Doctors are wary of RFK Jr's response to the Texas measles outbreak
As cases of measles keep rising in Texas, some doctors call Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s response a "wink and nod" to anti-vaccine groups.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hesitant response to the Texas measles outbreak — hinting that vaccination is important, but never fully embracing it — has left many experts wondering: Does the nation's top health official support vaccines or not?
Kennedy, the health and human services secretary, wrote in an editorial published by Fox News on Sunday, that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine “is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease.”
Behind the scenes, however, Kennedy, a vocal, longtime vaccine skeptic, appears to be taking steps to minimizing the importance of vaccination. Under his leadership, two meetings to discuss next steps for vaccines were canceled. And he’s “collecting names of potential new members to put on a committee that recommends which vaccines Americans should get and when, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, 159 measles cases had been confirmed in Texas. Most of the sick people, including a young child who died, hadn’t been vaccinated against the virus.
Kennedy acknowledged in the editorial that measles — one of the most contagious viruses in the world — is especially risky to unvaccinated people. He stopped short of urging the public to get the MMR vaccine.
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