Trump’s Performative Vaccine Policy

 

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was wary of vaccines. I heard the horror stories, and I knew I wouldn’t forgive myself if a shot hurt my baby.

My pediatrician was patient and kind. He didn’t make me feel bad for having questions. He talked me through the science and his own parenting decisions based on his extensive education and instincts. 

Together, we came up with a plan that made sense to me and eased my mind while still protecting my child. That plan included spreading out some of the vaccines my kids were given. With my story as background, I believe President Trump’s executive order calling on states to spread out vaccines given to children is purely performative.

Yes, vaccines can have side effects and cause harm. This is important and matters. 

It is also important to know that side effects and harm done by vaccines are exceedingly rare. The benefits of eradicating diseases that once regularly killed infants and children outweigh the small risks.

Parents should know their child’s individual risk factors for vaccinations and discuss them with their provider. If providers are unwilling to listen, switch doctors.

Good doctors will talk parents through what their choices are and what the science says. Spacing vaccines out isn’t new and there is no solid science indicating it is any safer than administering them all at once. 

I say this as someone who chose to do so. I did so more for my own peace of mind than for any scientific reason.

Follow the Lead of Developed Nations

The White House has stated this decision was made following the lead of other developed nations. Developed nations with healthier children have other policies I’d like our country to emulate.

Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Australia offer parents between four months (Canada) and a year (Norway) of paid parental leave after the birth of a child. They all also offer childcare subsidies. All this is on top of universal healthcare.

These benefits would positively impact so many of our nation’s current crises, including the decline in maternal mental health and economic instability caused by crushing medical debt. Additionally, when paid leave is extended to the partners of mothers, it encourages a more equitable division of childcare and lessens the mental load on both parents.

The U.S. federal minimum wage has been stagnant for decades. Higher education is increasingly inaccessible. Childcare is so unaffordable that sending kids to daycare often costs more than an average paycheck. 

Jobs that can support a whole family on just one income, with benefits, are now the exception. Where they do exist, they typically cost hundreds of thousands in education to achieve.

All this leads to a long-term reliance on the few social safety net programs many in our country currently need. If we spent those funds instead on programs that allowed people to work, gave them access to education, and helped them remain on the same career path even when they start a family, it would help keep many out of the systems of poverty.

Family Friendly Healthcare Policy

During my first pregnancy, I took an unpaid maternity leave from the school district I worked for. This time off resulted in me owing $1,500 to the school district at the end of the leave for healthcare premiums. When I returned to work, I sent my three-month-old baby to daycare, which took half of my paycheck each month and kept her away from me for most of the day.

As a teacher, this was challenging. I had to finish out the school year so my teaching license wouldn’t be at risk. So even if I wanted to entirely quit my career at that moment, it would cause more harm than the loss of my next immediate paycheck.

My husband, Duke, got three days off work. Both of us have college degrees, and we were working in professional jobs, contributing tax dollars that could benefit families like ours, but weren’t.

If you are excited about the president’s executive order on vaccines, it’s time to start rallying for real change that would benefit our country, families, and children with a much greater impact. Families shouldn’t have to choose between working and caring for their infants and a developed society should use its tax dollars to support that.

Universal healthcare, extended paid parental leave, and childcare subsidies benefit everyone, whether they are parents or not. They are pro-life and pro-family and should have equal support among both conservatives and progressives.