As Measles Spread Through Multiple States, No Sign Of Urgency or Regret From Trump’s Health Secretary Who Repeatedly Lied About the Safety of the Measles Vaccine
Washington, D.C. – Nearly 100 new measles cases have been confirmed in South Carolina since last Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 310 as of January 9th, as U.S. cases rise to the highest levels in 34 years. Meanwhile, in recent days, hundreds of additional infections have been collectively reported in other states, including Utah, Arizona, Ohio, North Carolina, California, and Virginia. Many more infections are highly “likely” as hundreds, if not thousands, more have been exposed to the disease in these states and others, including Maryland and Tennessee. The latest infections follow the 2,144 measles cases reported in 2025 (including 3 deaths) — the highest number in over three decades – while “the majority, 93%, were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccine status.”
Missing In Action: It appears Donald Trump’s Health Secretary, RFK Jr., has not made any public statements about the worsening measles situation, and his HHS has not mentioned the word “measles” in a press release since October. Kennedy’s silence now comes in stark contrast to the firehose of misinformation the Secretary spread about the measles vaccine itself, including a fear-mongering national television interview last March claiming without any credible evidence the MMR vaccine leads to “deaths every year”; that it causes “all the illnesses” of the disease; that it “wanes about 4.5% per year;” and “does not appear to provide maternal immunity.”
“RFK Jr. is never at a loss for words when it comes to lying about the proven track record of safety and effectiveness of vaccines, including the measles shot,” said Kayla Hancock, Director of Public Health Watch, a project of Protect Our Care. “Now it seems the cat caught the Secretary’s tongue as measles spreads at an alarming rate – almost exclusively among the unvaccinated — sickening hundreds of American kids and putting more lives in danger. Kennedy has exhibited no signs of urgency about the multi-state outbreaks or regret about fear-mongering about the vaccine that could have prevented this. After undermining our public health, the very least the Trump administration can do now is finally follow the peer-reviewed science and raise public awareness that the measles vaccine works and will save Americans a lot of needless pain and suffering. No one should hold their breath, though.”
The worsening measles situation should have been the canary in the coalmine for the RFK Jr. CDC to reconsider severely downgrading its vaccine schedule recommendations for children. Instead, the mass confusion and uncertainty among parents will make the nation more vulnerable to outbreaks and preventable death, from the flu to meningitis.
Dr. Molly O’Shea has noticed growing skepticism about vaccines at both of her Michigan pediatric offices and says this week’s unprecedented and confusing changes to federal vaccine guidance will only make things worse.
One of her offices is in a Democratic area, where more of the parents she sees are opting for alternative schedules that spread out shots. The other is in a Republican area, where some parents have stopped immunizing their children altogether.
She and other doctors fear the new recommendations and the terminology around them will stoke vaccine hesitancy even more, pose challenges for pediatricians and parents that make it harder for kids to get shots, and ultimately lead to more illness and death.
Previously From Public Health Watch: What Affordability Crisis? RFK Jr. Keeps U.S. Preventive Services Task Force In Limbo, Risking Higher Costs and Worse Health Outcomes for Insured Americans
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