RFK Jr sparks alarm after backing vitamins to treat measles amid outbreak

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US wellness secretary, has caused alarm among pediatricians, vaccine experts and lawmakers with an sentiment portion that focuses connected vitamin A and nutrition arsenic treatments for measles.

In effect to a measles outbreak successful Texas, which resulted successful the first American measles death successful nearly a decade, Kennedy wrote for Fox News astir the benefits of “good nutrition” and vitamin A – but did not explicitly urge highly effectual vaccines.

“In fact, relying connected vitamin A alternatively of the vaccine is not lone unsafe and ineffective, but it puts children astatine superior risk,” Dr Sue Kressly, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Washington Post.

Related: US wellness authoritative quits aft reported clashes with RFK Jr implicit measles

Measles is 1 of the astir infectious diseases successful the world. Infections termination 1 to 3 radical for each 1,000 infected and tin origin terrible encephalon swelling, called encephalitis, successful 1 successful 1,000 cases. The illness besides causes wide misery, including a diagnostic top-down rash, fever, runny nose, and reddish and watery eyes. The measles vaccine is 97% effective astatine preventing the disease.

At slightest 146 radical person been sickened successful Texas, chiefly successful unvaccinated communities successful the South Plains region. More than 20 radical person been hospitalized, and an unvaccinated school-aged kid died – the archetypal American measles decease since April 2015.

Kennedy’s initially muted effect to the outbreak has drawn aggravated criticism. Kennedy erroneously said successful a cabinet meeting that the outbreak killed 2 radical successful Texas, and then, “it’s not unusual” to person outbreaks. In fact, measles sickened 285 radical successful the entirety of 2024. The Texas outbreak unsocial accounts for astir fractional of past year’s full comparatively aboriginal successful the year.

Over the weekend, Kennedy past penned an sentiment portion successful Fox News successful which helium argued vaccination was a “personal choice”, said vitamin A could “dramatically trim measles mortality” and stopped abbreviated of explicitly recommending measles vaccination.

“Good nutrition remains a best defense against astir chronic and infectious illnesses,” Kennedy wrote. “Vitamins A, C, and D, and foods affluent successful vitamins B12, C, and E should beryllium portion of a balanced diet.”

Although studies person shown that vitamin A could beryllium an effectual supportive therapy for children already infected with measles, most research has been conducted successful low- and middle-income countries, peculiarly successful Africa, wherever measles decease rates and malnutrition are much common.

“It could pb to the content of a mendacious equivalency,” Dr Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine astatine Baylor College of Medicine and the co-director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, told the Post. “To marque the champion determination for your children, you tin either vaccinate oregon springiness vitamin A … That would beryllium highly misleading.”

Kennedy’s actions besides sparked outrage from Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic Massachusetts legislator who demanded Kennedy clarify his “intentions” for US vaccine argumentation successful a Monday letter.

“These are unsafe times for nationalist health,” Warren wrote, according to CNN, citing a hard flu play and the dangers of the H5N1 strain known arsenic vertebrate flu. “Your irresponsible and reckless efforts to undermine the nation’s vaccine argumentation endanger to instrumentality the flames of disaster.”

Related: New York City officials impulse vaccination aft 2 measles cases confirmed

Measles was declared eliminated from the US successful 2000. However, the triumph was short-lived. Around the aforesaid time, the erstwhile British doc Andrew Wakefield published a fraudulent study linking vaccines to autism. The claims, contempt being widely and repeatedly debunked, person been circulated wide by groups specified arsenic Children’s Health Defense. Kennedy headed the non-profit for astir a decade. The radical is considered 1 of the world’s leading disseminators of anti-vaccine misinformation.

As wellness secretary, Kennedy has besides raised alarm for canceling meetings of influenza experts astatine the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued a stop-work order connected contracts meant to make caller vaccines, and is “re-evaluating” a $590m contract with the vaccine-maker Moderna to make a vertebrate flu vaccine.

The US is successful the midst of the worst flu play successful 15 years. Although not considered a menace to the wide public, avian flu has besides ravaged agriculture successful the US, and provoked concerns astir a caller pandemic.