Dr. Fauci speaks about declining vaccination rates at New Orleans Book Fest

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - More than five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the people who led the country through the health crisis -- Dr. Anthony Fauci -- spoke at this year’s New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University.

Fauci was the former chief medical adviser for presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden. During his panel, he spoke about the decisions to implement specific COVID-19 safety procedures and the importance of making decisions based on medical data and science.

He said what concerns him currently is the decline in vaccination rates across the board, especially for measles.

The CDC says 92 percent of kindergarteners in the US are vaccinated for measles, a 3 percent drop over a five-year period.

Health experts, including Fauci, say it’s causing the disease to spread faster than it has in decades, especially among children.

“Are we willing to accept death from a preventable disease among our children?” Fauci asked.

Tulane professor and biographer Walter Isaacson moderated the Q&A session with Fauci, asking him what he thinks about people not vaccinating themselves or their children against measles.

“That is incorrect, from all parameters of experience and science,” Fauci said. “One in 20 people who get it get hospitalized. One-to-three per 1,000 get it in their central nervous system that could lead to death.”

The Louisiana Department of Health reports an 85.96% kindergarten measles vaccination rate, down 5 percent since 2019.

“The US should be on the verge of eliminating these diseases entirely, rather than on the verge of a crisis,” Dr. Mark Kline said.

Kline is the head physician at Manning Family Children’s Hospital and says the decline in vaccinations is due to families opting for vaccine exemptions and not trusting medical professionals.

“There’s a tremendous amount of misinformation and disinformation on the internet about vaccines,” Kline said.

Fox 8 health educator Dr. Eric Griggs said that since the start of the pandemic, doctors have had the extra responsibility of breaking through false messaging about vaccines and sharing the truth.

“It’s education, it’s education, it’s education,” Griggs said. “You just have to be consistent and persistent with your messaging and information about the science.”

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