RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads

Measles testing sign in Seminole, the county seat of Gaines County, Texas

'Even a measles outbreak and death isn't enough to drive many residents into free vaccine clinics'

(Image credit: Jan Sonnenmair / Getty Images)

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.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

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.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.