Kennedy Says HHS Will Send Measles Vaccine to Texas

Secretary has played down the outbreak
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 2, 2025 3:00 PM CST
Stopping Measles Outbreak Is 'a Top Priority,' Kennedy Says
A sign asking patients of a mask requirement to prevent the spread of measles is seen on the door of the Ector County Health Department on Monday in Odessa, Texas.   (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Leading vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been dismissive of the measles outbreak in Texas, now says that the spread needs to be stopped and that the federal response will include vaccinations. "Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team," the secretary of Health and Human Services posted on X. Kennedy said 2,000 doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine will be sent to Texas, the Guardian reports. The outbreak stands at 146 reported cases, per the Washington Post, though officials suspect the real number is higher. One child, who was unvaccinated, has died in the worst measles outbreak in the state in three decades.

Public health experts and some residents worry that past statements and actions by Kennedy, who founded an anti-vaccine group, could lead to greater spread of the preventable disease, per the BBC. "We just want people to be healthy, and it's definitely hard to do that when we have voices in our ears from leadership who don't share those same factual opinions," one woman said. But the outbreak has not eliminated opposition to childhood vaccines in Texas. In places, per the Post, it appears to have hardened existing attitudes for and against vaccines.

Kaleigh Brantner warned other residents of Seminole against vaccinating their children two weeks before her 7-year-old son, who has not been vaccinated, developed a fever and rash. His symptoms remained mild, and he recovered quickly, leading Brantner to stick to her position even after an unvaccinated child died 80 miles away. "We're not going to harm our children or [risk] the potential to harm our children," she said, "so that we can save yours." (More measles stories.)

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