A Pro-Lockdown Virologist Warns of Outbreaks Under Trump Administration
A prominent virologist has warned that the Trump administration faces a torrent of infectious disease outbreaks when it takes office. Dr. Peter Hotez, a leading supporter of lockdowns and mask mandates during the Covid-19 pandemic, expressed his concerns in an interview with MSNBC.
Hotez cautioned that there are at least nine infectious diseases currently spreading in the US that could cause another pandemic, including a surge in bird flu cases in animals, a resurgence in measles and whooping cough linked to falling vaccination rates. He urged the Trump administration to take action to prevent a global crisis.
The warning comes as the Democratic Republic of Congo is put on “maximum alert” after a mystery respiratory virus killed nearly 150 people, mostly teenagers, and UN health officials were sent to contain the outbreak.
Hotez also warned about the spread of H5N1, a bird flu virus that is spreading rapidly in wild birds in the western United States and has been reported in cattle and milk. He also highlighted the rise of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, whooping cough, and polio, and the potential for future outbreaks.
Dr. Hotez’s concerns are echoed by other experts, including Dr. Annie Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who noted that diagnosing the illnesses in the DRC may be complicated by underlying health issues such as malaria and malnutrition.
The timing of Hotez’s warning comes as the Trump administration is set to take office on January 21, with the president’s nominee for head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Junior, who has been a vocal critic of vaccines. The administration plans to slash funding for infectious disease research and instead focus on addressing chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.