I’ve spent much of my adult life in Republican politics — chairing the Lehigh County Republican Committee, founding the Lehigh Valley Young Republicans, and serving on the Pennsylvania State Young Republicans Executive Committee. I’ve knocked on doors, run campaigns, and fought hard for candidates who put families first. That’s why I feel compelled to speak up now.
For decades, childhood vaccines have been one of the greatest public health success stories in American history — a bipartisan achievement that Republican and Democratic administrations alike championed because they worked. But that success is now in jeopardy.
Pennsylvania has confirmed 67 measles cases in 2026. It should be said that measles is a disease we eliminated in 2000, and a disease that should have easily stayed eliminated. American doctors, scientists, and parents worked for decades to do so. But now, we’re watching that hard-won progress unravel in real time.
It’s no coincidence this is all happening as Secretary Kennedy rolls back childhood vaccines and promotes his own interpretation of science instead of following the clinical evidence as to what works to keep kids safe. When families don’t have reliable health information, they make decisions based on fear instead of facts. That’s exactly what’s happening right now, and it’s putting people in our community at risk.
Protecting children is not a partisan issue, and it never has been. Vaccines are one of the most effective, thoroughly tested tools we have to keep kids safe. Lehigh Valley families deserve a federal government that trusts the science and stands behind them. We are very fortunate to have Rep. Mackenzie doing a great job representing us in D.C., and I hope he and his colleague can influence Washington to stop letting Secretary Kennedy put his politics above our kids’ health.