On a recent visit to my doctor’s office, I was asked the routine questions about whether I had any flu symptoms or had traveled out of the country. Then there was this: Had I noticed any swelling in my face or jaw? That was new, and when I asked in turn what it was about, the receptionist replied succinctly: “Mumps.”

Yes, mumps is apparently making a comeback, taking its place alongside measles as an old-but-new-again risk to the American populace. It’s a regressive and unnecessary outcome that is largely the result of the anti-vax attitude and policies filtering out of RFK Jr’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Measles and mumps are highly contagious, yet the current CDC largely leaves infection tracking to the states. It’s odd that the very real threat stemming from these childhood diseases invokes less panic than we’ve seen around the hantavirus outbreak on a far-flung cruise ship. While it causes serious illness and can be deadly, hantavirus does not spread easily among humans; still, the delayed response by the Trump administration to this cluster of infections—and yes, the echoes of COVID-19’s early days prowling the high seas—has put the spotlight on a fractured early warning system weakened by firings, infighting and cost-cutting.

The sprawling HHS, which oversees the CDC, the NIH and the FDA, is a shadow of its former self. Its workforce has been demoralized, deprioritized and slashed by as much as 25 percent. Hardest hit were career staff and vaccine experts—some were fired, some pushed out, and others who just had enough of the chaos and uncertainty. “It’s an enormous brain........

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