One might think there is no connection between these subjects. And maybe they’re right. But maybe they’re wrong. We explore the latest measles epidemic breakout and how they relate.
We watched the latest measles epidemic breakout in Pennsylvania, while RFK Jr. made claims that the measles deaths were fabricated, from Maine while staying at Leen’s Lodge. Many readers will remember that Measles have long term consequences. Will it impact PA voters? Maine voters? Florida voters?
Years ago, we wrote about a different disease. We published a pamphlet about it too, examining Zika and its impacts. Zika has not disappeared. We have now revised the pamphlet with updated information and made it available for anyone to read or download, free and without a paywall.
Read or download the revised Zika pamphlet here.
In that publication we demonstrated how American politics delayed a response to Zika and how people suffered, mothers suffered, babies suffered, and households suffered, and long-term economics of the political errors have consequences. The updated pamphlet has the details.
Below is a summary of a “ten years later” report from John Hopkins about Zika.
Ten years after the Zika virus triggered a global health emergency, the crisis has entered a new phase as children who survived infection in the womb are becoming adolescents, revealing complex new challenges. Meanwhile, researchers are racing to develop a vaccine before the virus rebounds.
Brazil’s Zika generation: 3,080+ Brazilian children were born with congenital Zika syndrome after the 2015–16 outbreak. At least 444 of those children have died, and many survivors are now facing a new wave of severe neurological and developmental disabilities, seizures, and worsening musculoskeletal problems—leading to a new uptick in mortality, reports The Telegraph.
- Families—many led by mothers—have faced a relentless struggle meeting their children’s mounting needs while also advocating for support to help meet the costs for rehabilitation, surgeries, and care.
Vaccine breakthroughs: There is still no approved Zika vaccine, but a new experimental vaccine study suggests new potential strategies, reports Medical Xpress. Researchers found that an experimental vaccine used on mice provided protection through T cells alone, without relying on antibodies, a particular challenge with orthoflaviviruses like Zika and dengue, per the study published in Nature Microbiology.
- “The long-term goal of our lab is to develop a vaccine that provides long-term protection against all of these viruses,” said the study’s lead author Sujan Shresta.
- The catch: Protection faded after 12 weeks in mice, meaning researchers are now looking for ways to make the T-cell response durable.
High stakes: Zika transmission has fallen sharply, but as immunity wanes and susceptible populations grow amid a warming climate and insecticide resistance, public health leaders say the time to prepare for the next outbreak is now.
These direct links from the summary above are offered to any serious reader.
- Ten years after Brazil’s Zika epidemic, its children are still paying the price
- Experimental Zika vaccine reveals T cells can drive protection without antibodies
- A Zika virus vaccine with E protein fusion loop mutations protects via CD8+ T cells
Our point here is lessons can be learned or ignored. Now we have RFK Jr. and his vaccine policy. From it we (the United States) have lost the “measles eradicated” status. Does this translate into a voter change in the midterms? IMO, it might swing votes away from the RFK, Jr., MAHA-MAGA-Trump vaccine policy. It works one vote at a time.
I saw it last week in northern Maine, and I see it now in Florida. It is not in the finger pointing 30 seconds acrimonious TV ads. It is household by household saying, “I have had enough.”
In Maine, I saw it among Republicans and independents. I believe it will result in former Governor Paul LePage losing the race for the open congressional seat in the 2nd district. LePage, had been my guest at Camp Kotok when he was Governor. As I traveled in Bangor and north, I asked local folks repeatedly about the midterms. Many were Trump supporters once. Not now. They are witnessing the destructive Trump trade war with Canada. It is in their face. It is hurting their pocketbooks. They are witnessing a measles outbreak. They have watched the local news reports about ICE shooting an innocent man in Biddeford, Maine (see, “AP Exclusive: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, family and records say”).
Now LePage is trying to argue Trump tariffs are “temporary” and he is trying to placate the extremist MAHA-MAGA on one side while trying to avoid losing voters by being too extremist. He is failing, IMO. Speaker Johnson and VP Vance in Maine won’t help him, IMO. And sick kids from measles won’t either. LePage ignored lessons from the past including Zika. We once discussed it together over dinner at Camp Kotok years ago.
Note the gap between Republican Senate candidate Senator Susan Collins and Republican former governor and now congressional candidate Paul Lepage is very wide. It will be interesting to look at the final votes in the 2nd congressional district in Maine and see how many voters split their tickets and voted for Collins but not for LePage. Collins, too, has been a dinner guest at Camp Kotok. It was the night after she joined Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and the late Senator John McCain and voted against Trump.
In summary, Mainers are very independently minded regardless of political party. There are extremes on left and right, of course. But my 4 decades of experience in Maine confirms how Mainers think for themselves. They don’t like what they see, whether tariffs or sickness, or Hegseth’s military failures or RFK Jr.’s vaccine policies. Mainers follow events. And they vote their conscious and mostly ignore the political parties for good reasons: they don’t trust either one of them.
Note Senator Angus King is an independent, not a Democrat, even though he caucuses with the democrats. Note Susan Collins has voted against the Trump tariffs.
Disclosure: Cumberland had an office in Portland, Maine. The late Joel Abromson was my Cumberland Advisors colleague in Portland. He was a Republican Senator in Maine. Joel’s wife, The late Linda Abromson, was Mayor of Portland; she was a Democrat. Mainers think for themselves, IMO.
Final note. JD Vance dodged the question about the ICE shooting of an innocent man in Biddeford. So, he segued to fentanyl. ICE officials claimed the man “weaponized” his car. That seems like a bunch of “hooey” to me. How many times have you heard the term “weaponized” the car?
Fact: people are shot dead. They are unarmed. And ICE persists. Now how do you expect people to vote in the face of that experience?
Shame on Vance. And on LePage. IMO, Mainers know better.
The Zika pamphlet is updated and free. Mosquitos are in an outbreak in Florida and the viruses they are carrying are making the local Florida news. I personally swatted a mosquito at Leen’s last week. A mosquito in Maine, in September. Used to be unthinkable.
Finally, we weren’t seeing Canadian license plates during our visit. You do hear personal stories of American citizens who are Mainers being harassed when they return to the US from Canada though. And it is the American border patrol harassing the American citizen returnees!
Food for thought on the midterms.
Download “ZIKA” for free here: Zika-Pamphlet-by-David-R-Kotok
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