What happened
As a measles outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico continues to spread, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly "outlined a strategy for containing" the outbreak that "strayed far from mainstream science, relying heavily on fringe theories about prevention and treatments," The New York Times said Monday.
Who said what
The Texas outbreak, centered in an under-vaccinated Mennonite community in Gaines County, has infected at least 230 people in the state and a bordering county in New Mexico, and killed two unvaccinated patients. But "even a measles outbreak and death isn't enough to drive many residents into free vaccine clinics," The Wall Street Journal said. Local doctors are "fighting an uphill battle to convince some parents that vitamin A — touted by vaccine critics as effective against the highly contagious virus — will not protect their children," Reuters said. Tina Siemens, director of a museum in Gaines County, told the Journal that "the community loves" RFK Jr.
In an interview with Fox News last week, the Times said, Kennedy "cheered on questionable treatments like cod liver oil," which he called "the safest application of vitamin A," while issuing a "muffled call for vaccinations in the affected community," if people choose. There's "no way" the outbreak will convince vaccine skeptics to get their kids vaccinated, Gaines County physician Dr. Wendel Parkey told the Journal. "Before Covid I could convince some. Now it's like, forget it."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
The National Institutes of Health, part of Kennedy's HHS, Monday canceled "dozens of grants for research on why some people are reluctant to be vaccinated and how to increase acceptance of vaccines," the Post said.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Can bullfighting win over young SpaniardsPodcast Plus, is online fandom inherently unhealthy? And is Putin’s economy running out of gas?
-
Heirs and Graces: an ‘enthralling’ deep dive into the decline of nobilityThe Week Recommends Eleanor Doughty explores the ‘bizarre fascination’ with the British aristocracy
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A monstrous pumpkin, a sumo showdown, and more
-
Is this the end of ultraprocessed foods?Today's Big Question California law and the MAHA movement are on the same track
-
Climate change is getting under our skinUnder the radar Skin conditions are worsening because of warming temperatures
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in FijiUnder the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Can TrumpRx really lower drug prices?Today’s Big Question Pfizer’s deal with Trump sent drugmaker stocks higher
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
‘Nightmare bacteria’ are rapidly spreadingUnder the radar The infections are largely resistant to antibiotics
-
Kissing bug disease has a growing presence in the USThe explainer The disease has yielded a steady stream of cases in the last 10 years
