The new year often brings resolutions dominated by gym memberships and healthy eating. For too many of us in Arizona, it has also brought another new habit — monitoring and avoiding the growing measles outbreak in our state and across the country.

We closed out 2025 with 214 measles cases, with 66% of those cases being in children under 18. This is a dangerous increase from the five cases that were reported in the Grand Canyon State in 2024 and a worrying trend. With childhood vaccination rates waning across the country and disease rates rising, now is the time for our top public health officials to take action.

But shortly after the start of the new year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) overhauled the childhood immunization schedule, making an unprecedented shift away from decades of accepted medical recommendations without scientific reasoning or the insight from medical and scientific professionals that has historically been standard in the United States. 

This announcement quickly rippled through communities and created confusion. Which vaccines would still be available? What would insurance cover? What would this mean for young children and other vulnerable populations? 

As a family doctor, I am dedicated to creating an environment where patients feel comfortable asking questions. When it comes to vaccines, I always tell them the same thing. Vaccines are incredibly safe and effective, and a critical tool to protect themselves and their families. As a medical educator, I ensure that students and residents learn to do the same. But now more than ever, I worry about how these abrupt changes are undermining long-standing medical evidence and will affect my patients’ confidence in voicing their questions, hurt their access, and ultimately, the impact it will have on the health of our children. 

Health should come before politics.. However, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., responsible for enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans, has taken unprecedented actions that will hurt the health of our country’s children without scientific evidence or precedent. 

Most recently, RFK Jr. commented that it might be “better” for fewer children to receive the flu vaccine. With flu cases surging across the country and some hospitals and emergency rooms already overwhelmed with cases, this rhetoric – detached from scientific evidence – is dangerous. Influenza this season has led to 5,000 deaths, including nine children. 

While hundreds of medical groups have sounded the alarm, it can’t just be us physicians speaking up for children. If our elected leaders care about protecting families, they must also stand up for vaccine access. That is why I call upon our Arizona federal legislators to speak out against the blatant misinformation and confusion spreading from the highest levels. 

Our elected leaders have a responsibility to protect public health and to ensure that policies reflect sound science rather than political ideology. Vaccines are not about politics. They are about protecting children, families, and our loved ones from preventable illness. We know what works. And we know what is right. Now, we need the courage from our elected leaders to stand up for it. 

Steve R. Brown is a medical educator in Arizona known for his passion for innovation and dedication to patients and trainees.