OPINION: As a future pediatrician, I shouldn’t be preparing for diseases from the past

As an Iowan, I’ve always been drawn to helping people. Growing up “Iowa nice” transformed into a desire to become a pediatrician, connecting with families like the ones I grew up alongside.

Entering my fourth year of medical school at the Carver College of Medicine — I am alarmed by the dangers our state’s children face from government officials like Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Iowa’s own Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who is a doctor herself.

Iowa has now seen its eighth measles case this year, including exposures at a day care in Cedar Rapids. The danger of this disease is highest for the littlest among us, who are too young to receive the MMR vaccine. It’s recommended by the CDC starting at one year old. 

This measles uptick is not just a dangerous trend in Iowa, but across the country, where over 90% of confirmed cases this year have been among the unvaccinated. This comes as a direct consequence of reckless leadership by Kennedy, who began bulldozing pillars of long-held science and dismantling medical infrastructure after he took office.

One of his most dangerous decisions was firing of all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which releases guidance on vaccines, including the childhood vaccination schedule. ACIP has existed for over 50 years and is made up of scientists, doctors, and other experts who make decisions based on data to keep children safe from vaccine-preventable diseases. 

He then appointed new members who, like him, have spread anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and touted disproven claims that incite chaos and fear in the evidence-based medical system. 

Kennedy falsely claimed that the MMR vaccine contains “aborted fetus debris” and causes autism — long-debunked theories. He also fired over 10,000 employees within HHS, including researchers that study everything from cancer to birth defects, HIV, Alzheimer’s, and other devastating diseases. Now, he’s planning to let the entire U.S. Preventive Services Task Force go. 

By undermining this system of experts that has kept kids safe for decades, Kennedy is putting the burden on parents to weed through complex political decisions to keep their children healthy. 

There’s a thousand little decisions parents have to make every single day. They shouldn’t have to contend with incompetence at a national level, with an HHS Secretary who downplays the fatality rate of measles right after it killed two unvaccinated children. But with cases hitting their highest yearly record in 33 years just over halfway through 2025, Kennedy is continuing to put kids in harm’s way by perpetuating lies with no scientific basis, despite there being a clear solution to protect from measles’ fatal effects: vaccination. 

Iowan daycares shouldn’t need to shut down and leave parents to grapple with the ramifications of a completely preventable disease when we can protect children with a vaccine that has been shown to be safe and effective for over 50 years. 

Because of measles’ rampant return, Iowa health officials are now recommending that parents consider vaccinating their infants early — between 6-11 months — or consider an accelerated schedule for their older children, meaning they receive the second MMR shot soon after the first dose. These two doses are 97% effective against measles, which has claimed the lives of three Americans this year.

As I start my pediatric career, I want Iowa’s kids to be safe. I was an Iowan kid once, too, and I would hope that our government officials, like Kennedy and Miller-Meeks, would want our future doctors and dreamers to live the healthiest and fullest possible lives.