South Dakota Immunization Leaders Welcome Senator Rounds’ Support for Flu Vaccination Requirements in the Military

SIOUX FALLS, SD [April 28, 2026] — South Dakota vaccine advocates are welcoming recent comments from Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) expressing support for maintaining the annual flu vaccine requirement for U.S. service members.

In recent remarks to The New York Times, Senator Rounds said, “It’s a proven vaccine… I personally would like to see it still in place.” For organizations working to protect public health across the state, the statement reflects a shared understanding that vaccines remain one of the most effective tools to keep people healthy and systems running smoothly.

“The flu vaccine has a long track record of protecting individuals and preventing disruptions, especially in settings like the military where readiness matters,” said Carmen Toft, director of South Dakota Families for Vaccines. “We appreciate Senator Rounds recognizing the value of keeping that protection in place.”

Experts note that consistent vaccination policies play an important role in maintaining workforce stability and reducing the spread of illness, whether in military settings, health care systems, or local communities. Research has shown that requirements can significantly increase vaccination rates and help prevent avoidable outbreaks.

“Influenza is often underestimated, but it can have serious consequences, especially for vulnerable populations,” said Dani Gullickson, executive director of Immunize South Dakota. “Annual vaccination is a simple, effective way to protect individuals and the broader community.”

For families who have experienced the impact of influenza firsthand, the issue is deeply personal.

“The flu is not just a bad cold; it can be life-threatening. I know this firsthand as I lost my 2-year-old daughter, Gianna, to the flu,” said Angie Wehrkamp, Sioux Falls resident and board member of Families Fighting Flu. “We’re encouraged to see leaders speak clearly about the importance of prevention. Vaccination saves lives, and policies that support it make a difference.”

As conversations about public health policy continue, advocates say moments of alignment like this matter.

“It’s a reminder that some issues don’t have to be complicated,” Toft added. “When something is proven, safe, and effective, keeping it in place is a strong and steady choice.”

South Dakotans can help keep the momentum going by contacting their state and federal lawmakers and sharing their support for strong, evidence-based vaccine policies that protect families and communities.

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About South Dakota Families for Vaccines 

South Dakota Families for Vaccines is a volunteer-driven, grassroots network of South Dakotans dedicated to advocating for public health rooted in fact-based public policy and promoting immunizations across the lifespan for healthier families and communities. For more information visit www.sdfamiliesforvaccines.org. 

I just had a legislator forward this to me.. and it’s very eye-opening about what a Doeden administration would bring to South Dakota’s test scores and the future of South Dakota’s school kids.

Don’t worry about test scores, because that’s not what’s important to Toby. What’s important are the quality of our coaches.

and..

and..

(All of this was in the Groton Daily Independent from Wednesday November 13, 2019.)

“The athletic culture in the Groton Area School system is broken. It’s broken. It’s absolutely broken, and anyone that doesn’t believe that is either in denial, is part of the problem, or worse yet, incapable of seeing something so obviously negative happening right in front of their eyes.”

“I’m not here tonight to cast blame, though there is plenty to go around. Administrators are to blame, teachers are to blame, coaches are to blame, and parents are to blame, including me.”

“..my lackluster high school GPA and flunking out of not 1 but 2 colleges proves it. High School was simply a necessary step for me.”  

“I can’t be clear enough on this point, just participating in sports is not enough. Just offering sports to the kids is not enough. Just filling coaching vacancies for the sake of filling coaching vacancies is not enough. Just having administrators focusing primarily on academics is not enough.  If we can at least agree that athletics plays a large role in developing and preparing students for life, then we need to act like it. We need to stop acting like sports is a privilege, because they are not. Sports are a necessity.“

Well,  Not sure that bragging about flunking out of 2 colleges is what I immediately go to for a Governor.

And maybe if some of the elected politicans would quit trying to strip money away from all that reading, writing and arithmetic, then we could figure out how to fund Toby’s coaching dreams.

Toby Doeden is one of those candidates who will just say anything (Especially if it’s written on his hand).  And that was in evidence last night, as he tried to pretend he supports for our State Universities:

At around 1:23:45 in the video from the debate last night (watch the replay here), Doeden claimed…

“I love our 4 year State Universities. I attended Northern State…”

Yet, this would seem to be a different opinion than the one he expressed at the beginning of the campaign in an interview with Stu Whitney:

In a household where neither parent attended college, higher education was a goal. Doeden’s three older siblings had all completed college and started careers by the time Toby graduated from high school in 1993.

Feeling outside pressures, he accepted a football and track scholarship to Minot State University in North Dakota, but his heart wasn’t in it.

“I remember unloading my little hatchback car, getting everything moved into my dorm room, and the very night I moved in thinking I should not be here,” Doeden said. “My feeling was, ‘This is an utter waste of time.’”

He qualified for the national track meet as a freshman but had already transferred to Northern State University in Aberdeen, where he lasted about a semester before proposing to Liz and moving to nearby Groton to put business plans in motion.

Read that here.

Telling a reporter that college was an utter waste of time versus his claim last night of “attending” Northern, and claiming to love our 4 year universities seems to be somewhat discordant.

A definition Toby probably would need to add to his hand list.

NOW we know what he had written on his hand!

I laughed out loud when I read this:

I think everyone saw Toby’s notes.

Is there someone who went to the Dakota Scout debate tonight with a tin can on a string? Wondering if I can hook in to your feed to improve the sound quality?

Is it really a debate if no one outside the theater can tell what the candidates are saying? The sound was largely indecipherable from Hansen and Rhoden.  Not much better from the other two, either.

The sound was good from the moderators.. but I didn’t tune in for just the questions. Like several who are texting and emailing, I might try the replay.

Update…

Go here: https://www.newscenter1.tv/watch-now

Much better sound across the board.

Another Update..

How many notes did Toby plan on writing on his hand?

 

Senator Tamara Grove is clearly feeling the heat from State Representative Rebecca Reimer’s challenge in her race, as this weekend, Grove took to social media to insinuate – without directly naming her – that Reimer was was not supportive of rural health care.

And Rebecca wasn’t going to hear any of that nonsense, as she was quick to fire back on social media, with receipts:

The original post from Grove was then edited on facebook… Which I would interpret to guess that Tamara is double checking things, because Rebecca is ready to bring it.

Check it out on Facebook.

UPDATE: I missed this earlier. An Army of colleagues current and past of Rebecca’s came out in droves to put down Grove’s claims of Reimer not supporting rural health:

That’s a pretty long list!

From Facebook, Toby Doeden might be endorsing Marty Jackley for Congress as he should, but Marty is not getting into it in the Governor’s race.

WOW. That was not something I was expecting.

The property tax plan that was passed by the South Dakota Legislature to reallocate some existing sales taxes, and to create new sales tax revenue to offset property tax is apparently not popular in the state. As in wildly unpopular by half or more, depending on your subgroup according to SD News Watch, via the Argus Leader:

The survey of 500 registered voters across party affiliation conducted April 7-9 by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, found 49% of respondents opposed the swapping of lower property taxes in exchange for higher sales taxes, while 33% approved and 17% were undecided. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.5%.

and..

Republicans were close to evenly split, with 45% opposing the new legislation, 42% supporting the measure and 13% undecided.

A majority of Democrats and Independents disapproved of the new laws, at 56% and 51%, respectively.

Read the entire story here.

In the Governor’s race, that’s probably not good news for Governor Rhoden and Rep. Jon Hansen, who both have been touting the sales tax shift plan, while Dusty Johnson has been critical of it.

(Toby Doeden is still clinging to the claim he’s going to eliminate property taxes without having any plan besides magic tax-eliminating fairy dust.)

Noting the unrequested endorsement(s) from Doeden PAC, it can always be worse. Like that that other endorsement for Congress, from all around awful person Phil Jensen:

Phil must be part of the very, very small subset of South Dakotans who join Bialota in applying “stand your ground” laws to 12 year old on the playground. (Not that the jury ended up agreeing.)