As a measles outbreak develops over the southwestern region of the United States, renowned vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s health secretary, expressed support for the vaccine on Sunday.
In late February, an unvaccinated youngster in Texas became the first person to die in the United States from the extremely contagious disease in ten years.
Kennedy was recently re-elected as health secretary, but not before making a number of untrue and deceptive statements regarding the safety of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and downplaying the expanding outbreak by claiming that yearly outbreaks were “not unusual.”
But on Sunday, Kennedy said he was “deeply concerned about the recent measles outbreak,” in an opinion piece published by Fox News.
“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.
However, he said “the decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” and urged all parents to “consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal health agencies were instructed to support Texas health officials, he said.
As part of President Donald Trump’s massive reorganization of the federal government, the CDC and other health agencies have experienced staffing reductions in recent weeks.
Kennedy said health workers, officials and communities were responsible for “ensuring that accurate information about vaccine safety and efficacy is disseminated” and making “vaccines readily accessible for all those who want them.”
Kennedy has brushed off accusations that he is anti-vaccine, saying his opinions were misrepresented and that he was supporting “common sense” policy.
According to the CDC, there were over 160 measles cases nationwide as of the end of February, with eastern Texas accounting for the majority of these cases.
Since late January, 146 cases have been identified, the state’s health agency reported on Friday.
The most recent measles cases are centered in a Mennonite religious community that has a history of vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation about vaccines has contributed to a national drop in vaccination rates.
While measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, outbreaks persist each year.
Vaccination against the respiratory virus is very effective at conferring lifetime immunity — with two doses estimated to be 97 percent effective.
