As RFK Jr. pushes to limit vaccines, MMR pioneer defends their lifesaving power

German measles, the viral infection known as rubella, devastated families across the United States during its epidemic between 1962 and 1965. It sickened about 12.5 million, ended 11,000 pregnancies, killed more than 2,100 infants whose mothers had the virus while pregnant, and left 20,000 newborns with birth defects ranging from heart problems to serious neurological disorders such as deafness. Then the legendary Dr. Stanley Plotkin’s work took effect.

Plotkin, 93, an emeritus professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, led the discovery of the first vaccine against rubella in 1969. Seven years later, the number of reported cases had plunged to fewer than 13,000, and the number of those with congenital rubella syndrome, the condition causing birth defects, fell to 23. For decades, one of the world’s most contagious diseases was considered eradicated in the U.S. But today, measles is roaring back with more than 1,267 cases reported this year in the U.S., including three cases in Maryland.

Plotkin doesn’t hold back his anger with longtime vaccine skeptic Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose actions, public health professionals warn, could limit access to vaccines and reduce public confidence in them.

Plotkin’s interview with The Baltimore Sun has been edited for length and clarity.

How has vaccinology changed over your lifetime, and how has that changed the world?

I almost died as a child from three diseases that are now preventable. One was pertussis — whooping cough — which occurred in me when I was an infant. Then [came] pneumococcal pneumonia, which put me in an oxygen tent when I was about 3. Then when I was 9, I acquired influenza, developed encephalitis from that, and was put in a hospital, unconscious.

I personally escaped death from infectious diseases three times. Obviously, many other children did not. Parents today don’t face these things — assuming that they’re vaccinated, of course.

Of your many achievements in this field, what are you proudest of?

Preventing children from having congenital diseases like German measles and the consequences of that later in life is certainly something I’m proud of. With respect to rotavirus, which used to kill a lot of babies, and which is almost absent from the U.S., [eradicating] that is certainly something I’m proud of. And in general, helping vaccine development and use occur. [It changed] the overall picture concerning the ability of children to survive to adulthood; that’s certainly something that I’m happy about.

When I was a child, there were no routine vaccines. We now have the means to prevent about 20 different diseases. That’s remarkable.

What role did you play in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines?

I didn’t play any role in the development, but I did consult for quite a few of the companies that developed mRNA vaccines. The mRNA vaccines were not developed overnight; that happened over a period of about 20 years. Fortunately, when the COVID outbreak started, the technology was ready. That enabled the rapid development of a vaccine and saved … thousands of lives.

There has been no shortage of criticism about how the pandemic was handled, including questions about the vaccines. What are your thoughts?

When COVID first came out, it was in populations that had no prior immunity, so deaths were occurring in all populations. When [Anthony] Fauci [then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] and others recommended that the COVID vaccine be made general to stop the outbreak, you have to understand two things: First, it wasn’t long before almost everyone had been infected — unlike at the beginning, when nobody had been infected — and second, though they’re fairly good at preventing serious disease, COVID vaccines do not prevent infection.

When Fauci recommended general immunity, it was something I entirely agreed with … but what the opponents are pretending is that [general immunization] was a terrible idea from the beginning. That is absolute nonsense.

There are side reactions to mRNA vaccines, and it turns out most of those are in young men. But … COVID vaccines have prevented … thousands of deaths.”

Measles was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000, but we’re seeing outbreaks in Texas, Oklahoma and other states. Why?

That’s simple. A significant population, starting in Texas, for allegedly religious reasons, didn’t vaccinate their children. We don’t know how measles got introduced — it could have been an immigrant; it may have been a Mennonite from another country — but once it gets introduced, it infects about 12 people for every case. It’s not surprising that it continues to spread among populations that are not vaccinated.

Parents generally don’t face these kinds of serious diseases today, and when people have no experience with a serious disease, they think, ‘It’s not going to happen to me.’ But when fewer and fewer people are vaccinated, it begins to happen to them.

Longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. What does he add to the conversation?

He operates on a zero scientific basis. His opinions are only that — opinions. What he says is coming from an individual who has no basis for making any scientific statement. That means that he’s transmitting information, which in many respects is false. That is obviously not good for Americans. It’s dangerous.

Why would he be given such an important public health position then?

I can only guess. I think President [Donald] Trump probably had a debt to RFK in terms of the election, and he’s paying off the debt.

Kennedy recently fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced them with eight new members with less experience in the field. This group is advising the CDC. Your thoughts?

I think the result will be chaos. One decision they made at a recent meeting — about [not] using [thimerosal, a preservative some believe may cause autism] that kills bacteria to prevent contamination of multidose vials of vaccine —- is based on flimsy data, or no data. It’s the kind of decision that has no justification but was made nonetheless. I think the worst is yet to come.

Will there be another pandemic? 

Sure, why not? You may or may not remember this, but the current virus is called SARS-CoV-2. There was a SARS-CoV-1. It started in China and spread through Asia. It was a very virulent virus, but it was controlled rapidly. Why shouldn’t there be a SARS-CoV-3? We should be prepared for that sort of situation.

You’ve said being a scientific researcher almost feels like a religious quest. What did you mean?

One way to put it is that scientists worship truth. But [some] people worship falsehoods. That, to me, was always one of the very attractive things about science: you don’t depend on what you would like to believe. You believe what you can prove.

Have a news tip? Contact Jonathan M. Pitts at jonpitts@baltsun.com.