Administration’s ‘Public Charge’ Rule Would Weaken Herd Immunity, Putting All Children At Risk, Physicians Warn
“The flu season is just upon us, and we are seeing that we are having difficulty getting our immigrant children and adults in for flu shots,” said Dr. Lisa Ward, president of the board of the California Association of Family Physicians. “It is quite likely that one of the reasons is that they are too afraid not only to get health care for the adult parents but for their U.S.-born children as well, and that’s just one tiny bit of health care.”
Sacramento Bee:
California Doctors: Proposed Trump Immigration Rule Threatens Public Health
California’s family physicians are warning federal officials that a proposed change in immigration rules will put public health at risk because it weakens “herd” immunity, especially in the Golden State where one in every two children has a foreign-born parent. The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed changes to a federal rule that, immigration experts say, creates ambiguity about what it means to be an immigrant who depends on the government for their support. (Anderson, 10/15)