Child in Texas dies of measles US Secretary of Health and Human Services Kennedy allegedly spread misinformation

It is the first death from measles in the USA for ten years. A child has died in Texas. Now the US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his skepticism about vaccination, has misrepresented numerous facts.

DPA

27.02.2025, 05:18

27.02.2025, 07:59

dpa

After a measles outbreak in the US state of Texas claimed the life of an unvaccinated child, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to be misrepresenting numerous facts. Kennedy said on Wednesday (local time) that the US Department of Health and Human Services was monitoring cases in Texas and dismissed the outbreak as "not unusual". He appeared to misrepresent a number of facts, including the claim that most of those admitted to hospital were only there for "quarantine".

However, the measles outbreak and the child's death were "a big deal," countered pediatrician Amy Thompson of Covenant Children's Hospital, where the child was treated before his death. They are now seeing a "very serious consequence" of the measles outbreak, Thompson said. The hospital's medical director, Lara Johnson, also contradicted Kennedy: "We do not admit patients for quarantine purposes." Rather, the respiratory disease had developed into bacterial pneumonia in some of her patients. Some need to be ventilated, Johnson told the AP, although she declined to say how many for privacy reasons.

"Unfortunately, as with so many viruses, there are no specific treatments for measles," she said.

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One dead - not two as stated by Kennedy

Kennedy had also incorrectly stated that two people had died from a measles infection. A Department of Health spokesman, Andrew Nixon, later clarified that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had only identified one death.

Texas health authorities had announced on Wednesday that the fatality was a school-age child who had been hospitalized last week. The death was the first from measles in the US since 2015. 124 people have been infected with measles in the rural region of West Texas so far, according to the health department. A further nine cases have been reported in the neighboring state of New Mexico.

The virus is spreading primarily among members of the Mennonites, an evangelical free church. Gaines County, where 80 measles infections have been reported, has one of the highest rates of school-age children in Texas missing at least one of the required immunizations. In the 2023-24 school year, that was nearly 14 percent of children from kindergarten age through twelfth grade.

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Largest outbreak in Texas in nearly 30 years

Data from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that the vast majority of measles cases occur in patients under the age of 18. The outbreak is the largest in Texas in nearly 30 years, according to health officials. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his office is in regular contact with the health department and epidemiologists and that vaccination teams are in the "affected area". He called the child's death a tragedy.

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The measles virus can survive in the air for up to two hours and is highly contagious. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to nine out of ten people who are exposed to the virus become infected. Most children survive measles without major difficulties, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death.

Since the pandemic, vaccination rates have dropped nationwide, and in most states, the vaccination rate for kindergarten-aged children is below 95 percent - a level that is needed to protect communities from outbreaks.

Kennedy breaks promises

Kennedy, who is known as a critic of vaccination, announced last week that he would review the nationwide childhood immunization schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases. In doing so, he broke a promise. Before his confirmation in the Senate, he had said that he did not want to touch the vaccination plan.