RFK Jr. urges vaccination amid deadly measles outbreak in Texas
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called for increased vaccination efforts in response to a deadly measles outbreak in Texas.
The Health and Human Services Secretary emphasized the importance of the MMR vaccine to prevent the spread of this potentially deadly disease, News.Az reports, citing US media.
Kennedy has a long record of sowing skepticism about vaccines and last week appeared to downplay the situation in Texas when he described such outbreaks as "not unusual."
He has previously repeated debunked claims about vaccines and provided elusive answers to senators on his stance on vaccinations ahead of being confirmed.
Kennedy wrote an op-ed for Fox News' website on Sunday with the headline "Measles outbreak is call to action for all of us" and the subheading "MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease."
Kennedy wrote that before the introduction of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the 1960s, "virtually every child in the United States contracted measles."
He noted that from 1953 to 1962, "on average there were 530,217 confirmed cases and 440 deaths," with a fatality rate of 1 in 1,205 cases.
"Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons," Kennedy wrote.
Kennedy emphasized that the decision to vaccinate is "a personal one."
At least 146 measles cases have been identified in the South Plains and Panhandle since January, according to the latest available information from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
A school-aged child in Lubbock who was not vaccinated against measles died after contracting the highly contagious virus, according to the department.
Similar news
