Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as U.S. surgeon general during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, warned on Saturday that the incoming administration needs a "strong infectious disease response plan" as cases rise in three public health threats.
Adams, who was a member of then-president Trump's coronavirus task force in 2020, noted increases in cases of whooping cough, measles, and H5N1, also known as bird flu, in the country in a Saturday post on X, formerly Twitter.
"The new administration had better have a strong infectious disease response plan- and had better ensure public health and vaccine confidence stays high. Or they'll be distracted with outbreaks for 4 years this time instead of 1," he wrote, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newsweek has reached out to Adams for comment via email on Saturday.
Adams' comments come days after Trump nominated vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS), which leads America's public health agencies.
Kennedy Jr. is on leave as the chair of the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense and has long repeated the debunked claim that childhood vaccines cause autism. He also advocated against COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic. Despite insisting that he is not anti-vax and claiming that he's never told the public to avoid getting vaccinated, he is a vocal opponent to immunizations.
Newsweek has also reached out to Kennedy Jr.'s press team and Trump's team for comment via email on Saturday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), like Adams, recommends vaccinations to prevent the spread of diseases at the population level.
In response to Adams' X post, a user who said their grandson contracted whooping cough despite being vaccinated, wrote: "Let's be sure vaccines work before requiring them."
Adams then replied back: "No medical treatment is 100% effective—and I'm sorry your grandson was one of the exceptions. But let's not confuse anecdotes with population-level evidence," reaffirming his support for vaccinations.
Whooping Cough
Whooping cough, or pertussis, cases are "up 5x this year," Adams said on Saturday of the highly contagious respiratory illness. There are currently around 25,216 cases reported as of November 16, compared to 5,404 reported in all of 2023.
The CDC noted the shift is a "return to pre-pandemic [COVID-19] patterns." The spread of many contagious diseases decreased during the pandemic, largely due to social distancing.
Newborns, infants, and people with pre-existing health conditions are at the greatest risk of severe symptoms. The bacteria spreads through the air, and people can remain contagious for weeks. The CDC recommends DTaP and Tdap vaccinations, depending on one's age, as a preventive measure.
The number of children with all four recommended doses of the DTaP vaccine dropped by 2.5 percentage points between 2018 and 2021, according to recent CDC data.
Measles
Adams also warned about measles, noting that this year there have been "100,000 global measles deaths—mostly in kids."
As of November 21, there have been 280 measles cases in the U.S. this year, with 16 outbreaks reported, a four-fold increase from four cases reported in 2023, per the CDC. About 40 percent of cases resulted in hospitalization.
The CDC reported that 89 percent of the U.S. cases were individuals who were either unvaccinated or their vaccination status was not known. People with two Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) doses were only 4 percent of the impacted individuals. The number of children with at least one dose of the MMR vaccine dropped by 1.7 percentage points between 2018 and 2021, according to CDC data.
Prior to the vaccine, the CDC reported that "an estimated 48,000 people were hospitalized and 400–500 people died in the United States each year." It also notes that two doses are 97 percent effective at prevention, although there are breakthrough infections.
The infectious, airborne disease can result in a severe skin rash.
Avian Flu
Adams then turned to bird flu, writing on Saturday in his X post: "H5N1 steamrolling towards pandemic status. Egg prices skyrocketing." Bird flu spreads among wild birds to other poultry and animals, including dairy cows and humans.
The virus is more common among animals, currently affecting 109 million poultry and 616 dairy herds across the U.S., according to the CDC as of November 22. Egg prices have risen due to the impact of bird flu on the supply chain.
Infection in humans is most common after direct contact with animals, for instance after touching the saliva, mucus or feces of sick or dead birds.
A person may be infected if the virus gets into their eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled, via droplets or dust in the air, or via contaminated surfaces.
So far, the CDC labels it as a "low" public health risk, with 55 confirmed total cases this year, majority in California transmitted via cattle.
Cases have also been reported in Washington, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, and Texas.
Trump's Pick for Surgeon General
On Friday, Trump named Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, as his pick for U.S. surgeon general. Nesheiwat is a practicing doctor who was on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic treating thousands of Americans. Nesheiwat is also a Fox News medical contributor and serves as a medical director at CityMD.
Trump praised her "expertise and leadership," citing his collaboration with her as part of Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. plan to develop and deliver the COVID-19 vaccine – something Trump had shied away from discussing in his 2024 campaign after repeatedly taking credit for it after he left the White House in 2021.
Nesheiwat's sister, Julia Nesheiwat, had served during the previous Trump administration as the Homeland Security adviser.
Update 11/23/24, 4:50 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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