An uproar has emerged over remarks made regarding the recent measles outbreak. The number of outbreaks last year spiked significantly, quadrupling from the count in 2023, which stood at just four outbreaks. The U.S. is on the brink of matching the 2023 figure, a mere two months into 2025. Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, criticized Kennedy’s assertions of measles cases occurring “every year” as an attempt to downplay an escalating issue that is far from ordinary.
“We successfully eradicated measles from the country by the year 2000. The resurgence of measles is a result of a significant portion of parents opting out of vaccinating their children due to misinformation spread by groups like Children’s Health Defense, led by him,” Offit expressed to ABC News.
Children’s Health Defense, an organization founded by Kennedy, actively campaigns against the recommended vaccination schedules for children. Offit condemned Kennedy’s statement that measles outbreaks are an annual occurrence, emphasizing that with proper vaccination, such outbreaks could be entirely prevented.
ABC News has reached out to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for comments on RFK Jr.’s statements. The rise in measles cases and outbreaks in recent years aligns with a decline in measles vaccination coverage among kindergarteners nationally, dropping from 95.2% during the 2019-2020 school year to 92.7% in the 2023-2024 school year – putting approximately 280,000 kindergarteners at risk, according to the CDC.
Kennedy, prior to assuming his role as HHS secretary, acknowledged the effectiveness of the measles vaccine in preventing the disease but implied its dispensation might not be essential since fatalities from measles mostly affect malnourished individuals or those with other underlying health conditions.
While acknowledging the efficacy of the measles vaccine in diminishing the disease’s prevalence, Kennedy questioned its lethal impact. He highlighted that historically, measles primarily claimed the lives of around 400 malnourished or medically compromised children annually in 1963. Kennedy has also cast doubt on the attribution of 83 deaths in Samoa in 2019 to measles, asserting that the fatalities were a consequence of an inferior vaccine rather than the disease itself.
Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, revealed that 20% of children with measles in the U.S. require hospitalization, often due to severe complications like measles pneumonia, diarrhea, or encephalitis.
“Measles can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, or deafness due to otitis, an ear infection — all of which can be life-threatening conditions,” stated Hotez in an interview on MSNBC. Expressing deep concern, he emphasized the urgent need to address the rapid spread of the disease.
Doctors in West Texas are facing unexpected challenges as they treat patients affected by the measles outbreak. Dr. Lara Johnson, Chief Medical Officer at Covenant Children’s and Covenant Health in Lubbock, shared her astonishment at encountering a measles outbreak for the first time in her professional career. Recalling a single travel-related case during medical school in 2000, she highlighted the belief at that time that measles had been eradicated in the United States, making the current situation alarming and unprecedented.
The outbreak in Texas serves as a stark reminder of the risks faced by unvaccinated communities. Vaccine exemptions among children in Gaines County, where the outbreak originated, have risen significantly over the years. Data from the state health department reveals a substantial increase in vaccine exemptions, with over 17.5% of kindergarteners opting out of at least one vaccine, marking one of the highest rates in Texas.
As efforts to manage the outbreak in Texas and New Mexico intensify, experts like Hotez and Offit stress the importance of swift action and widespread vaccination. They urge public health officials, including Kennedy, to promote vigilant surveillance and vaccination campaigns to prevent future tragedies like the one unfolding in West Texas. Offit emphasized the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing outbreaks and the importance of public awareness on vaccination.
Despite these calls for action, some experts raise concerns over RFK Jr.’s assertion that the measles outbreak is “not unusual.” The ongoing situation underscores the critical need for proactive measures to combat the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases and protect public health.
