Measles: Kennedy’s big disease test
Texas reports over 120 measles cases, the highest in 30 years

“Thanks to successful vaccination campaigns, most Americans today have never experienced a measles outbreak,” said Leana S. Wen in The Washington Post. So when they see that Texas has reported more than 120 cases of the disease in a month—mostly among children—“they might not understand why it’s so alarming.”
Here’s why: The disease is wildly contagious and dangerous. Nine in 10 unvaccinated children who have contact with an infected person will get ill. Of those sickened children, 1 in 20 will develop pneumonia; 1 in 1,000 will suffer brain swelling that can cause deafness and permanent disability; and 1 to 3 in 1,000 will die. In Texas, at least 18 patients have been hospitalized so far. Two shots of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles, and that lifesaving vaccine allowed the U.S. to declare measles eliminated 25 years ago. But vaccination coverage has been dropping nationwide as anti-vax sentiment has spread, and in Gaines County, Texas, where the measles outbreak began, nearly 14 percent of K-12 students are exempt from one or more shots.
“In a normal presidency, this would be a time for action,” said Dr. Kavita Patel in MSNBC.com. Texas’ worst measles outbreak in 30 years has already crossed the border to New Mexico, and President Trump could help slow the spread by publicly encouraging people to get their kids vaccinated. Instead, he’s making things worse, firing 1,300 Centers for Disease Control employees—including 50 outbreak investigators—as part of his cost-slashing campaign. Then there’s our new secretary of Health and Human Services, said Rebecca Crosby and Noel Sims in Popular Information. In his first address to agency staff, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didn’t mention “the burgeoning measles crisis.” But the ardent anti-vaxxer did backtrack on his promise to Senate Republicans that he wouldn’t touch the nation’s current childhood vaccine regimen, announcing plans to investigate that shot schedule and “other ‘formally taboo’ issues.”
Subscribe to 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.
Can this “conspiracy-minded opportunist” rise to the moment? asked the Houston Chronicle in an editorial. Having made millions of dollars peddling debunked claims that childhood shots cause autism, Kennedy must now encourage vaccine use. If he doesn’t, “lives will be lost.” And he will face other, more serious health crises over the next four years. Experts fear that bird flu, which has gone from infecting chickens to cows to people, could become the next pandemic. We can only hope Kennedy makes the right choices, because we’re stuck with him for now. “In health, and in sickness.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Selfies ban in art galleries: a sign of the times?
Talking Point Priceless art has been damaged by visitors desperate to take a snap with star attractions, leading some galleries and museums to start fighting back
-
Quiz of The Week: 21 – 27 June
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: How do you turn plastics into paracetamol?
Podcast Plus, what is the Wagner Group doing now? And why is it so hard to find a job after university?
-
RFK Jr.: How to destroy vaccination
Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaces all 17 members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice
-
ICE: Targeting essential workers
Feature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan
-
'No Kings': A turning point for the resistance?
Feature Millions of Americans nationwide took to the streets to protest against the Trump administration
-
Trump: Making the military into a 'partisan militia'?
Feature Donald Trump held a military parade just days after sending troops to stop protests in Los Angeles
-
Is the US sliding into autocracy?
Talking Point Donald Trump's use of federal troops on home ground, dismissal of dissent and 'braggadocious' military posturing are all symptoms of a shifting political culture
-
Will Iranians revolt?
Talking Point The chasm between Iran's rulers and their subjects is 'as great now as it was when Iranians toppled the Shah'
-
Travel ban: It's back and it's bigger
Feature Trump revives a controversial travel ban, targeting mostly poor, nonwhite countries
-
Judge orders Trump's NIH grant cuts reversed
Speed Read Trump had attempted to slash more than $1 billion in research grants