Sadly, we live in an era where rational discussion about critical policy issues is difficult. We judge who is saying something before we hear what is actually being said. The Congressional hearing last week featuring Robert Kennedy, Jr., is perhaps the best example of this phenomenon.
Good public policy is not automatic and never easy. Frankly, this is why legislatures across the country meet frequently, each having established amendment processes to fix decisions made in prior years. However, to fix problems, there must be a willingness to focus on the issues at hand. Instead, we attack the messengers. Ideally, we approach issues with the long-view intent of getting solutions correct. Scientific advances are equally difficult, and there certainly is no direct line to progress. It’s not as if there is always a bright line to follow, but when done right, advances are possible and can work wonders. Before the Salk Vaccine, we saw over 20,000 polio cases a year in the US. Now, none occur in the Western Hemisphere.
The Covid period in our history was totally FUBAR. Mistakes were made, exaggeration was constant, and now the public sphere is laden with doubt. Good public policy should be approached with the intent of doing a thorough analysis of what was wrong, what was right, and with prescriptions for how to be better prepared for the next outbreak. The history of medicine is replete with examples of progress made through analysis and testing.
My family was shaken and ultimately broken when I was a kid, in large part because a miracle drug was the wrong thing for my younger brother, who reacted and died. I’ve thought of that my entire life, wondering about the why and the how, and what a horrible thing it was, all the while knowing that same drug that killed him cured millions. One of life’s conundrums is weighing the balances we face, choosing pathways, and revisiting that which we thought we knew as factual, only to discover that facts are often temporary.
There is a lot of passion now in the struggle between community health and well-being and family choices. I pray that the debate focus is upon quality science and proven results, with consideration for the real concerns about proper ages, ingredients within shots, shot combinations, and continued studies of the efficacy of chosen treatment options.
Politics seem to have infected every aspect of our lives, and for this, I’m uncertain there is a cure. As for me, I’ll carry the deep truth that mistakes can be made, and lives can be affected. It shouldn’t be singularly about profit, but the fuel for progress should always be about moving us forward. Let’s take a deep breath and examine the 76 shots kids get before 18; with the intention of improving our health outcomes, and not mix up, once again, bad politics with good policy.
