RFK Jr. visits epicenter of Texas measles outbreak after loss of life of second youngster : NPR

U.S. Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the epicenter of Texas’ still-growing measles outbreak on Sunday, the identical day a funeral was held for a second younger youngster who was not vaccinated and died from a measles-related sickness.

Kennedy stated in a social media put up that he was working to “management the outbreak” and went to Gaines County to consolation the households who’ve buried two younger kids. He was seen late Sunday afternoon exterior of a Mennonite church the place the funeral providers have been held, however he didn’t attend a close-by information convention held by the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention concerning the outbreak.

Seminole is the epicenter of the outbreak, which began in late January and continues to swell — with practically 500 instances in Texas alone, plus instances from the outbreak believed to have unfold to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico.

The second younger youngster died Thursday from “what the kid’s physician described as measles pulmonary failure,” and didn’t have underlying well being situations, the Texas State Division of State Well being Companies stated Sunday in a information launch. Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for UMC Well being System in Lubbock, stated that the kid was “receiving remedy for issues of measles whereas hospitalized.”

That is the third recognized measles-related loss of life tied to this outbreak. One was one other elementary school-aged youngster in Texas and the opposite was an grownup in New Mexico; neither have been vaccinated.

It is Kennedy’s first go to to the world as well being secretary, the place he stated he met with households of each the 6- and 8-year-old kids who died. He stated he “developed bonds” with the Mennonite neighborhood in West Texas through which the virus is usually spreading.

Kennedy, an anti-vaccine advocate earlier than ascending to the position of nation’s high well being secretary earlier this yr, has resisted urging widespread vaccinations because the measles outbreak has worsened beneath his watch. On Sunday, nevertheless, he stated in a prolonged assertion posted on X that it was “the best method to forestall the unfold of measles.”

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been used safely for greater than 60 years and is 97% efficient in opposition to measles after two doses.

Dr. Manisha Patel, CDC incident supervisor, stated in a Sunday information convention that the MMR vaccine is the easiest way to guard in opposition to measles. She additionally instructed mother and father in Gaines County that it was essential to not “delay care” for a kid who’s sick with measles.

“Name your physician and be sure to’re speaking to a well being care skilled who can information you on these subsequent steps,” Patel stated.

CDC groups arrived in early March, Patel stated. However Kennedy’s social media put up famous that CDC workers have been “redeployed,” and the nation’s public well being company by no means relayed it had pulled again. Neither the CDC nor the state well being division included the loss of life of their measles stories issued Friday, however the CDC acknowledged it when requested Sunday.

The variety of instances in Texas shot up by 81 between March 28 and April 4, and 16 extra individuals have been hospitalized. Nationwide, the U.S. has greater than double the variety of measles instances it noticed in all of 2024.

Republican U.S. Sen. Invoice Cassidy from Louisiana, a liver physician whose vote helped cinch Kennedy’s affirmation, known as Sunday for stronger messaging from well being officers in a put up on X.

“Everybody needs to be vaccinated! There isn’t a remedy for measles. No profit to getting measles,” he wrote. “Prime well being officers ought to say so unequivocally b/4 one other youngster dies.”

Cassidy has requested Kennedy to look earlier than his well being committee Thursday, though Kennedy has not publicly confirmed whether or not he’ll attend.

A CDC spokesperson famous the efficacy of the measles vaccine Sunday however stopped wanting calling on individuals to get it. Departing from long-standing public well being messaging round vaccination, the spokesperson known as the choice a “private one” and inspired individuals to speak with their physician. Individuals “needs to be knowledgeable concerning the potential dangers and advantages related to vaccines,” the spokesperson added.

Misinformation about the way to forestall and deal with measles is hindering a strong public well being response, together with claims about vitamin A dietary supplements which were pushed by Kennedy and holistic medication supporters regardless of docs’ warnings that it needs to be given beneath a doctor’s orders and that an excessive amount of could be harmful.

Medical doctors at Covenant Youngsters’s Hospital in Lubbock, the place the primary measles loss of life occurred, say they’ve handled fewer than 10 kids for liver points from vitamin A toxicity, which they discovered when working routine lab assessments on kids who will not be absolutely vaccinated and have measles. Dr. Lara Johnson, chief medical officer, stated the sufferers reported utilizing vitamin A to deal with and stop the virus.

Dr. Peter Marks, the Meals and Drug Administration’s former vaccine chief, stated duty for the loss of life rests with Kennedy and his workers. Marks was pressured out of the FDA after disagreements with Kennedy over vaccine security.

“That is the epitome of an absolute unnecessary loss of life,” Marks instructed The Related Press in an interview Sunday. “These youngsters ought to get vaccinated — that is the way you forestall individuals from dying of measles.”

Marks additionally stated he not too long ago warned U.S. senators that extra deaths would happen if the administration did not mount a extra aggressive response to the outbreak.

Consultants and native well being officers anticipate the outbreak to go on for a number of extra months if not a yr. In West Texas, the overwhelming majority of instances are in unvaccinated individuals and kids youthful than 17.

With a number of states going through outbreaks of the vaccine-preventable illness — and declining childhood vaccination charges nationwide — some fear that measles might value the U.S. its standing as having eradicated the illness.

Measles is a respiratory virus that may survive within the air for as much as two hours. As much as 9 out of 10 people who find themselves inclined will get the virus if uncovered, in accordance with the CDC. The primary shot is beneficial for kids ages 12 to fifteen months, and the second for ages 4 to six years.