLY TERRIBLE THING HAPPEN. THE TEENAGER THAT I CARED FOR, WHO HAD A MENINGITIS INFECTION BECAUSE HE WASN’T HE WASN’T VACCINATED AGAINST IT. AND ALTHOUGH HE DIDN’T LOSE HIS LIFE, HE LOST HIS HEARING. OR, YOU KNOW, THE SCHOOL AGED CHILD WHO DEVELOPED TETANUS THAT I CARED FOR AND ENDED UP IN THE ICU ON A RESPIRATOR. THE CDC HELPS US TRACK ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, LETS US KNOW WHEN OUTBREAKS ARE OCCURRING, AND HELPS KEEP. US ORGANIZED SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTION AROUND THAT. I MEAN, YOU DON’T WANT YOUR KID GOING TO SCHOOL WONDERING IF THE KID NEXT TO YOU IS GOING TO GIVE YOU MEASLES OR SOME, SOME, SOME, FRANKLY, DISEASE THAT WE SHOULD BE VACCINATED AGAINST. WHAT ABOUT THE DOCTOR’S ROLE IN THIS AND THOSE DOCTORS ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OR THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS? RIGHT. THOSE PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND I’M A PART OF THEM, ARE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR WHAT WE DO. DOCTORS ARE OFTEN VERY BUSY, RIGHT. WE’RE SEEING PATIENTS. WE’RE ON THE FRONT LINES. WE DON’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME. AND SORT OF OPPORTUNITY TO HELP ADVOCATE DIRECTLY. AND SO THESE ORGANIZATIONS HELP US DIRECTLY KEEP OUR POLICYMAKERS INFORMED SO THAT THEY HAVE THE BEST POSSIBLE INFORMATION SO THAT THEY MAKE GOOD DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC’S HEALTH. OKAY. WELL, DOCTOR SCOTT HADLAND, FIRST OF ALL, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY. HAD A BIRTHDAY THI
What could Trump’s nomination of RFK Jr. to HHS mean for patients?

Updated: 9:34 PM EST Nov 15, 2024
Dr. Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent medicine at Mass General for Children, comments on the intersection of today’s politics and health care.
Dr. Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent medicine at Mass General for Children, comments on the intersection of today’s politics and health care.