1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

I'm writing because the signs point to a dangerous decline in our public health infrastructure under current HHS Secretary Robert F.Kennedy, Jr. In this Friday's New York Times (7/24), Teddy Rosenbluth reported that the U.S. recorded more new measles cases in 2026 to date than any year since the virus was declared 'eliminated' in 2000. That is an appalling milestone to set in the wake of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that killed over a million in less than two years. She stated that this is “a grim sign that the country may be headed toward a new era in which the disease regularly sickens thousands every year.” And many of them will be children, resulting in preventable deaths. And it's not limited to measles. Cyclospora cases have now spread to 41 states, making this the largest such outbreak in our history. I note that this happened after both the CDC and the USDA shed staff and eliminated entire sections of departments that track exactly this parasite. This also coincides with a new spike in cases of 'flesh-eating' bacteria far outside previous hotspots, in part because of the systematic dismantling of the systems that were built to track it. The New World Screwworm that affects cattle is surging too, because once again, funding for the programs that track it were cut. But wait, now we’re hearing that the administration still isn’t done slashing the CDC and other public health agencies’ funding. According to MSN: “The CDC’s budget would be reduced by 53% if the administration’s proposed FY 2026 budget is adopted, according to a 2025 analysis by Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit that tracks public health funding annually. The proposed budget would cut the CDC’s overall budget from $9.2 billion in FY 2024 to about $4.2 billion in FY 2026.” Excuse me, but what the hell are we doing, and why? Is this a planned purge of our population by the deliberate weakening of our defenses against infectious disease? I'm completely serious. How many vulnerable people must die from preventable causes before critical funding is finally restored? Because those deaths will happen unless and until we restore public health funding to full strength. Do the right thing: restore all funding to the CDC, the USDA, the FDA, and any other agencies dealing with food or livestock safety. And RFK Jr. must be impeached! Make public health great in America again. Because human lives are priceless. Thank you for paying attention to what matters.