An American Outbreak: Measles, Influenza, RSV, Covid, and stupidity.

By J. Basil Dannebohm

Last week, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made more than $600 million in cuts to public health grants in Minnesota, California, Illinois, and Colorado. Meanwhile, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz pleaded with the American public to get vaccinated against the measles.

“Not all illnesses are equally dangerous, and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses,” Oz told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But measles is one you should get your vaccine.”

In South Carolina, nearly 1,000 residents have been sickened with measles since October 2025. Just last week at Ave Maria University, a staunchly conservative Catholic college near Naples, Florida, measles cases soared to nearly 60 students. In a bizarre new trend, many right-wing Catholics are claiming religious exemption to vaccines. Adding insult to injury, numerous dioceses are honoring requests for exemption documentation. Though I've been Greek Orthodox for many years, as a product of Catholic education and a theology major, I can say with some degree of certainty that there is nothing in Catholic teaching that suggests vaccines are directly contrary to the faith.

It’s by no means out of religious conviction, but I have never received the Covid-19 vaccination. During the height of the pandemic I didn’t trust something so rushed. While proponents of the vaccine told me it was safe, the complications and deaths associated with it admittedly gave me pause. Thus, for better or worse, I made the decision to avoid the jab. I ended up with long term complications from Covid.

These last two weeks while the CDC has been punishing blue states on behalf of President Trump, I’ve found myself battling a very difficult case of influenza. For 14 long days, I did what any responsible adult would do: I got plenty of rest, medicated, and I avoided people.

It’s not rocket science. In fact, it doesn't take a fourth-grade education to know that if you're sick, stay home. If you can't stay home, at least have the courtesy to wear a mask.

But what about when the adult in the room has the common sense of a kindergartner?

Recently at lunch, I observed what appeared to be a semi-retired grandfather walk into the restaurant with his two grandsons, roughly ages 9 and 11. Their arrival would not have caught my attention were it not for the fact that the boys sounded like a walking tuberculosis ward. They coughed, they hacked, and they wheezed -- all without covering their mouths.

"We'd like to place some to-go orders," granddad told the hostess.

They placed their order, requested a round of water, and took a seat to wait. The boys laid their heads on the table, looking pale and miserable, hacking all the while.

Grandfather decided to call mom and check in.

By now I was curious.

I overheard him telling her that the boys weren't feeling any better. He also proceeded to inform her that he took them to the science museum and decided to stop off to grab some lunch on the way back to the house so they could eat and go to bed.

He took them to the freaking science museum.

There are school districts forced to cancel classes because influenza, RSV, and Covid are running rampant in communities. It was as plain as a Quaker on his day off that these kids were sick. Yet gramps, who at first blush didn't appear to be a stupid individual, thought a field trip was in order. If kids are too sick to be in class, they have no reason to be at a museum, much less a restaurant.

In a post-pandemic society, there should be no place for irresponsible morons such as this gentleman.

Over the last decade or so, respiratory illnesses have gotten far more aggressive. While there are probably several causes, unearthed communications between Epstein and oligarchs could shed a little light on why this is the case. Whatever the reason for the uptick in sickness, stupidity is a super spreader for viruses, and we live in an age where ignorance is a very serious, obviously contagious pandemic.

Sadly, there's no cure for idiocy.

As children, we learned the proper and responsible things to do if one falls ill. I don't care if you take a holistic approach to healthcare or receive every inoculation at your disposal, but as someone with a compromised immune system, I cannot say this loud enough: If you are sick, stay at home, or at the very least, wear a mask.