Children, particularly those who are poor and from historically marginalized Black and Brown communities, always seem to bear the brunt of ill-advised policy choices. That is certainly the case with the new vaccine recommendations from an advisory panel appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic.
The panel recommended that for kids under 4, the first dose against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox be in two separate shots, not the combination shot known as MMRV. The panel also recommended the federal Vaccines for Children program align its coverage with the panel’s recommendation. About half of U.S. kids get their vaccinations through this program.
As a result, children, especially those reliant on government insurance programs, will have difficulty accessing the combination vaccine. This will mean more trips to the doctor and needle pricks. Some kids, especially those from families with limited resources, might not complete the regimen.
The panel also considered ending the recommendation that newborns be vaccinated against hepatitis B, a liver virus. Since a 2005 recommendation that newborns receive the vaccine, cases of hepatitis B in infants have dropped by more than half. After criticism, the panel chose to postpone its decision.
Finally, the panel declined to recommend COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone, including children and high-risk adults such as seniors with respiratory conditions. Previously, the vaccine was recommended annually for most people. Even before this change, last year only about 13% of children were up to date on their COVID-19 shots.
Fortunately, Illinois has published its own vaccine guidelines and is requiring state-regulated insurance plans to cover vaccines based on state recommendations.
But this will not fully address the problem because the payment mandate does not extend to federally regulated plans, which include many employer-offered plans. Moreover, most states have not adopted their own vaccine guidelines.
Who will be most impacted? Disproportionately, children who don’t have the resources to get second opinions from pediatricians, pay for vaccines privately, obtain supplemental coverage or return to the doctor multiple times because they cannot access a combination vaccine.
All this will add yet another heavy and unacceptable obstacle to the health and success of our most vulnerable children.
Charles P. Golbert, Cook County public guardian
Small businesses will feel the heat under proposed ordinance
In their recent op-ed, “Protect workers toiling in the heat,” Alds. Maria Hadden (49th) and Michael Rodriguez (22nd) argue for sweeping labor regulations and red tape to “protect” outdoor workers from the heat.
To achieve their aim, Hadden and Rodriguez are pushing a far-reaching ordinance that layers outdoor work in Chicago with new bureaucratic requirements and liability risks.
This proposed ordinance will both increase the price of outdoor services and home repairs for everyday Chicagoans and disproportionately hurt small businesses.
Having grown up in southern Illinois, I’m no stranger to working in the heat. I bought my first car and put myself through college — in part — through hot, grueling lawn care, camp and farm jobs. Since then, I completed the Army’s basic training in Georgia, deployed to Afghanistan, and lived and worked in several Middle Eastern countries, experiencing heat far beyond anything Chicago is likely to see.
I share this background because working in the heat is part of my story. It’s a life I’ve lived. I take pride in having worked under an unforgiving sun, pitting myself against nature — and winning.
It is hot. Small-business owners know that. They often work alongside their employees and look out for them on cold days, on hot days and everything in between.
The ordinance Hadden and Rodriguez are pushing won’t change that. What it will do is impose heavy administrative burdens on small-business owners while exposing them to costly fines and lawsuits. Small businesses, unlike their larger peers, cannot afford the legal and compliance experts needed to maintain and prove compliance with these sweeping mandates.
Any slip up, such as failing to document employee “monitoring,” could expose them to bureaucratic ire and costly lawsuits.
Tellingly, this ordinance doesn’t apply equally to all Chicago workers. While bearing down on the smallest of small businesses, the proposed ordinance specifically exempts many union employees from these so-called “protections” — as if a union card were a magical talisman against heat stroke.
Chicago’s small businesses and their employees deserve better. Small-business owners are better positioned than politicians and trial lawyers to look out for their employees.
Noah Finley, Illinois state director, National Federation of Independent Business, Springfield
Wildfire smoke is a deadly threat
A growing body of research warns that wildfire smoke may become one of America’s deadliest environmental threats. A recent study published in Nature by researchers from Stanford and Stony Brook universities projects up to 70,000 annual deaths by 2050, even under low-emissions scenarios.
The study analyzed two decades of pollution and mortality data, revealing that wildfire smoke is no longer a regional issue but a nationwide hazard. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the primary pollutant in smoke, infiltrates the lungs and bloodstream, contributing to the development of heart and respiratory diseases.
Harvard’s Francesca Dominici calls it “a toxic soup of chemicals.” Urban fires compound the danger by releasing plastics and heavy metals into the air.
Efforts by the Trump administration to repeal the endangerment finding and relax air quality standards risk worsening the crisis. Stanford’s Marshall Burke emphasizes, “The impacts are much larger than anything else that has been measured.”
As droughts and wildfires intensify, urgent action is needed to improve air quality and safeguard public health and environmental stability.
Erica Bibbey Marietta, Georgia