Amid the recent measles outbreak in Texas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has urged people to get vaccinated. The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) maintained that the outbreak in the West Texas is a “call to action”.
According to a report by The Hill, Kennedy encouraged parents to consider whether to get their children vaccinated. The longtime vaccine skeptic also maintained that the decision to vaccinate is “personal” but defended the efficacy of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, saying it is “crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease.”
“All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy wrote in an op-ed published on Fox News Digital.
“The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” he continued. “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.”
In the op-ed, Kennedy said that health care providers, community leaders, and policymakers “have a shared responsibility to protect public health,” adding, “This includes ensuring that accurate information about vaccine safety and efficacy is disseminated.”
“We must engage with communities to understand their concerns, provide culturally competent education, and make vaccines readily accessible for all those who want them,” he added.
Since 2015, nearly 150 measles cases have been confirmed in west Texas, where a child this past week became the first person to die of measles in the United States. According to a report by The Hill, the outbreak has spread in an area with a large community of Mennonites. Reportedly, this community rejects conventional medicine such as vaccines, though the church itself does not hold an anti-vaccine stance.
A report by Associated Press revealed that the percentage of children with exemptions in Texas has risen from 0.76 percent in 2014 to 2.32 percent in 2024. In Gaines County, nearly 14 percent of schoolchildren opted out of at least one required vaccine in the 2023-24 school year, according to the AP. One school district was found to have a K-12 vaccine exemption rate of 47.95 percent, The Hill reported.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the team is in “close communication with Texas health authorities about the measles outbreak in West Texas, following the death of a child.”
The CDC highlighted that vaccination remains the best defense against measles infection. “Measles does not have a specific antiviral treatment. Supportive care, including vitamin A administration under the direction of a physician, may be appropriate,” it added.