A second Texas child has died of a measles outbreak, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — infamous spreader of vaccine misinformation — reportedly plans to attend the funeral on Sunday.
Axios first reported news of Kennedy’s trip to Texas, with NBC News later reporting that Kennedy plans to attend the child’s funeral. The school-aged child’s death follows the death of a 6-year-old Texas girl who died from measles. Both children were unvaccinated and in the Mennonite community, which eschews vaccines due to religious beliefs. An adult in Texas has also died from the outbreak. Shortly after the first child’s death, Kennedy posted photos of himself “mountaineering above Coachella Valley,” prompting criticism he was not taking the disease’s spread seriously.
“The child was receiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalized,” the hospital said in a statement about the recent death. “It is important to note that the child was not vaccinated against measles and had no known underlying health conditions. This unfortunate event underscores the importance of vaccination.”
The outbreak has caused 481 measles cases in the state this year as of Friday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Until this year, no child in the United States had died of measles since 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says. The U.S. had largely eradicated measles thanks to vaccination, but with rising vaccine skepticism — aided by Kennedy — the disease is having a resurgence. The CDC’s website currently says that “thanks to a highly effective vaccination program in the United States,” the U.S. eliminated measles from the country and “has maintained measles elimination status for over 20 years.” If outbreaks and declining vaccination rates continue, however, the country could lose that status.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities,” Texas DSHS warned.
Kennedy downplayed the severity of the outbreak in February after the first child’s death by calling the spread “not unusual” despite the complete lack of measles deaths in the U.S. over the past decade. He has long perpetuated misinformation about the potential side effects of vaccination, claiming that the vaccine leads to deaths. But according to the Infectious Disease Society of America, there have been “no deaths related to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in healthy individuals.”
As recently as a few weeks ago, in an appearance on Fox News, Kennedy suggested without evidence that getting the measles is the best path to acquiring lifelong immunity from the disease. But according to the CDC, one to three out of every 1,000 cases of childhood measles results in death. Meanwhile, two doses of the MMR vaccine is safe and 97 percent effective in protection against measles.
Kennedy has also pushed vitamin A as a treatment for measles. In an editorial published on Fox News’ website, Kennedy claimed good nutrition is “a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses.” And in a Fox News interview he claimed that doctors in Texas are treating measles cases with steroids and cod liver oil and “getting very, very, good results.”
He went so far as to say that vitamin A can “dramatically” reduce deaths from the disease. While the World Health Organization recommends two doses of vitamin A for those with measles who have low vitamin A levels, it not a treatment for measles. WHO says that there is “no specific treatment for measles” beyond “relieving symptoms, making the person comfortable and preventing complications.”
“Because it has been described that patients with vitamin A deficiency can have a more severe course, the WHO recommends low doses of vitamin A for children diagnosed with measles,” Dr. Carla Garcia Carreno, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children’s Medical Center Plano in Texas, told ABC News. “This is a supplementation in case of deficiency, and it is not intended to treat the virus. High doses of vitamin A can have serious consequences.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that: “Community-wide vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles. All children should be vaccinated against measles. The vaccine is safe, effective and inexpensive.”
