Good news, America:
We’ve finally tackled the great public health crisis of our time — food dyes.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proudly announced plans to ban a handful of artificial colors — like Red Dye No. 3 — which, to be fair, have minimal proven health impact on the general population.
Meanwhile, measles and whooping cough are roaring back into American households at a pace we haven't seen since the Eisenhower administration.
Actual babies are dying.
Actual children are being hospitalized.
And we’re patting ourselves on the back because our Skittles are slightly less colorful.
Priorities.
📈 Measles Is No Longer Ancient History
According to a new study published in JAMA, if U.S. measles vaccination rates drop just 10%, we’re looking at millions of measles cases over the next 25 years.
Millions.
Nathan Lo, a Stanford physician and lead author of the study, bluntly stated:
"Our country is on a tipping point for measles to once again become a common household disease."
At current state-level vaccination rates, mathematical models predict measles could become entrenched —
meaning hundreds of thousands of cases, hospitalizations happening all the time, and deaths becoming commonplace.
And the solution?
A mere 5% increase in vaccination rates could prevent it.
Five percent.
We’re not asking for miracles.
We’re asking for common sense — a rare and endangered species in 2025.
🦠 And Now... Whooping Cough Joins the Party
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that whooping cough (pertussis) cases have more than doubled this year compared to last.
8,077 Americans sickened through mid-April.
The highest rate since the mid-1950s.
Rivals the catastrophic 2012 outbreak — the worst in half a century.
Once again:
Falling vaccination rates.
Waning immunity from older vaccines.
Public health erosion fueled by science denial.
If you think whooping cough is just a “bad cold,” let me be crystal clear:
For newborns, whooping cough is almost universally deadly.
Babies can’t be fully vaccinated yet.
They rely on herd immunity — on us — to shield them.
Every year, perfectly healthy newborns die because someone — a neighbor, a friend, a family member — showed up without being vaccinated.
Don’t be that person.
Don't be that auntie.
Don't be that uncle.
📢 Here’s Your Checklist
✅ Are you up to date on your MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine?
✅ Are you up to date on your Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) booster?
✅ Pregnant? Get Tdap during every pregnancy — to protect your newborn.
If not, you are not “doing your own research.”
You’re just doing public health wrong.
🧠 How Did We Get So Stupid?
Simple:
Vaccines worked too well.
Diseases disappeared.
We forgot the funerals.
We forgot the seizures.
We forgot the tiny white coffins.
And now, fueled by Instagram grifters, TikTok conspiracy theorists, and misinformed political leaders, we are walking backwards into a medical catastrophe we already solved once.
Congratulations.
We’ve traded scientific literacy for Instagram likes.
🛡️ Final Thoughts
We banned food dyes. Yay.
Meanwhile, we brought back deadly diseases. Not yay.
Public health isn’t about what feels good — it’s about what works.
Science isn't a buffet where you pick only the flavors you like.
Diseases don't care if you believe in them.
Vaccines work.
They save lives.
And they protect the people who can’t protect themselves — like babies.
Stay skeptical.
Stay vaccinated.
Stay alive.
📬 Want the Full Podcast Episode?
This article is based on the latest Dr. Simpson Unfiltered podcast episode.
To hear the full show — the facts, the sarcasm, and the science — subscribe and get the entire version.
Because surviving the 21st century takes more than good intentions — it takes science.