图源：Ethan Miller/Getty Images

美国当前的疫苗政策前景，温和点说都堪称是“晴空小将逝，暴雨即临”。随着小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪（Robert F. Kennedy Jr.）被提名为卫生与公众服务部部长，包括梅赫迈特·奥兹（Mehmet Oz）、杰伊·巴塔查里亚（Jay Bhattacharya）以及佛罗里达州卫生局局长约瑟夫·A·拉达波（Joseph A. Ladapo）在内其他候选人也被列为潜在任命人选，公共卫生倡导者对于循证公共卫生政策的未来感到极为担忧。

The current forecast for vaccine policy in the United States is, to put it mildly, stormy. With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services and a slate of other names — including Mehmet Oz, Jay Bhattacharya, and Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo — floated as possible appointees, public health advocates are rightly concerned about the future of evidence-based public health policies.

我深知疫苗错误信息的后果。当我儿子托马斯在5月龄时，我送他去托儿所上第二周的课。当天晚些时候，我收到了家长非常害怕收到的邮件——“亲爱的家长”通知：婴儿班出现了水痘病例，所有婴儿需要在家隔离28天。两天后，托马斯出现了典型的水痘皮疹，并在肺部发展成肺炎。虽然水痘可能会非常严重，但很幸运的是他并不需要住院，并最终完全康复。这个本可避免的经历激励了我挺身而出并为我的家庭和其他人发声。

I understand the consequences of vaccine disinformation too well. When my son, Thomas, was 5 months old, I dropped him off for his second week of day care. Later that day, we got the dreaded “Dear Parents” email: A case of chickenpox in the infantroom meant that the babies would need to quarantine at home for 28 days. Two days later, Thomas broke out with the telltale varicella rash and developed pneumonitis in his lungs. Chickenpox can be serious, but we were lucky: He did not need to be hospitalized, and he made a full recovery. This experience, which could have been prevented, inspired me to speak up for our family and others.

半年后，我前往缅因州议会大厦为一项加强免疫要求的法案作证。我几乎毫无准备——听证会上挤满了数百名反疫苗活动人士，包括以支持肯尼迪竞选总统闻名的德尔·比格特里（Del Bigtree）。听证会持续了13小时，直到凌晨2点我才开车回家，对于其他支持疫苗的家长都隐藏在哪里的问题百思不得其解。

Six months later, I visited Maine’s State House to testify on a bill to strengthen immunization requirements. I was scarcely prepared — the hearing was overwhelmed by hundreds of anti-vaccine activists, including Del Bigtree, best known as RFK Jr.’s right-hand man during his campaign for president. Testimony lasted 13 hours, and I drove home at 2 a.m., wondering where the rest of the pro-vaccine parents were hiding.

从那时起，我帮助创立了“安全社区联盟”（SAFE Communities Coalition），这是一个致力于在基层推动强有力疫苗政策的两党组织。我们在覆盖了蓝州（民主党控制）和红州（共和党控制）的全国范围内成立了11个“疫苗家庭”分会，并且规模在迅速扩大。

Since then, I’ve helped to launch SAFE Communities Coalition, a bipartisan organization dedicated to advancing strong vaccine policies at the grassroots. We have 11 Families for Vaccines chapters from coast to coast, in blue states and deep red ones, and we’re growing rapidly.

这就是为什么我要告诉你们，我们有充分的理由感到乐观。每天，我都亲眼目睹支持疫苗的倡导活动如何变得更加强大、更有组织、更具实效。

That’s why I’m here to tell you that there are compelling reasons for optimism. Every day, I get to witness firsthand how pro-vaccine advocacy continues to grow stronger, better organized, and more effective than ever before.

尽管第一次特朗普执政期间政府充满动荡，但缅因州、纽约州、康涅狄格州、加利福尼亚州和华盛顿州仍然加强了疫苗法律。缅因州填补了政策缺口——这个缺口曾让我的儿子处于风险之中——73%的选民选择保护学校免受疾病高发风险的威胁。在每个州，坚定的疫苗倡导者表达了他们对保护家庭免受致命的疫苗可预防疾病的政策的支持，立法者也确实听取了他们的意见。即使面临联邦层面的挑战，各州自身也可以成为公共卫生的最后一道防线。甚至未来可能会出现权力从联邦政府向州政府转移，可能会为公众倡导者提供在地方制定政策变化的机会。

Even though the first Trump administration was marked by political turbulence, Maine, New York, Connecticut, California, and Washington strengthened their vaccine laws. Maine removed the loophole that had left my son vulnerable, with 73% of voters electing to protect our schools from rising rates of disease. In each state, dedicated pro-vaccine advocates spoke up about the policies that protect families from deadly preventable diseases, and lawmakers listened. Even in the face of federal challenges, states can serve as a firewall for public health. It may even be the case that predicted shifts in authority from the federal government to the states provide citizen advocates the opportunity to make policy changes at home.

同样值得记住的是，尽管特朗普总统曾对疫苗持怀疑态度，但他在疫情期间将新冠疫苗作为优先事项。“曲速行动”（Operation Warp Speed）展示了政治意愿与公共利益一致时可以取得的成就。尽管该计划存在重大局限性，但“曲速行动”仍调动了180亿美元的联邦资源，并以创纪录的速度交付了安全、有效的新冠疫苗——这是卫生、科学、创新和公私合作的两党共同胜利。

It’s also worth remembering that though President Trump has engaged in vaccine skepticism, he did prioritize the Covid vaccine in the pandemic. Operation Warp Speed demonstrated what’s possible when political will aligns with the public good. Though the program had significant limitations, Operation Warp Speed marshaled $18 billion in federal resources and delivered safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines in record time — a bipartisan victory for health, science, innovation, and public-private partnerships.

此外，尽管反疫苗声音占据了媒体头条，但大多数美国人仍然为自己和孩子接种疫苗。我们一直是沉默的多数派，但现在我们终于迎来了基层疫苗倡导活动如雨后春笋般涌现。家长、医疗服务提供者、社区领导者和立法者不断涌现成为疫苗倡导者，携手壮大全国范围内的支持疫苗运动。

Furthermore, while anti-vaccine voices make headlines, the majority of Americans continue to immunize themselves and their children. We’ve been a quiet majority, but we’re finally experiencing a surge in grassroots vaccine advocacy. Parents, health care providers, community leaders, and lawmakers continue to emerge as vaccine champions, and together, we’re growing a national pro-vaccine movement.

在“安全社区联盟”发起了一场呼吁民众联系他们的参议员以反对罗伯特·F·肯尼迪被确认提名的活动后，仅几天时间内就有来自全国各地的数千名疫苗倡导者响应号召。在支持科学的育儿领域，有影响力的人们积极地将这一行动呼吁进行分享，把信息传播扩散至更广泛的群体。

Within days of SAFE Communities Coalition launching a campaign urging folks to contact their senators to reject RFK Jr.’s confirmation, thousands of pro-vaccine advocates from across the country responded. Influencers in pro-science parenting spaces enthusiastically shared the call to action, amplifying the message to an even wider audience.

放在十年前，这种参与程度是难以想象的。今天的疫苗倡导者不仅是被动地反应，更是积极主动地建立联盟并动员集体力量，我们坚信，这不仅能与反疫苗运动针锋相对，甚至将做到后来居上。

This level of engagement would have been unimaginable a decade ago. Today’s pro-vaccine advocates are not just reactive but proactive, building coalitions and mobilizing at a scale that we firmly believe will not just rival but overtake the anti-vaccine movement.

过去几年，我们取得了一些重要胜利，包括在缅因州赢得疫苗全民公投（73%的选民投票支持保护儿童免受疾病），以及在2021年成功阻止路易斯安那州提出的所有39项反疫苗法案。

We’ve had some significant victories in the past few years, including winning a vaccine referendum in Maine with a 73% majority voting to protect children from disease, and defeating all 39 of the anti-vaccine bills proposed in Louisiana in 2021.

当然，我们也从过去的立法斗争中吸取了一些深刻的教训。例如，蒙大拿州的一项法案试图禁止接种过疫苗的人献血，这将使该州的生命救助血液供应面临风险。我们采用了创新的方式（组织一场献血活动），鼓励蒙大拿州居民撸起袖子踊跃参与到疫苗接种中，并进行献血。事实上，每一项糟糕的法案都可能是一个机会，让倡导者更好地准备应对反疫苗法案，并利用有针对性的本地数据、令人信服的故事、可信的合作伙伴和协调一致的行动。我曾多次见证普通人加入我们的行列，学习如何倡导他们所相信的法律。随着我们的成长，我们的集体声音变得更急举足轻重。

Of course, we’ve also learned some tough lessons from past legislative fights. A bill in Montana would have prohibited blood donations from immunized individuals, putting the state’s lifesaving blood supply at risk. We got creative and organized a blood drive, encouraging Montanans to roll up their sleeves, get their shots, and donate blood. Every bad bill is an opportunity to make sure advocates are better prepared to respond to anti-vaccine bills with targeted local data, compelling stories, credible partners, and coordinated action. I’ve seen it happen many times – regular people are joining our ranks and learning how to advocate for the laws they believe in. As we grow, our collective voices become harder to ignore.

这种准备工作在我们预计在联邦和州层面面临新挑战时尤为重要。尽管小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪的提名令人不安，但它也激励了支持疫苗的社区共同创造了一种紧迫感和团结感的氛围，而这将在未来几年至关重要。

This preparation is critical as we anticipate new challenges at the federal and state levels. While RFK Jr.’s nomination is profoundly concerning, it has also galvanized the pro-vaccine community, creating a sense of urgency and unity that will be essential in the years ahead.

是的，这些挑战是真实存在的，一想到我们的国家卫生基础设施可能遭受的损失我就感到心碎。想到那些真实的生命、事业、有前途的创新以及经济将受到损害，我也同样难以释怀。但我们的故事不会就此结束。疫苗倡导者们比以往任何时候都更强大、更老练、更具准备。

Yes, the challenges are real, and my heart breaks as we consider the real lives, careers, promising innovations, and economies that will be hurt by anticipated losses to our national infrastructure for health. But our story doesn’t end here. Pro-vaccine advocates are stronger, savvier, and more ready than ever before.

正如高免疫覆盖率可以筑起防护墙从而保护我们的家庭和社区免受疾病传播侵害，一个团结的疫苗倡导者的多数派队伍也将帮助我们免受威胁我们集体健康和福祉的政策的影响。

In the same way that high immunization rates shield our families and communities from the spread of disease, a united majority of pro-vaccine advocates will help protect us against the policies that threaten our collective health and well-being.

原文来自于提供有关健康、医学和生命科学的可信和权威新闻网站STAT

原作者：凯特琳·吉尔梅特，SAFE Communities Coalition的通信总监，该组织是美国领先的支持疫苗倡导组织

译者：邵忆楠，一个爱吃卤煮的人

愿

丸

免责声明：本文为个人兴趣创作，仅为让更多普通人对疫苗有更加清晰的认识，内容观点不代表任何组织、单位、机构，未接受任何形式赞助，所有配图均来自网络公开平台，如果内容有误，大家多做自我批评（不是）。