Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing dangerous falsehoods about measles as an outbreak in western Texas and eastern New Mexico rages on.
In Texas specifically, a total of 223 people have contracted measles since the outbreak began in January, with at least 29 people, mostly children, requiring hospitalization. One child, who was unvaccinated, has died from measles, while a second unvaccinated person’s death is currently being investigated by health officials.
The outbreak doesn’t show signs of ending anytime soon, and the Texas Department of State Health Services has predicted that “additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities.”
Another case of measles has been identified in Maryland. That individual recently arrived in the state from an international trip, and it’s not suspected their infection is related to the Texas outbreak.
The federal response to the measles outbreak in the Lone Star State has been muddled by Kennedy repeatedly peddling disinformation regarding how to prevent and treat the virus.
Late in February, Kennedy, a noted anti-vaxxer, downplayed the significance of the outbreak, claiming that such outbreaks happen “every year” — ignoring the fact that 20 years ago, before anti-vaccine sentiment gained prominence, measles were considered eliminated in the U.S. due to low case numbers. The HHS head also falsely stated that people were only hospitalized for measles in Texas for “quarantine” purposes, a claim that has been disputed by a Texas health official.
Kennedy has since said that vaccines could work to protect people in the region. However, he has continued to push disinformation about the prevention and treatment of the virus.
In an appearance on Fox News earlier this month, for example, Kennedy claimed that higher doses of Vitamin A — including cod liver oil — could help in treating measles. Vitamin A is pushed in other countries as a helpful treatment, but usually only when a person’s body is experiencing a deficiency in that vitamin. Cod liver oil contains Vitamin A, but, according to FactCheck.org, it “isn’t advised at all for measles — and would need to be consumed in a potentially dangerous amount to get the recommended dosage of the vitamin used during an infection.”
Telling viewers to consider those options could discourage them from seeking professional medical treatment if they or their family members get sick, and could also cause harms unrelated to the virus itself.
On Tuesday, Kennedy continued to promote falsehoods about the virus. In a second appearance on Fox News, in an interview with host Sean Hannity, Kennedy baselessly insinuated that contracting measles is a better protection against the virus than getting vaccinated — a claim that is both unfounded and dangerous, as the long-term effects of measles can be very detrimental.
“It used to be, when I was a kid, that everybody got measles. And the measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection. The vaccine doesn’t do that,” Kennedy, who has no professional or educational background in health care, said on the program.
A two-dose vaccination regimen against measles generally gives lifetime protection against the virus. When “breakthrough measles” cases do occur, they are generally milder in severity and have fewer complications compared to cases in which unvaccinated people contract measles, other research has found.
According to Johns Hopkins University, exposing people to measles, especially children, is far more dangerous than vaccination.
“Measles is a dangerous disease and the vaccine is very safe. The risks of severe illness, death, or lifelong complications from measles infection far outweigh the generally mild side effects some people experience following vaccination,” the university says on its website.
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