Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly backed the measles vaccine Sunday amid an outbreak of the disease in Texas that has already killed one child.
The 71-year-old vaccine skeptic had previously criticized the immunization and called the outbreak “not unusual” last week, even though the child was the first person to die from measles in the U.S. since 2015. But on Sunday, he changed his tune.
“Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” he wrote in a Fox News opinion piece.
Texas’ health department has reported 146 cases of measles in the state since late January, with 98 of the cases identified in Gaines County, on the state’s southwestern border with New Mexico.
Of the 146 cases, 79 people were unvaccinated, while the vaccination status of 62 more patients remained unknown, according to the health department. Five people who contracted measles were vaccinated.
Kennedy is well-known for his vaccine criticism, but that did not stop the Senate from confirming him to lead the Health Department during President Trump’s second term.
“All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine,” he wrote Sunday. “The decision to vaccinate is a personal one.”
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