Since the outbreak of measles in Texas has grown to nearly 150 cases, the American health and human service secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In an opinion piece about Fox News on Sunday that parents have to consult with care providers “to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine” for their children.
Kennedy did not explicitly commanded the vaccine, but said that the outbreak was a “call for action for all of us to re -confirm our dedication to public health.”
“The decision to vaccinate is personal,” wrote Kennedy. “Vaccines not only protect individual children against measles, but also contribute to the immunity of the community and protects those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.”
Kennedy's statement about measles vaccination appeared in the play after a section that emphasizes the treatment, such as vitamin A, for people who are sick. There is no approved antiviral to treat measles.
Kennedy also wrote that care providers, leaders and policy makers must ensure that “accurate information about the safety and efficacy of vaccine is distributed. We have to collaborate with communities to understand their concerns, to offer cultural competent education and make vaccines easily accessible to everyone they want. ”In a post on X on Friday, Kennedy said that HHS offered technical support and vaccines to the state of Texas, as well as label support, outreach materials in Low German -a language that is often used by the Mennonite community in West -Texas -and daily communication with local officials.
Nevertheless, Kennedy's vaccine comments are in contrast to those of former HHS SEC. Alex Azar during the last major outbreak of measles in 2019: “We cannot say this enough: vaccines are a safe and very effective aid for public health that can prevent this disease and end the current outbreak. The measles vaccine is one of the most studied medical products we have and is given safely to millions of children and adults every year. I encourage all Americans to talk to your doctor about which vaccines are recommended to protect you, your family and your community against measles and other vaccination -workable diseases. “
Kennedy has a history of antivaccin remarks, including saying “no vaccine is safe and effective” and bind vaccines to the increase in autism. Studies have shown that measles, mumps and the rubella vaccine are safe and effective: two doses of the MMR vaccine have shown 97% effective and studies that there is no connection between autism and the MMR vaccine. During the Texas outbreak, the American Centers for Disease Control and local health officials continue to recommend the vaccination of measles.
However, the coverage of the MMR vaccine is falling throughout the country. For four years, the US has fallen short of the 95% threshold established by HHS to prevent outbreaks of the highly contagious disease.
The outbreak in West -Texas has led to 146 measles shops since the end of January, the majority of them among people who are not vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. 20 patients were admitted to the hospital and one death, a non-vaccinated school-going child, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. It is the biggest outbreak that the state has seen in 30 years, say civil servants.
When asked about the outbreak during the first cabinet meeting of President Donald Trump last week, Kennedy said that “outbreaks of measles are not unusual.” However, measles were eliminated in the US in 2000. Experts say that some cases are still expected – in particular imported cases related to international travel – and the US have reported at least a dozen cases every year since achieving the elimination status, according to data from the CDC. However, experts from infectious diseases and local health officials said that the outbreaks of the size and speed of the Texas outbreak have become unusual since the vaccination became available.
In the decade before the introduction of the MMR vaccine in 1963 there were 400 to 500 American measles per year. Until the death of the child in Texas there had been no measles in the US since 2015 and the country had not seen measles in a child since 2003.
The cases of measles have risen in recent years, with 285 American cases reported last year, the most since 2019 when long -term outbreaks under vaccinated communities in New York threatened the elimination status, according to the CDC. Falling vaccination percentages increase the number of cases.
Neha Mukherjee from CNN Health, Jacqueline Howard and Meg Tirrell contributed to this report.
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