RFK Jr. goes full anti-vaccine bananas over two measles deaths-one was a newborn

Key Points:

• Two unvaccinated people in Pennsylvania, including a newborn, died from measles amid a large outbreak with nearly 400 confirmed cases in the state and nearly 2,800 cases nationwide in 2026, the highest since 1991.
• Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has responded to the deaths with anti-vaccine rhetoric on social media, spreading misinformation and blaming vaccination declines on the Biden administration.
• Kennedy falsely claimed the deaths might be fabricated and cited local officials denying measles fatalities, despite the Lancaster County Coroner confirming a newborn tested positive for measles and died shortly after birth.
• Vaccine experts like Paul Offit emphasize that measles can cause complications such as spleen rupture leading to death, countering attempts by anti-vaccine advocates to misattribute causes of death and downplay the severity of measles.
• This incident continues a pattern of misinformation by Kennedy and his allies, who have previously denied vaccine-preventable disease deaths and spread false narratives to undermine public health efforts.