1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

A child - one of your constituents - has died in Texas from measles. The first measles death in the US in a decade, and the Secretary of HHS effectively said, "it happens". NO. It doesn't. Twenty-five years ago, in 2000, the CDC declared that due to consistent rates of high vaccination, measles had been eradicated. But now we have an administration that wants tell lies about the effectiveness of vaccines. I am among those who got an early measles vaccine, but it wasn't long lasting. As a freshman in high school, I caught the measles from an infant I was babysitting. I spent nearly a month running a fever, out of school, and recovering - but my case was less severe (read fatal) than it might have been because I did get a vaccine. Because I have underlying health issues, I was in the "B" group for the first Covid vaccines (remember, people were ranked according to risk) and have had every booster since. Still, after years of being careful, I did come down with Covid - and had such severe post-infection inflammatory symptoms that I ended up in the hospital for several days. Again, I probably survived because I had been vaccinated. It is one thing to have policy differences, it is another - completely irresponsible thing - to allow this administration to slash and burn federal health agencies and put out bald faced lies about medications (such as anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs) and vaccines that have been proven to be safe and effective in saving lives. The cancelation of the FDA meeting on flu vaccines almost certainly means that many Americans will fall ill and potentially die because the Executive Branch is not operating in the best interest of the nation. Congress is a co-equal branch of government (or did you miss that day in law school?) with oversight authority to ensure that the executive branch does not harm the American people. You swore and oath to the Constitution and to the people of Texas, who you purport to represent - not to the occupant of the Oval Office. Exercising oversight is an essential aspect of upholding that promise. Do your job. Check the Executive and protect the health and well-being of your constituents.