US Health Secretary and long-standing anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing criticism for his equivocal response to the raging measles outbreak in West Texas, which as of Tuesday has grown to 159 cases, with 22 hospitalizations and one child death.
While public health officials would like to see a resounding endorsement of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine as the best way to protect children and vulnerable community members from further spread of the extremely infectious virus, Kennedy instead penned an Op-Ed for Fox News sprinkled with anti-vaccine talking points. Before noting that vaccines “protect individual children” and “contribute to community immunity,” he stressed parental choice. The decision to vaccinate is “a personal one,” he wrote, and merely advised parents to “consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine.”
Further, Kennedy seemed more eager to embrace nutrition and supplements as a way to combat the potentially deadly infection. He declared that the “best defense” against infectious diseases, like the measles, is “good nutrition”—not lifesaving, highly effective vaccines.
“Vitamins A, C, and D, and foods rich in vitamins B12, C, and E should be part of a balanced diet,” according to Kennedy, who has no medical or health background. In particular, he highlighted that vitamin A can be used as a treatment for severe measles cases—only when it is administered carefully by a doctor.
Vitamins over vaccines
But, Kennedy’s emphasis has spurred a general embrace of vitamin A and cod liver oil (which is rich in vitamin A, among other nutrients) by vaccine-hesitant parents in West Texas, according to The Washington Post.
A Post reporter spent time in Gaines County, the undervaccinated epicenter of the outbreak, which has a large Mennonite community. At a Mennonite-owned pizzeria in Seminole, the county seat of Gaines, a waitress advised diners that vitamin A was a great way to help children with measles, according to the Post.
A Mennonite-owned health food and supplement store a mile away has been running low on vitamin A products as demand increased amid the outbreak. “They’ll do cod liver oil because it’s high in vitamin A and D naturally, food-based,” said Nancy Ginter, the store’s owner, told the Post. “Some people come in before they break out because they’re trying to just get their kids’ immune system to go up so they don’t get a secondary infection.”
