Experts warn vaccine restrictions and CDC turmoil could drive outbreaks and strain cross-border health
Canadian infectious disease experts warn that political decisions in the United States could weaken vaccine access and threaten health outcomes across borders, according to CTV News.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced that Susan Monarez would no longer serve as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), less than one month after she took the position.
CTV News said that the dismissal follows earlier changes to COVID-19 vaccine guidelines and US President Donald Trump’s move to withdraw the country from the World Health Organization.
Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, described the situation as “catastrophic.”
She said US health and human services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made clear his intention to restrict vaccine access, adding the impact would extend beyond the US.
Mark Tyndall, former director of the BC Centre for Disease Control, said the policies could jeopardize Canadian health outcomes.
“I think we’re just entering very scary times,” he said. “If you lose all this capacity and you defund research and surveillance and make crazy policies about vaccinations, I think, we could look back at this as a really pivotal time in our health in North America.”
Both Rasmussen and Tyndall pointed to the rise in vaccine skepticism as evidence of how US political rhetoric is already affecting Canada.
Rasmussen noted that Canada recorded two historic measles outbreaks last year in Ontario and Alberta, warning that future outbreaks could be larger if hesitancy and refusal increase.
Tyndall added that Canada had often relied on the CDC for policy guidance, but he now believes the organization may no longer be reliable. “That means that we have to make more of our own decisions,” he said.
BC Health Minister Josie Osborne echoed concerns in a statement, calling the Trump administration’s attacks on public health and the CDC “deeply disturbing.”
Osborne said public health protections safeguard people on both sides of the border and emphasized the province’s support for science, research, and efforts to combat misinformation.
Both experts suggested Canada may need to take on a stronger leadership role in global health.
Tyndall said he really thinks Canada needs to invest heavily. He added that the country should do more both domestically and internationally, taking up some of the slack left by the United States.
Rasmussen agreed, noting the loss of long-standing collaboration with the US leaves Canada and other countries “unmoored from that established system that we know worked and led to so many pivotal discoveries.”
