More than 25 years after the virus was declared eliminated in the country, the U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status if it fails to prove that it can stop the spread of measles
Today, under Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s watch, the U.S. has reported 3,134 measles cases. Trump and RFK Jr. have now presided over more measles cases since taking office than the previous 28 years combined and, this year alone, the highest number of measles cases in over 30 years.
Just last week, Pennsylvania reported two measles-related deaths, as an outbreak in the state alone reaches more than 500 cases. RFK Jr. downplayed the severity of the deaths — without committing to new mitigation efforts — and defended the administration’s lackluster response to the measles resurgence. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) delayed last week’s case count amid the significant uptick of cases, and RFK Jr. reportedly directed the CDC to remove the new deaths from the agency’s tally.
It costs taxpayers a whopping half a million dollars to contain ten cases of measles, and public health agencies are being stretched thin to mitigate the growing number of outbreaks.
In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement:
“Donald Trump and RFK Jr. continue to put American children and families in harm’s way. Dangerous and preventable diseases that were once eliminated are spreading rapidly — and Trump and RFK Jr. continue to stoke fears by downplaying the seriousness of these diseases and spreading dangerous misinformation. Now, taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill to contain a disease that was already eliminated, as the outbreaks place even more strain on our healthcare system that Trump and Republicans have stretched thin. Trump and RFK Jr. promised to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ yet they are gambling with public health while children and families are put in harm’s way.”
RFK Jr. has downplayed the seriousness of measles outbreaks, and even claimed the Trump administration has “done better at controlling the measles outbreak than any country in the world.” RFK Jr. previously pushed his anti-vaccine agenda in Lancaster County, PA, where the measles-related deaths occurred, claiming that the cure for measles is chicken soup and Vitamin A. Meanwhile, Trump and RFK Jr. continue to sow doubt in the safety of lifesaving vaccines: Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order upending the childhood vaccine schedule, which experts warn could lead to a rise in otherwise preventable illnesses.
