Polio– that debilitating and deadly disease– is making a comeback. Once virtually eradicated globally, cases in Pakistan and Afghanistan are on the rise. Much of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of Washington.
In 2010, the CIA conducted a fake polio vaccination program across the two countries. Pretending to administer life-saving vaccines, CIA agents actually took DNA samples from the population, comparing them with the sister of Osama Bin Laden.
The program helped locate Bin Laden’s family and led to his assassination, but it also left a deep scar on the two countries. Both mistrust of healthcare professionals and vaccine skepticism spiked, leading to deadly rises in infectious diseases, including polio.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration withdrew from the WHO, and cut funding for foreign medical programs, further exacerbating the problem.
MintPress News
Polio– that debilitating and deadly disease– is making a comeback. Once virtually eradicated globally, cases in Pakistan and Afghanistan are on the rise. Much of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of Washington.
In 2010, the CIA conducted a fake polio vaccination program across the two countries. Pretending to administer life-saving vaccines, CIA agents actually took DNA samples from the population, comparing them with the sister of Osama Bin Laden.
The program helped locate Bin Laden’s family and led to his assassination, but it also left a deep scar on the two countries. Both mistrust of healthcare professionals and vaccine skepticism spiked, leading to deadly rises in infectious diseases, including polio.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration withdrew from the WHO, and cut funding for foreign medical programs, further exacerbating the problem.
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