Today, under Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s watch, the U.S. has reported 4,080 cases of measles — just over one month after surpassing 3,000 cases. Trump and RFK Jr. have now presided over more measles cases since taking office than the previous 30 years combined.
This week, Pennsylvania reported that the state’s outbreak has grown to more than 1,000 measles cases — the first U.S. outbreak to reach this number in 35 years — and the state has reported five measles-associated deaths. RFK Jr. previously downplayed the severity of the deaths and defended the administration’s absentee response to the spread of measles. New York has also reported more than 90 measles cases in the last three months alone, and Governor Kathy Hochul this week declared the first statewide disaster emergency in the nation since cases began surging. In Wisconsin, there have been over 250 cases reported this year, as measles continues to spread rapidly in the state.
REMINDER: While working with his anti-vaccine group in Pennsylvania — where the measles-related deaths occurred — RFK Jr. spread anti-vaccine misinformation, minimizing the seriousness of the disease and claiming that the cure for measles is chicken soup and Vitamin A.
In response, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, a registered nurse, released the following statement:
“Donald Trump and RFK Jr. have needlessly put American children and families at risk of serious illnesses that were once eliminated. As measles outbreaks continue to spread, Trump and RFK Jr. are making it harder for parents to find and trust safe and proven medical advice that keeps children and communities safe. Trump and RFK Jr. promised to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ but instead they’ve injected doubt and dysfunction into our public health system, while children and families are put in harm’s way.”
Trump and RFK Jr. have undermined trust in safe, routine childhood vaccines. RFK Jr.’s hand-selected Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advisory panel last year eliminated recommendations for a combined MMRV vaccine for children under 4 years old, and ended the universal recommendation for the Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. Then, last month, Trump signed an executive order upending the childhood vaccine schedule, which experts warn could lead to a rise in otherwise preventable illnesses.
The Trump administration has exacerbated measles outbreaks by spreading vaccine misinformation and failing to coordinate with state health officials. RFK Jr. even downplayed the seriousness of measles outbreaks while pressuring CDC officials to promote unproven alternatives to vaccines. Meanwhile, 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.
