Infamous-vax-doubting Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the benefits of the measles vaccine Sunday as a growing deadly outbreak of the disease ravages Texas.
The HHS secretary, whose lengthy history of trafficking in vaccine skepticism nearly derailed his confirmation, underscored the rapidly escalating nature of the outbreak and stressed that the shots are very effective at prevention.
“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,” Kennedy, 71, wrote in a Fox News op-ed.
Last week, an unvaccinated child died from the highly contagious respiratory illness in Texas — the first such US death in about 10 years — and there have been more than another 145 confirmed measles cases in the state since late January, according to recent data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“I have also spoken to the bereaved parents of the deceased child to offer consolation,” the HHS secretary revealed.
In addition to Texas, there have been cases in eight other states, including New Jersey and New Mexico.
The majority of measles cases are generally considered mild, with symptoms such as a runny nose and fever spanning up to about two weeks. But there are instances of severe complications such as blindness and even death. There is no known cure for measles, and vaccination is the best defense, health experts say.
Before the vaccine was introduced in the US in the 1960s, “virtually every child in the United States contracted measles,” Kennedy recounted.
“For example, in the United States, from 1953 to 1962, on average there were 530,217 confirmed cases and 440 deaths, a case fatality rate of 1 in 1,205 cases,” he wrote.
The first round of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is typically recommended for toddlers ages 12 to 15 months, with the second dose usually administered between ages 4 to 6, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vaccine rates for kindergarteners have slipped from about 95% before the COVID-19 pandemic down to roughly 93% last year, according to CDC data.
When both doses are given, the vaccine is considered to be 97% effective against measles, the CDC says. There is a limited subset of people who the CDC recommends steer away from the shot, including individuals with certain allergies.
Experts have strongly advised everyone eligible to take the shot so that herd immunity can prevent the spread of measles and protect the limited population that can’t be vaccinated.
Kennedy noted that Texas health officials have estimated that at least 79 of measles cases involved unvaccinated individuals, while 62 had an unknown status, and five had received the shot.
Roughly 80% of confirmed cases have impacted children under the age of 18, according to data from Texas health officials.
Kennedy’s op-ed featured the headline, “Measles outbreak is call to action for all of us” and subheadline, “MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease.”
The 71-year-old acknowledged the personal nature of vaccination decisions while stopping short of directly telling the public to take the shot, despite his op-ed encouraging it.
“The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” he said.
The Kennedy scion was under pressure to step up his response to the growing outbreak, which has been particularly prominent among the Mennonite faith community and other groups where resistance to vaccination is strong.
Kennedy has called the measles outbreak HHS’ “top priority.”
During his Senate confirmation process, senators grilled him on his past skepticism of vaccine safety and took note of the risk that stance poses to public health, including instances where he suggested the shots may have been linked to a rise in autism.
Since taking the reins at HHS, Kennedy has vowed to usher in a new age of “radical transparency.
“I’m not going to come in here and impose my belief over any of yours,” Kennedy told HHS employees last month. “Whatever belief or suspicion I have expressed in the past, I’m willing to subject them all to the scrutiny of unbiased science.”
