Well, howdy there, internet people, it's bell again.

So today, we're going to talk about Trump's CDC, measles, and the cost of doing business.

With so much international news this week, it would have been easy to overlook some statements that are definitely ringing

alarm bells in the medical community.

First, a little bit of background information.

The United States is almost certain to lose its measles elimination status.

Because last year, we saw thousands of cases and hundreds of hospitalizations.

So many that you have to go back to 1991 to find a year with more.

Principal Deputy Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ralph Abraham,

was asked if he would see the loss of measles elimination status as a major event. He said, quote, not really, you know,

it's just the cost of doing business with our borders being somewhat porous for global and

international travel.

First, that's not how this works.

Cases from international travel do not count as far as measles elimination status.

Measles elimination in a country or region means that there are no locally transmitted measles infections or

outbreaks lasting 12 months or longer. That's from the CDC website. While an international

traveler may bring a case of measles in, that doesn't cause the loss of measles elimination.

The uncontrolled spread for a year does. I feel like the Centers for Disease Control should

view the uncontrolled spread of a disease as an issue and not just try to blame it on the border.

Again, we haven't seen this many cases since 1991. I feel like I remember our border becoming more and more tightly controlled between then and now.

A pediatrician and vaccine specialist Paul Offutt said, quote,

When you hear somebody like Abraham, say, the cost of doing business,

...