US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has urged parents to vaccinate their children against measles as the country faces its worst outbreak in decades, amid ongoing controversy over his messaging and vaccination policies.
US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has urged parents to have their children vaccinated against measles after the country recorded its worst outbreak in decades. In a combative CNN interview with Dana Bash on Sunday, local time, Mr Kennedy said: “Parents should get their children vaccinated for measles” and added that “A measles vaccine is effective, it stops measles in about 97 per cent of the cases. People should get vaccinated.” According to ABC News, he made the appeal as confirmed US cases this year climbed above 2,370, already surpassing last year’s multi-decade high.
The outbreak has intensified concern among public health officials because measles was declared effectively eliminated in the United States a quarter of a century ago, only for vaccination rates to slip below the level needed to keep the virus in check. Government data cited by ABC News show MMR coverage among kindergarteners fell to 92.5 per cent in the 2024-25 school year from 95.2 per cent in 2019-20, leaving some communities especially vulnerable. Reuters has previously reported that Texas also saw extensive testing during the 2025 surge, underscoring how quickly cases can spread once local immunity weakens.
Mr Kennedy’s new warning sits uneasily beside months of mixed messaging. FactCheck.org has documented a pattern of contradictory remarks from the health secretary on measles, including earlier comments that downplayed the seriousness of outbreaks and promoted vitamin A and other unproven approaches instead of vaccination. Politifact has also challenged his suggestion that measles infection may offer long-term health benefits, saying there is no solid evidence for such claims. That history has left many doctors and epidemiologists arguing that even a belated pro-vaccine message may struggle to counter the confusion created by his earlier stance.
During the CNN exchange, Mr Kennedy rejected any personal responsibility for the rise in cases, telling Bash: “Absolutely not.” He also accused her of “repeating like a parrot” and becoming “flustered”. The latest surge has already produced major outbreaks in South Carolina, Utah and Arizona, while Utah officials say more than 700 people there have been infected over the past year. Leisha Nolen, the state epidemiologist, has said modelling and genetic analysis suggest the Utah-Arizona outbreak could be three to four times larger than confirmed counts indicate, while international health officials are due to decide in November whether the United States and Mexico have lost their measles-free status.
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