Trump also impacts health; international vaccination and migrants at risk

Although the US Senate must still ratify the appointment, both humanitarian and analyst organizations have received both decisions, because they consider that it would be left without significant financing to international vaccination programs, which could contribute to the return of some contagious diseases.

Robert Kennedy Jr. and vaccines

The future in charge of the United States’s health is nephew of former president John F. Kennedy and son of Bobby Kennedy, who was also killed. He has directed and founded the organization Children’s Health Defense, known for spreading misinformation about vaccines.

In 2021, he even asked the Food and Medicines Administration (FDA) to withdraw approval to anticovid vaccines, with arguments that do not support scientific evidence. Trump has mentioned that he would consider canceling children’s vaccination programs if Kennedy considers that they are dangerous. That is why his appointment generates alert.

The United States has already registered outbreaks of preventable diseases for vaccination. The infections have occurred in children and people without vaccines. In October 2024, The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an epidemiological alert for the presence of 16,841 suspected measles cases in the continent and the confirmation of infections in eight countries, mostly in the United States (280 cases), Canada (138) and Argentina (14).

The Mexican Health Ministry also launched an epidemiological notice in line with PAHO, because in 2024 it identified 3,360 probable cases, of which seven were confirmed. All imported or associated with infections in other countries.

The postures against vaccines are also worrying because vaccination coverage has decreased in several countries, including Mexico, and could increase fear of these drugs or contribute to more people to stop vaccinating, the health expert coincides in an analysis , Xavier Tello.

“What ultimately undermine efforts to control disease outbreaks and implement evidence -based interventions,” he warns.

In addition, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He has promised to suspend government research on infectious diseases and assign 50% of the budget of national health institutes (NIH, for its acronym in English) to the research of alternative health approaches.

Reports of The Washington Post and AP They affirm that the new US administration prohibited health institutions from disseminating, until February 11, any external communication, including epidemiological bulletins and health notices, until a special envoy of their government reviews them. Scientists consulted by these media fear that the measure is not temporary or cause delays in important health alerts.

Trump and Covid

During the Covid-19 Pandemia, Trump was questioned for its management of the disease, since, according to experts, the Republican minimized the virus during his first term, sent confused messages to the population and even recommended medications without sufficient scientific evidence.

At the beginning of the pandemic, in 2020, Trump said he was under control and that his administration had a contingency plan. However, the United States became the country with more deaths from the Coronavirus.

Trump held China and the WHO of the pandemic; Very soon he managed a plan of “normalization” to encourage people to return to work and schools; He supported the groups that protested against the orders of confinement of Democratic governors; and did not use covers during its meetings or rallies.

Their pronouncements on Twitter and in press conferences not only confused the population, but also generated a state of distrust of scientific knowledge. For example, Trump gave questionable medical advice, such as his recommendation to take a malaria medication to prevent Covid-19 infection.

They prepare on the border

In the case of Mexico, immediate impacts and risks are unhealthy conditions in border cities due to the mass deportation Trump has promised and the imminent increase in migrants stranded in national territory.

On the first day of his second term, Trump canceled the appointments for asylum applicants of the CBP One application and its administration deported more than 4,000 migrants to Mexico in a week, many of them from other nationalities.

The first impacts are mental health affectations. “When this application is closed, what we are seeing is greater stress, panic in the migrant population. And we are a little worried because we think that people can risk, take more dangerous routes and expose themselves more to violence, ”explains Adriana Palomares, head of Mission of Physicians without Borders (MSF) for Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.

This organization gives basic, psychological medical consultations and sexual attention to people in mobility. Only in 2024 he added 50,110 health actions; But last week, with Trump’s return, he immediately noticed an increase in mental health consultations for depression and anxiety.

Currently, the transit of people is one of the causes of rapid propagation of diseases, while people with migration have more risks of getting sick due to climate changes, wildlife of the places where they are going through, accidents, accidents and violence, according to research by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP).

Therefore, Mexican health dependencies, especially of the border states, prepare actions to meet a high number of deportees.

The health holders of the states of Nuevo León, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora and Baja California They met with Federal Secretary of Health, David Kershenobich, to design at least care strategies 20 shelters, with capacity for 7,000 people.

In addition, so far in January, the Ministry of Health has carried out vaccination campaigns at border points, such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez.

However, doctors without borders estimates that in the country there are already 5,000 foreigners in transit for Mexico. Some 1,000 are in official shelters and 4,000 in temporary camps. The number could increase with Trump’s antimigrant policies.

“In our contingency plans we do not rule out a scenario of accumulation of people, because we know that the situation in the countries of the South does not change and does not improve and people seek a life alternative. So, we are also preparing for the stage when people try to climb and are trapped, it is a possibility, ”says Palomares in an interview.

The panorama is complicated because migrants “face many obstacles to accessing essential medical care services,” explains Eduardo Lazcano, an INP researcher. Because of the immigration status and lack of health policies that include them, it is difficult for them to access public health institutions.