RFK Jr blames media and ‘demagogic politicians’ as he downplays ‘so-called measles deaths’ amid outbreak fears

Key Points:

• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downplayed the severity of recent measles deaths in Pennsylvania, calling them “so-called measles deaths” and accusing politicians and media of fear-mongering amid a historic spike in U.S. measles cases.
• Kennedy highlighted that there have been only three measles deaths in the U.S. over the past decade and attributed the recent outbreak to declining vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, while defending the safety of the MMR vaccine.
• Public health experts criticized Kennedy’s remarks, emphasizing that the rarity of measles deaths is due to widespread vaccination, which previously prevented hundreds of deaths and thousands of hospitalizations annually before the vaccine’s introduction.
• Pennsylvania officials confirmed two measles-related deaths among unvaccinated individuals, the first in 35 years, leading to a public dispute between Kennedy and Governor Josh Shapiro, who accused Kennedy of vaccine skepticism harming public health efforts.
• The measles resurgence, reaching the highest levels since 1991 with three deaths last year, has sparked controversy over public communication and vaccine policies, with local officials also questioning the timing and transparency of case announcements.