RFK Jr., vaccines, food dyes, fluoride and why ‘Make America Healthy Again’ took off
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been widely maligned – and celebrated, depending who you ask – as a vaccine skeptic. So when he wrote in a post on X on Sunday that “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine” – after visiting West Texas shortly after a second unvaccinated child there died of the measles – public opinion flipped as social media users reacted to his support for the vaccine.
One user wrote: “This is so disappointing.. Who has you compromised?!”
“SELL-OUT,” another X user shared. But infectious disease clinician-scientist Dr. Neil Stone appreciated Kennedy’s words: “Words I never thought I would hear Robert F Kennedy Jr say,” he wrote, “He’s absolutely 100% correct, and I’m relieved to hear him say it.” Still, many in the pro-vaccine community long-ago wrote off Kennedy and this shift is unlikely to win him much favor. “RFK is too little too late,” one person tweeted. “Two kids have already died.”
RFK Jr. and his “MAHA” movement’s popularity appears to be at least in slight jeopardy with vaccine-skeptical supporters. But given the severity of the current outbreak, it seemed inevitable that he’d eventually need to endorse the science-backed solution to measles: the highly effective MMR vaccine.
What is going on with the measles outbreak?
A second child died from measles amid the current outbreak, which began in January and has resulted in nearly 500 cases in Texas and has spread across 21 states.
The school-aged child, who was unvaccinated and had no underlying health conditions, died on Thursday in the hospital from measles pulmonary failure, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. It is the second death of a child in Texas since the measles outbreak began in late January.
Kennedy, who has a controversial history of questioning the safety and efficacy of vaccines, including falsely linking them to autism, has said people are being successfully treated with Vitamin A and cod liver oil for the highly contagious respiratory illness. Multiple children needed treatment for Vitamin A toxicity last week.
The health secretary has rejected the idea that he is “anti-vaccine” and wouldn’t “take away anybody’s vaccines” despite his repeated, misleading claims and his involvement with Children’s Health Defense, a leading anti-vaccine group. This assertion is now bearing out, to some degree, much to the anti-vaccine community’s chagrin.
A two-dose vaccine, usually administered as part of a combination with mumps and rubella or MMR vaccine, can prevent more than 97% of measles infections. Even if a vaccinated person does develop the illness, symptoms are generally mild and the illness is less contagious.
RFK Jr. and public health risks
How did we get here? Americans are more health-focused than ever before, and there’s a wealth of medical advice being doled out on social media – though most is not coming from credentialed experts.
Some voters are also less trusting of government regulators, the anti-vaccine movement has regained momentum post-COVID, and people are fearful about the rise in cancer among young people.
Kennedy has said he wants to ensure that studies are made public and individuals can choose which vaccines will work for them. The problem? Herd immunity, which primarily protects babies, young children and immunocompromised people who cannot receive certain vaccines from diseases like measles, can only be achieved when most community members get vaccinated. Reducing the vaccines required for schooling or insurance coverage could not only put individuals at risk, but also reduce herd immunity and increase disease outbreaks in schools and communities.
It was only a matter of time before these risks became reality, and now many feel betrayed for different reasons.
One X user summed up the disappointment: “So much for ‘MAHA.’ “
Contributing: Alyssa Goldberg, Phaedra Trethan, Terry Collins and Charles A. Ventura; USA TODAY; Reuters
