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- Some experts question RFK Jr. calling measles outbreak ‘not unusual’ (abcnews.go.com)
Measles Outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico Deemed “Not Unusual” by HHS Secretary Kennedy, Sparks Concern Among Experts
Amid a growing measles outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered his first public remarks on the situation, calling it “not unusual.”
Speaking at the White House, Kennedy stated, “Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. Last year there were 16.
So, it’s not unusual, we have measles outbreaks every year.”
However, public health experts contend that the Texas outbreak deviates significantly from recent U.S. history. The nation hadn’t recorded a measles death since 2015, and the disease was declared eliminated in 2000 following the implementation of a two-dose vaccine regimen.
The current outbreak is already approaching half the total cases reported nationwide in 2024 (285), the highest number since 2019. While 16 outbreaks occurred in 2024, this represents a fourfold increase from 2023, and the U.S. has nearly reached that 2023 figure just two months into 2025.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, criticized Kennedy’s remarks, characterizing them as an attempt to normalize an abnormal situation. Offit pointed to Kennedy’s organization, Children’s Health Defense, which advocates against the recommended childhood vaccine schedule, as a source of misinformation contributing to declining vaccination rates and the resurgence of measles.
The CDC reports that measles vaccination coverage among kindergarteners has dropped from 95.2% in the 2019-2020 school year to 92.7% in 2023-2024, leaving approximately 280,000 children vulnerable.
Kennedy’s previous statements on measles have raised concerns. While acknowledging the vaccine’s effectiveness, he has downplayed the disease’s severity, suggesting that deaths primarily occur in individuals with malnutrition or other health issues. He also disputed the cause of 83 deaths in Samoa in 2019, attributing them to a “bad vaccine” despite evidence linking them to a measles outbreak fueled by low vaccination rates.
Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, expressed alarm about the outbreak’s potential to accelerate and expand.
Doctors in West Texas have reported shock and fear at encountering a disease they believed to be eradicated. Dr.
Lara Johnson, a pediatrician treating measles patients in Lubbock, highlighted the dramatic increase in vaccine exemptions in Gaines County, the outbreak’s epicenter, over the past decade.
As the outbreak unfolds, public health experts are urging Kennedy to advocate for robust surveillance and widespread vaccination to prevent further spread and tragedy.
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- Some experts question RFK Jr. calling measles outbreak ‘not unusual’ (abcnews.go.com)