A federal judge’s 2023 decision that rolled back Mississippi’s strict school vaccine requirements coincided with a surge in whooping cough and the death of an infant, The Guardian reported. The state began accepting religious exemptions ahead of the 2023-24 school year, the story said.
Mississippi recorded 146 whooping cough cases last year, according to provisional data cited by The Guardian — the highest total in 16 years — and a baby under 2 months old died in September, the report said. The child’s identity was not released, and state officials said the mother had received a recommended booster during pregnancy, The Guardian reported.
Vaccination coverage has slipped for the youngest students, The Guardian wrote, citing preliminary numbers from the Mississippi Department of Health that put overall student coverage at 99.5% this school year but kindergarten coverage at about 97%. The report said more than one in five religious exemptions issued this year were for kindergarteners.
The Guardian reported that doctors and public health officials in Mississippi warned the rollback could lead to a comeback of preventable diseases. Dr. Daniel Edney told a talk radio host, “None of these diseases are gone … They’re just waiting. They’re lurking,” and Dr. John Gaudet said, “Once the vaccine numbers tick down, the cases tick up … Then somebody, eventually, somebody’s going to die.” Pediatrician Dr. Anita Henderson told The Guardian, “They see this as a victory. But I think pediatricians see it as an assault on our patients, and an assault on families.”
The Guardian’s investigation also connected the legal campaign that led to the rule change to allies of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., naming Del Bigtree and lawyer Aaron Siri and saying the relationships involved “hundreds of thousands of dollars and benefits,” and that the Informed Consent Action Network has used the Mississippi victory to raise funds to push similar changes elsewhere. The Guardian said it sought comment from the Department of Health and Human Services, Bigtree and Siri, and that none responded directly to questions about the outbreak and the infant’s death.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
