Hundreds of leading medical organizations write Trump to endorse vaccines

More than 350 organizations signed a letter addressed to President Donald Trump to express their "unequivocal support for the safety of vaccines," reports The Washington Post.

The letter, dated Feb. 7, was sent on behalf of a number of national and state-based organizations, including leading U.S. medical, advocacy and professional organizations. In the letter, the groups tout the effectiveness of vaccines.

"Vaccines protect the health of children and adults and save lives. They prevent life-threatening diseases, including forms of cancer. Vaccines have been part of the fabric of our society for decades and are one of the most significant medical innovations of our time," the letter reads.

The effort, organized by the American Academy of Pediatrics, comes in response to President Trump's embrace of discredited claims about vaccine safety, according to the report. In January, Mr. Trump met with vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy to reportedly discuss the creation of a vaccine safety panel. Andrew Wakefield — an ex-physician whose discredited work on the link between vaccines and autism spawned the modern anti-vaccine movement in 1998 — was also a guest at one of Mr. Trump's inaugural balls.

In the letter, the groups write, "Claims that vaccines are unsafe when administered according to expert recommendations have been disproven by a robust body of medical literature, including a thorough review by the National Academy of Medicine (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine)."

The organizations conclude the letter by saying they'd welcome the opportunity to meet with President Trump "to share the robust, extensive scientific evidence supporting vaccine safety and effectiveness."

 

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