U.S. Secretary of Health travels to Texas after the death of a child who has not been vaccinated with measles-related illnesses
U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy said in a social media post that he comforted families in Gaines County who had to bury two dead children before his “make America healthy again” journey across the Southwest. Seminole, Texas, is the center of a measles outbreak that began in late January with nearly 500 cases in the state alone.
He said he also worked with Texas health officials to “control the measles outbreak.”
The Texas Department of Health Services said in a press release Sunday that the child, who had no underlying health conditions, died Thursday of “what the child’s doctor said was measles lung failure.” Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for the UMC health system in Lubbock, Texas, said the child was “treated for measles complications when he was hospitalized.”
This is the third known measles-related death related to this outbreak. One is another school-age child in Texas and the other is an adult in New Mexico. No vaccine was received.
As false information about vaccines continues to spread, virologists and pediatricians have the importance of obtaining vaccines to prevent the spread of harmful diseases such as polio and measles.
Kennedy, an anti-vaccine advocate, urged widespread vaccination ahead of taking the role of the country’s health minister earlier this year as the measles outbreak worsened under his watch.
“The most effective way to prevent measles transmission is the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy said in a lengthy statement posted on social media. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccines have been safely used for more than 60 years, and measles is 97% effective after two doses.
Kennedy said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team has been “redeployed.” Neither the CDC nor the state health department included the deaths in a measles report issued Friday, but added their charges Sunday.
Nationwide, the number of measles cases seen in the United States in 2024 is more than twice.
Over two months, the West Texas outbreak is believed to have spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas, making nearly 570 people feel sick. The World Health Organization also reported cases related to Texas, Mexico.
Between March 28 and April 4, the number of cases in Texas increased to 81, with another 16 people hospitalized.
“Everyone should be vaccinated”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a U.S. Republican from Louisiana, a liver doctor who voted to help Cinch Kennedy's confirmation, called for stronger news from health officials in a social media article on Sunday.
“Everyone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. There is no benefit to eat measles.” “The top health officials should make it clear that another child is dead.”
A CDC spokesman pointed out the efficacy of the measles vaccine on Sunday, but no longer called on people to obtain it.
A spokesperson deviated from the long-term public health information surrounding vaccination, calling the decision “individual” and said people should talk to doctors and “should be informed of the potential risks and benefits associated with the vaccine.”
Misinformation on how to prevent and treat measles is hampering strong public health responses, including claims about vitamin A supplements, and while doctors’ warnings should be given according to doctors’ orders, Kennedy and holistic medical proponents have pushed for supplements, which is too dangerous.
“Unnecessary death”
Doctors at Covenant Children's Hospital, where the first measles deaths occurred, said they treated less than 10 liver problems with vitamin A toxicity, which they found when they performed routine laboratory tests on children with measles. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lara Johnson said patients who use vitamin A to treat and prevent the virus were reported.
Dr. Peter Marks, a former head of vaccines at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said the responsibility for the death was Kennedy and his staff. Max was forced to withdraw from the FDA after disagreement with Kennedy on vaccine safety.
“This is a microcosm of absolutely unnecessary death,” Max told the Associated Press in an interview Sunday. “These kids should be vaccinated, and that's how you stop people from dying measles.”
Canada officially eliminated measles in 1998, but the recent outbreak of highly contagious viruses in southwestern Ontario and other places has led public health officials to urge people to get vaccinated.
Max also said he recently warned U.S. senators that more deaths will occur if the administration responds more positively to the outbreak. Kennedy was asked to testify on the Senate Health Committee Thursday.
Experts and local health officials expect the outbreak to last for several months, if not for a year. In West Texas, the vast majority of cases are uninoculated and children under the age of 17.
With several states facing a preventable vaccine outbreak and a nationwide decline in childhood vaccination rates, there are concerns that measles may cause the United States to eliminate the state of the disease.
Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as nine out of 10 people are exposed to the virus. It is recommended to take the first photo for children between 12 and 15 months and the second photo for children between four and six years of age.
