Fund global vaccination efforts

In the midst of many public health problems at home, from the opioid crisis to high drug prices, it can be hard for all health issues to get the attention they deserve. An example of such an issue is global infectious disease prevention. If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it is that diseases know no boundaries and can mutate into new variants very quickly. A disease we rarely think about in America, like measles, could become an economic and national security disaster in a matter of weeks.

Thankfully, there is a simple and cost effective way to help prevent biosecurity calamities like this: funding global immunization efforts. By continuing to fund global immunization initiatives, we can prevent pandemics from springing up in the first place, keeping Americans safe. This is especially critical for those who are allergic to or medically unable to receive vaccines, as they rely on herd immunity to stay healthy. They’re also cost-effective: generating $50 in medical savings and economic activity where they are administered. Most importantly, it saves 700,000 children from unnecessary, painful deaths each year. To put that in perspective, that is 10 Kinnick Stadiums full of children dying of disease.

I implore you, the reader, to contact your members of Congress and tell them to support global immunization funding. Our security, our neighbors and hundreds of thousands of children are counting on you.

Patrick Taylor

Iowa City