Another Child Dies from Measles

RFK Jr. plans to attend the funeral. He should apologize to the parents for his actions during a measles epidemic that likely involves thousands of children.

Yesterday, on April 5, 2025, another child died from measles in Texas. This was the second child death from measles and third death during this epidemic. This death shouldn’t be surprising. With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of Health and Human Services, the response to the measles epidemic—which probably began around Thanksgiving of 2024 and now likely totals at least 2,000 cases—has been abysmal. For example:

On February 26, 2025, after the first child died from measles in more than 20 years, RFK Jr. said, “We have measles every year.” In other words, no big deal. In truth, we eliminated measles in 2000. The disease has returned because a critical percentage of parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children in large part because of misinformation provided by people like RFK Jr.

A few days later, on March 2, 2025, RFK Jr. continued to be a weak advocate for measles vaccination, claiming that it was a matter of “personal choice,” and that “good nutrition remains the best defense against infectious diseases.” Toward that end, RFK Jr. recommended vitamin A to treat measles, even though vitamin A has never been shown to decrease measles mortality in the developed world. Worse, many parents have chosen massive amounts of vitamin A instead of vaccination, causing liver damage.

On March 11, 2025, in an interview with Sean Hannity at a Steak ‘n Shake, RFK Jr. said that “measles vaccine kills people every year,” that “measles vaccine causes blindness and deafness,” that “measles vaccine causes the same symptoms as measles,” and that the only people who suffer severe measles are “poorly nourished.” This prompted health officials in West Texas to point out that the child who died from measles was well nourished and had no risk factors.

None of this should have been surprising. RFK Jr. has a long history of decrying measles vaccine and minimizing the serious nature of measles. A few years earlier, on July 31, 2021, while speaking to a Mennonite population in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, similar to that in West Texas, RFK Jr. smiled and laughed while saying, “When I had measles, I got to stay home with my family and watch TV with my brothers and sisters. It was horrible.” He went on to say that the cure for measles was “chicken soup and vitamin A,” and that the measles vaccine was not adequately tested for safety.

A few months later, on October 19, 2021, RFK Jr. published The Measles Book: Thirty Five Secrets the Government and the Media Aren’t Telling You About Measles and the Measles Vaccine, in which he claimed, ”Measles outbreaks have been fabricated to create fear that in turn forces government officials to ‘do something.’ They then inflict unnecessary and risky vaccines on millions of children for the sole purpose of fattening industry profits.”

When RFK Jr. attends the funeral of yet another child who has died from measles unnecessarily, he should apologize to the family. Apologize for his inaction. Apologize for his continual spread of misinformation about the disease and the vaccine. Apologize for his failure to strongly support the importance of vaccinating children during an epidemic. And apologize for cutting funds for immunization clinics in areas with low vaccination rates. The frankly dismissive mantra of “thoughts and prayers” doesn’t cut it here.