Robert F Kennedy Jr has pulled a major about-face when it comes to concerning rises in measles cases, telling the public that the MMR vaccine is the ‘most effective way’ to stave off the potentially dangerous virus.
RFK Jr, a known vaccine skeptic, made the announcement during a visit to West Texas on Sunday to comfort families whose children had died due to measles infection.
He added: ‘In early March, I deployed a CDC team to bolster local and state capacity for response across multiple Texas regions.
‘Since that time, the growth rates for new cases and hospitalizations have flattened. The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.’
The second school-age child in West Texas died of measles over the weekend. Like the child who died in March, they were unvaccinated.
The outbreak of measles in Gaines County, Texas, where the vaccination rate is about 82 percent, below the 95 percent considered protective for those who cannot be vaccinated, began in January. Since then, there have been around 500 cases in the state.
Since the outbreak there began, the measles has spread to 22 other states. In total, there 607 Americans have gotten sick with measles. The outbreak or preventable infections there is on track to be the state’s largest in 30 years.
Over 200 of them were in children aged five to 19, while slightly under 200 have occurred in children under five. The first of two deaths since 2015 occured in March, with another school-age child dying in West Texas on Sunday, marking the latest alarming milestone.
Robert F Kennedy Jr has pulled a major about-face when it comes to concerning rises in measles cases, telling the public that the MMR vaccine is the ‘most effective way’ to stave off the potentially dangerous virus
Measles is transmitted through direct contact with airborne droplets that spread when a person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.
The disease causes tiny white spots inside the mouth, flat red spots on the neck, torso, arms, legs, and feet, ear infections, and an intense fever.
Cold-like symptoms, such as a fever, cough, and a runny or blocked nose, are usually the first signs of measles before a rash develops.
In extreme cases, measles can lead to severe inflammation and swelling in the brain and deadly pneumonia caused by fluid build up in the lungs.
RFK Jr’s endorsement of the MMR vaccine, which is a new stance from anti-vaccine activist, aligns with decades of scientific research showing it is both safe and 97 percent effective at preventing infection from measles, mumps, and rubella.
Kennedy previously chaired the anti-vaccine nonprofit called Children’s Health Defense, which advocated for an end to school vaccine requirements during the measles outbreak in 2019, when 1,261 cases of measles were reported across 31 states.
His u-turn on the MMR vaccine has drawn the ire of the anti-vax community.
Controversial anti-vax doctor Dr Mary Talley Bowden who has opposed COVID vaccines and is currently fighting a complaint from Texas’s medical board over hospital admitting privileges, said: ‘We voted for challenging the medical establishment, not parroting it.
‘Kennedy was one of those candidates that attracted people who might not vote for Trump.’
In extreme cases, measles can lead to severe inflammation and swelling in the brain and deadly pneumonia caused by fluid build up in the lungs
The group sued the state of New York to do away with the mandate, ultimately losing the case.
Kennedy has previously said that the MMR vaccine, which is estimated to have prevented around 60 million measles deaths worldwide, was not the cause of a drop in deaths. He also also claimed that malnutrition is the cause of measles deaths.
But he began shifting his perspective in March, writing in a Fox op-ed: ‘Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.’
He added in the same op-ed that vitamin A can ‘dramatically reduce measles mortality.’
Several children in Lubbock, Texas, have fallen seriously ill due to vitamin A toxicity.
Local doctors and nurses say the cases involve unvaccinated children whose parents—many of whom oppose vaccines—have been giving them extremely high doses of the vitamin.
In recent months, physicians have treated several of these children for liver damage believed to be caused by excessive vitamin A intake.
While some research suggests vitamin A supplements can help malnourished children with severe deficiencies—potentially reducing the risk of complications and death.
The outbreak of measles in Gaines County, Texas began in January. Since then, there have been around 500 cases in the state
The benefits appear limited in well-nourished children, which includes most kids in the United States. Foods like eggs, dairy products, and cod liver oil naturally provide adequate levels of the vitamin for most.
The danger of vitamin A overdosing lies in its impact on the liver. High doses can overwhelm liver cells, leading to inflammation, cell death, and scarring.
In the Texas cases, the children reportedly consumed doses exceeding 50,000 IUs—an amount high enough to trigger acute vitamin A poisoning. Symptoms of this toxicity can include jaundice, severe abdominal pain, seizures, and even coma, as the liver struggles to process the overload.
Rates of anti-vaccine parents requesting that their children be exempt from standard vaccinations to attend school, which includes the measles vaccine, are rising.
During the 2023–24 school year, routine vaccination rates among American kindergarteners in both public and private schools fell to below 93 percent—continuing a steady decline from 95 percent in 2019–20 and 93 percent in 2022–23.
At the same time, the rate of vaccine exemptions rose to a record high of 3.3 percent, up from 3.0 percent the year before and 2.6 percent in the years leading up to the pandemic.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .