Lung Association Statement on MAHA Report: ‘We Can’t Reduce Childhood Chronic Disease While Cutting the Very Programs that Prevent It’

Today the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission released its second report on childhood chronic diseases. In response, the American Lung Association issued the following statement:

“We strongly support improving children’s health and preventing chronic diseases, but the MAHA Commission’s report undermines that very goal by questioning proven interventions like lifesaving childhood vaccinations. In addition, many of its recommendations fall short, and the solutions it does propose are being actively undermined by other administration actions, like cutting the very programs needed to implement them.

“The report calls for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institutes of Health to research the impact of air pollution on children’s health. However, EPA’s leadership is actively eliminating EPA’s Office of Research and Development and NIH funding has been cut significantly. In addition, EPA is working to roll back critical clean air safeguards and allowing major polluters to bypass requirements that limit emissions – emissions that worsen asthma and other chronic lung conditions in children.

“The report also recommends an educational campaign to raise awareness about the health impacts of vaping and calls for greater enforcement of illegal e-cigarette products. Awareness and enforcement are important, but they are not enough for the millions of people already addicted to tobacco products. Prevention and cessation programs – historically supported by the now eliminated U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Smoking and Health – are essential. And enforcement is diminished when the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products has lost staff.

“The MAHA Report also puts the childhood vaccine schedule in question, which sows mistrust in the established and science-based vaccine infrastructure. In the last 50 years, vaccines have saved over 154 million lives and prevented billions of years of illness and disability. Community immunity through vaccination keeps kids in school and helps protect our most vulnerable who cannot receive certain vaccines or do not mount an adequate immune response, like infants, individuals who are immunocompromised and older adults. In addition, research suggests that RSV may be associated with the development of asthma. Vaccines are a cornerstone of public health and the mistrust sewn in this report puts children’s lives at risk.

“To truly improve children’s health in the U.S., we need tobacco prevention and cessation, widespread vaccination for preventable diseases, access to care, strong air pollution protections, and reliable funding for critical health programs and research. We cannot reduce childhood chronic disease while cutting the programs that prevent it.”