Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a outstanding vaccine skeptic, dismissed considerations a few measles outbreak spreading in west Texas that has reportedly claimed the nation’s first life in a decade, telling reporters: “It’s commonplace” and “we’ve measles outbreaks yearly.”
“There are two individuals who have died, however we’re watching it. There are about 20 folks hospitalized, primarily for quarantine,” he stated Wednesday when requested concerning the dying through the first Cupboard assembly of Donald Trump’s new administration.
His feedback instantly adopted well being officers in Lubbock, Texas, asserting the dying of an unvaccinated school-age baby. It’s not clear when or the place this second dying cited by Kennedy occurred or whether or not there was a second dying in any respect.
A spokesperson for his workplace advised HuffPost in an electronic mail that the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention “is conscious of the dying of 1 baby in Texas from measles.” They didn’t touch upon or clarify the second dying cited by Kennedy.
The dying introduced Wednesday is the primary attributed to measles within the U.S. since 2015, the CDC, which didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for remark, advised The Associated Press.
The Texas Division of State Well being Providers has reported 124 cases as of Tuesday, making it the biggest outbreak the state has seen in almost 30 years, state well being officers have stated. The overwhelming majority of these contaminated in Texas are kids, and all however 5 of the instances are in people who find themselves unvaccinated or with a standing unknown.
9 further instances even have been confirmed in Lea County, New Mexico, which is alongside Texas’ northwest border.
“By the way, there have been 4 measles outbreaks this 12 months on this nation. Final 12 months there have been 16. So it’s commonplace. We now have measles outbreaks yearly,” Kennedy stated when requested concerning the baby’s dying through the first two months of this 12 months. The CDC confirms 16 outbreaks in 2024 however reported simply 4 outbreaks in 2023.
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For comparability, there have been 285 confirmed instances throughout the nation throughout all of final 12 months.
The virus may be particularly harmful for youngsters, leading to respiratory and neurologic problems and dying.
Roughly 1-3 out of each 1,000 measles instances will end in dying from these problems, whereas 1 in each 1,000 measles instances will end in acute encephalitis, which regularly leads to everlasting mind harm, based on the CDC.
Kennedy, who doesn’t have a medical background, has an extended file of anti-vaccine advocacy and different conspiracy theories, which he was repeatedly grilled over throughout his Senate affirmation listening to final month.
In 2023 he falsely stated “there’s no vaccine that’s secure and efficient,” and in 2021 he urged folks to “resist” CDC tips on when children ought to get vaccinated. He’s additionally falsely claimed that vaccines trigger autism.
He reversed a few of these feedback throughout his listening to, telling lawmakers that he helps vaccines and wouldn’t discourage folks from getting vaccinated as well being secretary.
The present measles outbreak comes amid a yearslong decline in vaccination charges for youngsters within the U.S.
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The vaccination price was close to 95% for 10 years earlier than dropping to about 93% beginning in 2020 through the COVID-19 pandemic. So-called herd immunity may be reached when greater than 95% of a group’s inhabitants has been vaccinated, according to the CDC.
This rise in instances, and drop in vaccinations, follows measles being declared formally eradicated from the U.S. in 2000 due to the nation’s then-high vaccination price. That standing meant that the one new instances that occurred have been from individuals who contracted the virus from one other nation and returned with it.
“Earlier than the measles vaccine was launched, an estimated 48,000 folks have been hospitalized and 400–500 folks died in the USA every year,” in accordance to the CDC.
