Indiana health care providers must, under state law, determine whether children under the age of 6 have been tested for lead poisoning.
Lead is a toxic metal that can be found on playground equipment and toys and in paint. There is no safe level of lead.
If a child has not been tested, the health care provider is to conduct a screening, though parents can reject the test.
Guidance and standards for the test come from the Indiana Department of Heath in consultation with the American Academy of Pediatrics. The AAP developed its standards, notably setting blood level concentrations that should raise concern, on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From 2023-2024, Indiana received $630,282 from the CDC to support lead poisoning prevention. Indiana, as is true with the 49 other states, relies on the CDC. To quote from the Indiana Department of Health’s website: “CDC increases the health security of our nation. As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish our mission, CDC conducts critical science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise.”
Research and prevention has been put at risk by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services who should be relieved of his post.
He slashed funding for the National Institutes of Health, an entity separate from the CDC but one on which the CDC relies. He fired all of the members of the CDC’s independent vaccine advisory committee.
These careless, confusing actions came as America experienced a measles outbreak with 1,408 confirmed cases nationwide including, in Indiana, eight cases in Allen County and one in Putnam County. The best measles prevention is vaccination.
In 1978, the CDC set a goal to eliminate measles by 1982. The goal was not met. But the vaccine eventually won out and the disease was officially eliminated in 2000. It came back this year amid reports of a drop in administering the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR).
In May 2020, during the height of the pandemic, President Trump pushed strongly for Operation Warp Speed, a partnership between the public and private sectors to advance a COVID-19 vaccination. Accomplishing the search for effective vaccines is his sole health legacy.
Yet, Kennedy recently announced restrictions on recommendations for who could get the vaccine. The vaccination would be approved for adults 65 and older as well as for kids and adults with at least one medical condition that puts them at risk of severe illness.
Trump and Kennedy’s mixed messages over the president’s health landmark are baffling.
Kennedy’s twisted handling of the CDC trickles down to Hoosiers’ health. Our state legislature must not fall in line with Kennedy’s anti-vaccine philosophy.
Better yet, Trump needs to remove Kennedy from an office that affects Hoosiers’ lives.
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