I have heard from a friend about a newly discovered, infectious disease, Trumpitis. Seems it affects all of the senses (balance, vision, hearing, etc.) in the same way, disrupting their reality connection so that up is down, black is white, "yes" is heard as "no". It seems to occur with proximity to the Original Source, an orangish, overweight being, and, in extreme cases, even affects the vocal cords so that all infectees speak the same garbled version of English such that, as soon as the source utters words, they are regurgitated verbatim.
There is no known cure, but I am certain that the vaccine wizard, aka Brain Worm Host, is working feverishly on a serum to inject it into those unfortunate beings who are not in close enough proximity to the Original Source to catch it on their own, will be able to experience the symptoms themselves.
“….HHS will work with states and clinicians to ensure families have clear, accurate information to make their own informed decisions.”
The antivaxxer point-of-view seems to be that requiring a vaccine means that recipients (or their parents) are denied an “informed decision.” So almost by definition, the only “informed decision” is not to do what the requirement requires.
Incredible, but far from shocking. If you know Kennedy’s history in Samoa; In 2019, Samoa experienced a devastating measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children, following a severe drop in vaccination rates thanks to lies and misinformation disseminated by RFK Jr..and his coterie of quack physicians.
It’s certainly interesting that Kennedy is modeling his vaccine schedule on Denmark. Ironically, it was Denmark that conducted the world’s largest and longest peer reviewed study on autism; it lasted a decade with more than 665,000 participants and researchers concluded that no such link exists between vaccines and autism.
A second study was completed in 2025 by the same institution with 1.2 million participants; the results were the same!
Thank you for the article. Excellent reporting. And I really appreciated your description of the French health system which is very good but not perfect. Yes, we all get basic coverage and the system really shines for catastrophic health events (says the woman who had open heart surgery last year). But for the copays on the basic stuff you really need extra insurance which many people get from their employer, but not everyone. I have been sent off to see a specialist by my GP (medecin traitant) and the only one I could find with an appointment within the next 6 months is in Paris and she charges 150 euros (an obscene amount in this part of the world). Most of that will NOT be reimbursed and will only partially be paid by my private insurance. In the meantime I have been asked to start kiné (physical therapy) but none of the physical therapists in my area have rates that match the reimbursement and again my private insurance will only partially cover the extra charges. So, I will not start the kiné until I see the specialist
There is a public option that covers more for people who are low-income but what I am hearing in my very right-wing part of France is that this program (in their opinion) is just a subsidy for immigrants and should therefore be abolished, restricted, something something....
I've never once heard a story about a parent who has lost a child from a vaccination. I've heard of bad reactions, yes. But this is why herd immunity is so vital. Thank you for publishing this story, it's heartbreaking.
Thank you for this important piece, Jonathan. I'm a biochemist by training, education and profession, and some of the work I cherish most in my career involved partnerships with NIH and CDC. After warning for a decade and bracing myself for the fallout from this country's disastrous choice, again, I have felt such anguish as our health agencies have been destroyed, and as Kennedy and his anti-science, anti-intellectual cabal of liars, grifters, and conspiratorial fact terrorists have razed what once was the greatest jewel in the crown of infectious disease research and prevention. Our withdrawal from WHO has been acid in the wound.
I beg my fellow Americans to dig in and to register and vote, and I hope and pray we can recover somehow, but it's going to take generations. And we're watching how incredibly easy it is to destroy that which has taken generations to build. It will again, I'm afraid, but it's worth doing, especially if we value the freedoms that derive from a healthy, vaccinated population.
That stable genius hears something about something. Hears a word or two that he may understand and then demands others to carry out his orders. I doubt he ever tried to understand any medical issue because he knows all and is never wrong. As long as the Republicans won’t do anything to stop him, and Democrats are too afraid to corral their members to stay the course in opposition, the death toil will rise for preventable diseases.
Kennedy is a large part of the authoritarian regime.
They lie. We know they lie. They know that we know they lie. Yet they continue and double down on their lies because that is how authoritarians operate. Their lies are law.
RFK is a shining example of a know nothing posing as an expert. Once people understand that his scientific backround is a joke, any decision he makes is not based on evidence but his emotional gut. How despairing that these are the men and women picked to cabinet positions. Even more despairing is that they were confirmed my men and women who knew they were not qualified for any cabinet post. I wonder how many terrible things that will happen because of this will be traced back to them. Lord help us. Wake up America
I had a baby sister who died of meningitis at 10 days old. I was 1. This was in 1975. Because it was so unexpected and there was no therapy for my mother’s trauma and devastation, this shaped my life in countless ways. I had great parents and a functional childhood but I see now how much her need for me to support her and prove to her that she was a worthy mother shaped my life until she died, too young, when I was 30. And those decisions in turn shaped much of my life permanently. It’s not all about me I realize but this story is so personally resonant. I pray these parents find peace and consolation.
Your doctor should recommend meningococcal immunization if you have had a splenectomy, if you are in a school or the army in a dormitory setting or if you are traveling to a country with endemic meningococcal disease (such as in sub-Saharan Africa). You can certainly request it, and you can probably get it at a MinuteClinic or travel medicine clinic that stocks it, but your insurance may not cover it.
Jonathan,
I have heard from a friend about a newly discovered, infectious disease, Trumpitis. Seems it affects all of the senses (balance, vision, hearing, etc.) in the same way, disrupting their reality connection so that up is down, black is white, "yes" is heard as "no". It seems to occur with proximity to the Original Source, an orangish, overweight being, and, in extreme cases, even affects the vocal cords so that all infectees speak the same garbled version of English such that, as soon as the source utters words, they are regurgitated verbatim.
There is no known cure, but I am certain that the vaccine wizard, aka Brain Worm Host, is working feverishly on a serum to inject it into those unfortunate beings who are not in close enough proximity to the Original Source to catch it on their own, will be able to experience the symptoms themselves.
“….HHS will work with states and clinicians to ensure families have clear, accurate information to make their own informed decisions.”
The antivaxxer point-of-view seems to be that requiring a vaccine means that recipients (or their parents) are denied an “informed decision.” So almost by definition, the only “informed decision” is not to do what the requirement requires.
Incredible, but far from shocking. If you know Kennedy’s history in Samoa; In 2019, Samoa experienced a devastating measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children, following a severe drop in vaccination rates thanks to lies and misinformation disseminated by RFK Jr..and his coterie of quack physicians.
It’s certainly interesting that Kennedy is modeling his vaccine schedule on Denmark. Ironically, it was Denmark that conducted the world’s largest and longest peer reviewed study on autism; it lasted a decade with more than 665,000 participants and researchers concluded that no such link exists between vaccines and autism.
A second study was completed in 2025 by the same institution with 1.2 million participants; the results were the same!
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/statens-serum-institut-large-danish-110000316.html
As with everything done by this administration, looking from the perspective of maximum damage to the country, they couldn't be doing better.
Thank you for the article. Excellent reporting. And I really appreciated your description of the French health system which is very good but not perfect. Yes, we all get basic coverage and the system really shines for catastrophic health events (says the woman who had open heart surgery last year). But for the copays on the basic stuff you really need extra insurance which many people get from their employer, but not everyone. I have been sent off to see a specialist by my GP (medecin traitant) and the only one I could find with an appointment within the next 6 months is in Paris and she charges 150 euros (an obscene amount in this part of the world). Most of that will NOT be reimbursed and will only partially be paid by my private insurance. In the meantime I have been asked to start kiné (physical therapy) but none of the physical therapists in my area have rates that match the reimbursement and again my private insurance will only partially cover the extra charges. So, I will not start the kiné until I see the specialist
There is a public option that covers more for people who are low-income but what I am hearing in my very right-wing part of France is that this program (in their opinion) is just a subsidy for immigrants and should therefore be abolished, restricted, something something....
I've never once heard a story about a parent who has lost a child from a vaccination. I've heard of bad reactions, yes. But this is why herd immunity is so vital. Thank you for publishing this story, it's heartbreaking.
Thank you for this important piece, Jonathan. I'm a biochemist by training, education and profession, and some of the work I cherish most in my career involved partnerships with NIH and CDC. After warning for a decade and bracing myself for the fallout from this country's disastrous choice, again, I have felt such anguish as our health agencies have been destroyed, and as Kennedy and his anti-science, anti-intellectual cabal of liars, grifters, and conspiratorial fact terrorists have razed what once was the greatest jewel in the crown of infectious disease research and prevention. Our withdrawal from WHO has been acid in the wound.
I beg my fellow Americans to dig in and to register and vote, and I hope and pray we can recover somehow, but it's going to take generations. And we're watching how incredibly easy it is to destroy that which has taken generations to build. It will again, I'm afraid, but it's worth doing, especially if we value the freedoms that derive from a healthy, vaccinated population.
The RFK Menace: We're not Anti-Vax .. we are Pro-Natural Selection. https://bsky.app/profile/opsan.com/post/3lxkb7eu55k2r
That stable genius hears something about something. Hears a word or two that he may understand and then demands others to carry out his orders. I doubt he ever tried to understand any medical issue because he knows all and is never wrong. As long as the Republicans won’t do anything to stop him, and Democrats are too afraid to corral their members to stay the course in opposition, the death toil will rise for preventable diseases.
The MAGA hats should have this insignia ☠️
Kennedy is a large part of the authoritarian regime.
They lie. We know they lie. They know that we know they lie. Yet they continue and double down on their lies because that is how authoritarians operate. Their lies are law.
RFK is a shining example of a know nothing posing as an expert. Once people understand that his scientific backround is a joke, any decision he makes is not based on evidence but his emotional gut. How despairing that these are the men and women picked to cabinet positions. Even more despairing is that they were confirmed my men and women who knew they were not qualified for any cabinet post. I wonder how many terrible things that will happen because of this will be traced back to them. Lord help us. Wake up America
I had a baby sister who died of meningitis at 10 days old. I was 1. This was in 1975. Because it was so unexpected and there was no therapy for my mother’s trauma and devastation, this shaped my life in countless ways. I had great parents and a functional childhood but I see now how much her need for me to support her and prove to her that she was a worthy mother shaped my life until she died, too young, when I was 30. And those decisions in turn shaped much of my life permanently. It’s not all about me I realize but this story is so personally resonant. I pray these parents find peace and consolation.
Trumps cabinet is full of mediocre, barely qualified “experts”
Devastating. Please continue your important journalism. Thank you!
I’ve been reading a lot about this disease recently. Are adults supposed to get, and can they get, vaccinated?
Your doctor should recommend meningococcal immunization if you have had a splenectomy, if you are in a school or the army in a dormitory setting or if you are traveling to a country with endemic meningococcal disease (such as in sub-Saharan Africa). You can certainly request it, and you can probably get it at a MinuteClinic or travel medicine clinic that stocks it, but your insurance may not cover it.