Video shows doctor with measles treating kids. RFK Jr later praised him as an ‘extraordinary’ healer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Texas doc who has been treating children successful a measles outbreak was shown connected video with a measles rash connected his look successful a session a week earlier Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met him and praised him arsenic an “extraordinary” healer.

Dr. Ben Edwards appeared successful the video posted March 31 by the anti-vaccine radical Kennedy erstwhile led, Children’s Health Defense. In it, Edwards appears wearing scrubs and talking with parents and children successful a makeshift session helium acceptable up successful Seminole, Texas, crushed zero of the outbreak that has sickened hundreds of radical and killed three, including 2 children.

Edwards is asked whether helium had measles, and helium responded, “Yes,” past said his corruption started the time earlier the video was recorded.

“Yesterday was beauteous achy. Little mild fever. Spots came successful the afternoon. Today, I woke up feeling good,” Edwards said successful the video.

Measles is astir contagious for astir 4 days earlier and 4 days aft the rash appears and is 1 of the world's astir contagious diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors and nationalist wellness experts said Edwards' determination to spell into the session enactment children, their parents and their assemblage astatine hazard due to the fact that helium could person dispersed it to others. They said determination was nary script successful which Edwards' behaviour would beryllium reasonable.

Kennedy met with Edwards astir a week aft the video was posted by Children's Health Defense, the radical Kennedy led for years until December. In an April 6 station connected X, Kennedy said helium “visited with these 2 bonzer healers,” including Edwards and different doctor, and praised their usage of 2 unproven treatments for measles.

Even arsenic measles has exploded successful Texas and dispersed crossed the country, Kennedy, the nation's apical wellness official, has declined to consistently and forcefully promote radical to vaccinate their children and punctual them that the vaccine is safe. Kennedy's station drafting attraction to Edwards is inappropriate but unsurprising fixed Kennedy's record, said Dr. Craig Spencer, a aesculapian doc who is besides a prof astatine the Brown University School of Public Health.

"I deliberation is unluckily perfectly on-brand for however helium thinks that medicine should beryllium practiced," Spencer said. "And that is what makes maine remarkably uncomfortable and highly acrophobic and frightened for the adjacent three-and-a-half years.”

It was unclear whether Kennedy knew that Edwards had gone into his session portion infected with measles earlier gathering him. A spokesperson for Kennedy said helium is not anti-vaccine and that helium is “committed to improving children’s wellness successful America and has re-deployed resources to Texas to assistance with the existent outbreak.” He did not reply wherefore the wellness caput chose to conscionable with and praise Edwards alternatively than immoderate of the different doctors successful West Texas who person been treating children successful the outbreak.

Edwards told The Associated Press successful an email that helium “interacted with zero patients that were not already infected with measles” during the clip helium was infectious. “Therefore, obviously, determination were nary patients that were enactment successful information of acquiring measles since they already had measles.”

But Jessica Steier, a nationalist wellness scientist, said the video shows Edwards successful the country with radical who bash not look sick, including parents of sick children and the radical who visited the session from Children's Health Defense. She besides questioned what steps Edwards was taking to corroborate radical were sick with measles, alternatively than relying connected guesswork.

Steier, who runs the Science Literacy Lab and co-wrote an nonfiction astir Edwards' conduct, said portion determination whitethorn beryllium immoderate bonzer emergencies wherever it would beryllium due for a sick doc to work, this is not 1 of those situations due to the fact that determination is nary shortage of providers who are not infected. She besides pointed retired that the video shows Edwards was not wearing a mask.

“You person the HHS caput lifting him up," she said. "You know, it’s so, truthful dangerous. I truly consciousness for the radical who are connected the ground.”

Children’s Health Defense has sued a fig of quality organizations, among them the AP, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking enactment to place misinformation, including astir the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines.

Kennedy's promotion of a doc who has touted unproven measles treatments is “wholly irresponsible” but is successful enactment with Kennedy's agelong nationalist grounds of anti-vaccine views, said Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician astatine Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He said Kennedy has carried those views to his caller occupation arsenic the caput of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"He’s not the manager of Children’s Health Defense anymore. He’s liable for the wellness and well-being of children successful this country,” Offit said. “It's an emergency, but Kennedy is not treating it that way.”

___