Nearly HALF of all children in the U.S. died by the age of 5 in the early 1800s. By the early 2000s, it was less than 1%.
What changed?
Scientific progress! Vaccines, antibiotics, pasteurization, chlorinated water, and the data to support regulations that would keep adulterants, pollutants and Germs out of the food and water supplies.
Now all of that is changing, thanks largely to the anti-science agenda of Trump and RFK Jr., as well as some trends that began before their tenure.
TB, which killed nearly 1 in 7 people in the U.S., is now relatively rare, thanks to antibiotics and screening. Though it's also making a comeback, with some multi-drug resistant strains. The WHO estimates that drug resistant super bugs could kill 10 million people a year by 2050 if urgent action isn't taken, something that is much less likely to happen in the US, with the slashing of science and research funding under Trump. However the problem precedes both Trump and RFK, stemming from years of overuse and misuse of antibiotics, primarily in animal agriculture, but also due to doctors misprescribing them for viral infections and due to patients not completing their course of treatment.
Smallpox, which killed 80% of all children it infected, no longer exists, thanks to vaccines. However, measles was gone, too, until antivax hysteria over the past 20 years caused many parents to forego vaccinations for their kids. Consequently, we're now seeing an uptick in measles, mumps, rubella and pertussis. As well as polio in many parts of the world.
Pasteurization kills many germs that spread through milk, including diphtheria, typhoid, E coli, salmonella, listeria, etc. It also kills bird flu. But many Americans, including RFKJr., keep pushing the false notion that raw milk is safer and healthier. Pasteurization, named for the scientist Louis Pasteur (who, incidently, had dyslexia and dysgraphia), is believed to have saved millions of lives, not only by keeping milk free of deadly pathogens, but also by extending its shelf life, thus providing greater access to this nutrient-rich food for children.
Federal regulations and monitoring have reduced the amount of adulterants, toxins and pollutants in the food and water supply, significantly reducing mortality. In the 1800s, tens of thousands died from cholera in the US, including Presidents Polk & Taylor, due mostly to fecal contamination of the water supply. Though water-chlorination is not currently under attack by RFK, he is calling for an end to fluoridation, which has helped keep millions of low income kids from getting cavities and losing their teeth. And RFK has been bragging about swimming with his grandkids in contaminated rivers, as if to condition us to embrace further deregulation and attacks on public health.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1041693/united-states-all-time-child-mortality-rate/
#publichealth #children #vaccines #antibiotics #nutrition #hhs #RFKJr #antivax #Maha #mortality
