Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida who is running for governor, has blamed “rampant illegal immigration” during the Biden administration for measles outbreaks. But we found no link to illegal immigration in several recent large outbreaks, and infectious disease experts told us that the main driver of the cases is falling measles vaccination rates in the U.S.
After the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced two cases of measles-related deaths in one county, the local coroner appeared to contradict the account. And in an ongoing spat with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has alleged that a Shapiro staffer may have even “fabricated” the deaths. We’ll lay out what we know.
In defending his record on measles, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. twice said during a recent Senate hearing, “We promote” the measles vaccine. While it’s true that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend the shot, Kennedy has rarely made an unequivocal endorsement of it, even as the nation has seen an alarming rise in measles cases.
Our annual recap of the worst falsehoods of the year.
On Sept. 18, the vaccine advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to change its recommendation on the combined vaccine for chickenpox and measles, mumps and rubella, called the MMRV vaccine. We spoke to experts about claims made at the meeting as well as the implications of the vote.
On four separate occasions, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services secretary, has suggested that the measles outbreak in Texas, which is now over 500 cases, is beginning to subside and grow more slowly. But a review of state data indicates there’s no decline yet in the pace of cases.
The measles vaccine uses a weakened virus that’s never been shown to spread to others. Samples from the outbreak in Texas also show that a wild-type virus is responsible. Yet, social media posts have falsely claimed that the outbreak is due to a vaccine strain. Without evidence, other posts have blamed immigrants crossing the southern border illegally.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several unsupported or misleading claims about the measles vaccine, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said is safe and “the most important tool to prevent” the disease. Meanwhile, a measles outbreak in Texas continues to expand.
Measles is an extremely contagious vaccine-preventable disease that can lead to death or disability. It also wipes out immune memory for several years after an infection. As an outbreak in Texas continues to expand, social media posts have claimed without sufficient support that measles infections are beneficial later in life against cancer and other diseases, an idea health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has echoed.
In the midst of a growing measles outbreak in Texas that has killed one child, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has misleadingly focused on vitamin A, including from cod liver oil, and two non-standard medications as treatments for measles.