U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The child died in a 20th year of measles death at a hospital in Lubbock, Texas early Thursday morning.
According to records obtained by The New York Times, the child died of “measles lung failure.” A part of the UMC health system hospital confirmed the death later on Sunday, adding that the girl was unvaccinated and had no underlying health status.
Mr. Kennedy held a meeting with the girl's family but did not speak at the funeral.
“My intention is to come quietly to comfort the family and be with the community during their sad moments,” Mr. Kennedy said in a message posted on X.
“The most effective way to prevent measles transmission is the MMR vaccine,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kennedy no longer recommends universal vaccination in communities where the virus does not spread.
He has ordered a recheck for whether the vaccine causes autism, a claim that was debunked long ago by research and conducted by well-known vaccine skeptics.
The first death in West Texas was an uninoculated child who died in February. Another unvaccinated person died in New Mexico after testing measles positive, although officials have not confirmed measles as the cause of death.
Since the outbreak in late January, West Texas has reported 480 measles and 56 hospitalized cases. The outbreak also spread to border countries, spreading 54 people in New Mexico and 10 people in Oklahoma.
If the virus continues to spread at this rate, the country has the potential to lose its measles elimination status, a tough victory in 2000. Public health officials in West Texas said the outbreak could last for a year.
Shortly after the 8-year-old boy died, a number in the antibacterial community blamed the death on the hospital, claiming that the case was “improperly managed by medically.”
Mr. Kennedy helped build a few years of childhood health defense years after becoming Health Secretary, earlier claimed that another hospital in Lubbock had “medical errors” led to the state's first measles death.
These unfounded claims have angered experts, who stressed that the MMR vaccine is very effective in preventing measles infection and its complications.
“These are not medical mistakes,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota and a former official in the Department of Health and Public Services. “This sits directly on the back of the antibacterial sound that continues to spread false information.”
Mr. Kennedy faces strong criticism for handling the epidemic. He is a prominent vaccine skeptic who provides gentle support for vaccination and highlights untested measles treatments such as cod liver oil.
According to Texas doctors, Mr. Kennedy’s recognition of alternative treatments helps patients delay intensive care and take toxic levels of vitamin A.
“It's a tragedy, absolutely unnecessary death,” said Dr. Peter Marks, who is the top U.S. vaccine regulator until his resignation from the Food and Drug Administration last week, partly due to Mr. Kennedy's handling of the measles outbreak.
“To date, the federal response to the ongoing measles outbreak has been improperly focused on distraction and ineffective alternatives, replacing the only truly effective prevention – the measles vaccine.”
Experts also worry that the Trump administration’s recent decision to remove international public health security and obtain funding from local health departments makes a larger multi-state outbreak more likely.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, was a doctor and conducted an important vote to confirm Mr. Kennedy and encouraged the public to get vaccinated on social media, adding: “Top health officials should say that B/4 another child died so clearly.”
Measles is one of the most contagious pathogens. The virus can linger in the air for up to two hours when an infected person leaves the room and is breathing, coughing, or sneezing.
In the week or two of the exposure, infected people may have high fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. Within a few days, the rash of the blasted face burst into flat, red spots on the face, and then spread the neck and torso to the rest of the body.
In most cases, these symptoms can be resolved within a few weeks. But in rare cases, the virus can cause pneumonia, making it difficult for patients, especially children to get oxygen into their lungs.
Measles can also cause swelling in the brain, which can leave lasting problems such as blindness, deafness and intellectual disabilities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every 1,000 children with illness die. The virus also damages the body's immune defenses, making it susceptible to other pathogens.
Christina Jewett Contribution report.
