This is FRESH air.
I'm Tanya Moseley.
Last week, the Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Who has historically been a vaccine skeptic,
as President Trump's head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Today we're going to be talking about the importance of vaccines amid the growing avian bird flu
and measles spread with pediatrician and infectious disease expert Dr. Adam Ratner.
25 years ago, measles was declared eliminated in the United States.
It was a long fought win for pediatricians
and researchers and those who work in infectious diseases.
Today, however, measles is back, and Dr.
Ratner says the resurgence points to a larger, more significant problem for public health.
Measles isn't just inconvenient.
It is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications,
including pneumonia, brain inflammation, blindness and even death.
Dr. Ratner's new book,
booster the Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children's Health,
warns that as the number of vaccinations in children decreases
and the lack of public trust in science increases,
the resurgence of illnesses like measles is a foregone conclusion.