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The top health official in the United States is calling on all parents to discuss measles vaccination with their children’s health care providers.

“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,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a statement that was published Sunday afternoon on Fox News Digital and on the social media platform X.

Kennedy’s statement has drawn heightened attention due to his past skeptical comments about vaccines, and amid the Trump administration’s recent cancellation of a vaccine planning meeting that regularly happens among US health officials.

The remarks were made over the weekend as a Texas measles outbreak reached just under 150 documented cases, with more diagnoses expected. Officials announced Wednesday that an unvaccinated school-age child had died of measles complications, marking the first US measles death in the US in a decade.

“The measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health,” he wrote. “By working together — parents, healthcare providers, community leaders, and government officials, we can prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of our nation.”

Most of the people in the Texas outbreak are under age 18 and unvaccinated — five of the 146 people are known to have had at least one dose of measles vaccine.

“I have also spoken to the bereaved parents of the deceased child to offer consolation,” Kennedy wrote in the statement, adding that the US Department of Health and Human Services is “offering technical assistance, laboratory support, vaccines, and therapeutic medications as needed” during the Texas outbreak.

Besides Texas, measles cases have also been confirmed in Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, and Rhode Island, according to the latest estimates. 

Just under 91% of US children are estimated to be vaccinated against measles by age 2. (Children typically a first shot around age 1, and then get a second dose between ages 4 and 6 years old.) A vaccination rate of 95% or higher is needed to achieve herd immunity. In 2000, the US had achieved the effects of herd immunity — the virus was not continuously circulating for a 12-month period.

“Parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their children’s health. All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine. The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” Kennedy wrote in the statement.

He also mentioned that there remains no approved antiviral treatment against infection with the measles virus. Antiviral treatments help the body fight off infection, such as taking Tamiflu during the early days of an influenza diagnosis. Kennedy noted that the CDC newly recommends vitamin A supplements during a measles infection.

Giving vitamin A amid measles infection has been shown to help infected people in developing countries where a lack of nutrients may be common. Experts told NBC News that it’s unclear whether vitamin A supplements for people with measles in the US have any benefit, but giving the supplement likely will cause no harm.

A study of vitamin A supplements for children in Italy infected with measles did not show a change in the clinical course of the disease or rate of complications, compared to children infected but not given vitamin A. The study was published in 2021 in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

SOURCES:

Fox News: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Measles outbreak is call to action for all of us.”

NBC News: “What to know about vitamin A and the measles.”

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal: “Vitamin A in Children Hospitalized for Measles in a High-income Country.”

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: “Vitamin A for treating measles in children.”