For the first time in ten years, a child died of measles in the United States. The number of sick children is increasing – and leads to a change of course at the vaccine -skeptical US Minister of Health.
In view of a massive measles outbreak in the southwest of the United States, Health Minister Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spoken out for immunization against the disease. He was “deeply concerned” about the recent outbreak, Kennedy wrote in an opinion contribution published by the broadcaster Fox News.
“Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to the immunity of the community and protect those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.”
The announcement is surprising because Kennedy is considered a vaccination skeptic. For years he led a lobby organization called “Children's Health Defense”, which spread false information about vaccines and tried to reverse the approval for the Corona vaccines in 2021. He repeatedly said: “There are no safe and effective vaccinations!”
Support for the state of Texas
In the state of Texas, there had been the first measles death in the United States in the event of ten years at the end of February. An unvaccinated school child had been hospitalized with measles and died there. More than 160 measles cases have been registered in the United States since the beginning of the year, and the vast majority of those affected are unvaccinated children.
According to the US Health Minister, Federal Health offices and the health authority CDC were instructed to support the authorities in Texas. Health personnel and municipalities would have to ensure “that precise information about the security and effectiveness of vaccines is spreading,” said Kennedy. Vaccines would have to be “easily accessible” for everyone who needed them. Nevertheless, the decision for vaccination is a “personal”, he emphasized.
Kennedy had fueled vaccinations
Measles are a highly contagious viral disease, they can be fatal or cause permanent damage. Nevertheless, the proportion of pre -school children's disease fell from 95 percent in 2019 to less than 93 percent in 2023. In some regions, the vaccination rate is even significantly lower.
In the past, vaccination skepticism was also fired by false and misleading statements about the safety of the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella. So he had downplayed the increase in cases and described annual outbreaks as “not unusual”.
