On Measles, HHS Actions Speak Louder Than a Single Line in RFK Jr's Tweets

After a second death of an unvaccinated child from measles, HHS needs policy reversals to confront the outbreak and underlying misinformation on vaccines.

On April 6^th while traveling to the funeral of a second unvaccinated child who died from measles, HHS Sec. Kennedy released a tweet that included the following line:

"The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine."

Finally – correct.

But how should we interpret the singular remark in the wake of mixed messaging and support for unproven remedies? If a single line in a Sunday tweet is to mean anything, then HHS must champion a sustained vaccination campaign implemented by state public health agencies with the support of CDC & recommit itself to combatting misinformation at scale with the help of NIH funded researchers. Indeed, if HHS Sec Kennedy were serious, then today’s single line in a Sunday PM tweet would be followed by a Monday campaign. Until this happens, this tweet will be a brief news blip with more preventable infections, hospitalizations, and worse to follow.

Here's one version of how such a campaign could unfold:

Step 1 – Launch a national ad campaign with HHS Sec. Kennedy disavowing prior remarks and repeating his call for measles vaccines

Hours after his initial tweet, Sec. Kennedy tweeted again, this time about his visit to “two extraordinary healers, Dr. Richard Bartlett and Dr. Ben Edwards who have treated and healed some 300 measles-stricken Mennonite children using aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin.” This is an audacious claim backed up by no evidence – Bartlett and Edwards may have treated 300 children, but that does not mean that such treatments are proven to be effective. The best way to avoid getting seriously ill with measles is to be vaccinated in the first place. Report after report makes it clear: there are no antivirals approved for treating measles.

Action: Sec. Kennedy should end the mixed messaging and, in his own words, communicate a clear message as part of a national ad campaign directed at unvaccinated communities.

Step 2 – Return public health funds to states, including billions for childhood immunizations

Texas is facing an intense measles outbreak exacerbated by misinformation and drops in vaccine coverage. In the past few weeks more than 20 workers involved in routine immunizations were laid off because of federal cuts to public health efforts in states across the US, including Texas. Cuts mean consequences, e.g., the Dallas County Health and Human Services “canceled over 50 immunization clinics at schools and in communities”. Under Sec. Kennedy’s leadership and with the support of the White House and DOGE, billions of dollars in public health initiatives and childhood vaccine funding have been terminated. These funds support broad campaigns to immunize children, modernize public health services, and provide baseline support for COVID and more. How does cancelling immunization clinics, laying off workers, and undermining public health initiatives keep Americans healthy?

Action item: Instead of fighting the lawsuit in the federal courts, reverse the cuts voluntarily as part of a renewed commitment to stop measles and improve children’s health.

Step 3 – Let the CDC tell the facts about the link between vaccine coverage rates and measles vulnerability in communities

Sec. Kennedy’s single line in an April 6^th tweet is correct – vaccinations are the most effective way to prevent measles. It is therefore logical that communities with low rates of vaccination, especially amongst children, are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks. It would therefore also seem logical that HHS would be interested in communicating the community risk associated with low vaccine rates. Again, if only it were so. As reported in multiple outlets just a week ago, the CDC had developed a report that communicated the link between low, community-wide vaccination rates and the risk of outbreaks. According to Pro Publica, this report has been suppressed. Measles is incredibly infectious. Public health officials expect outbreaks when the immunization rate drops below 95% - yet in some counties the rates have dropped well below 90%.

Action item: Let the CDC communicate the link between community vaccination rates and measles outbreak risk, prioritizing information on those most vulnerable counties.

Step 4 – Restore funds to researchers working on vaccine hesitancy

This past month, HHS cancelled dozens of grants focusing on vaccine hesitancy amidst a measles outbreak driven by misinformation and (yes) vaccine hesitancy. The hypocrisy is glaring. Ironically, these cancellations are driven by an effort to stop ‘censoring’ of free speech. It is certainly within anyone’s right to advocate against vaccines – but it is also the purview of public health and medical researchers to understand the consequence of speech. The spread of misinformation and vaccine hesitancy are not just ‘personal’ viewpoints. Individuals who refuse vaccinations or choose not to vaccinate their children put others in the community at risk, including infants whose families never had the chance to make a choice and those who have legitimate medical exemptions. How can the Sec. of HHS and the incoming Director of NIH reconcile their mission to ‘enhance the health and well-being of all Americans’ if they cannot decide which side they are on: the pro-vaccine or the anti-vaccine side?

Action item: Restore funds to researchers working on vaccine hesitancy and misinformation given the impact of both on the health and well-being of Americans.

Take-away: In Fighting a Preventable Measles Outbreak, A/B Testing Is No Way to Lead

In the span of a few hours, Sec. Kennedy revealed his brand of leadership – A/B testing with a nod to vaccine reality in the mid-afternoon followed by extolling treatments consistent with his anti-vaccine bonafides, including “aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin”, in the evening. As Dr. Tina Tan of Northwestern described in prior reporting: “None of those are treatments for measles. Measles is a virus, and there are no antivirals that are licensed for treatment of measles.” The Secretary of HHS has a responsibility to inform the public consistently. Actions speak louder than words, especially when the medically supported words on safe and effective vaccines only show up occasionally and fade quickly into the background.