Fact-checking Kennedy when it comes to the Measles outbreak in Texas

...and how his answers on how to reduce measles are confusing and mostly doesn't stand up to scientific scrutiny.

Mar 14, 2025

Preface: As I continue to write this article, more information will be added overtime. Also, it is important to note that not all sources will be used in my article as some will merely be for reference. Also, do not cherry-pick when it comes to information you gather from the sources below.

When Kennedy gave his statement regarding the measles outbreak in west Texas, it does seem to start on a positive note. In the sub headline of the Fox News opinion piece that Kennedy wrote, it does state that MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding a potentially deadly disease. This is good as it strongly suggests that the MMR vaccine prevents an outbreak of measles, which would be factually accurate. However, as you continue to read the article as you go further and further down there are issues with factual accuracy that begin to show themselves. Kennedy’s insistence that vitamin A can help with measles is overly vague to the point where it is not clear entirely means. Kennedy states, “Studies have found that vitamin A can dramatically reduce measles mortality (Kennedy 2025).” So, is Kennedy talking about vitamin A treating measles? preventing measles? Both? If Kennedy is stating that vitamin A prevents measles, then Kennedy’s statement regarding vitamin A is factually incorrect and falls flat on its face. The MMR vaccine is the thing that prevents measles (Barber 2025). If Kennedy is instead stating that vitamin A is a treatment, then there is only evidence that it helps with the severe effects of measles in children that are malnourished (Barber 2025) (vitamin A also helps children who are malnourished who are suffering from other diseases besides measles) and there is no evidence that vitamin A helps treat children with measles that are not malnourished (Barber 2025) (which is important in America’s case as almost all children have sufficient vitamin A in their bodies (Jetelina 2025)). You also wouldn’t need any treatment for measles if you got the MMR vaccine in the first place which prevents you from getting measles (except in extremely rare cases where someone gets a mild case of measles). Also, people can consume too much vitamin A to the point that it can be toxic to the human body in ways such as causing birth defects, increasing the risk of fractures, may increase risk of cancer, blurred vision, dizziness, liver damage, etc. (Barber 2025). (Yet Kennedy doesn’t mention the dangers of too much vitamin A).

Kennedy also mentions the importance of good nutrition which certainly has its own health benefits but does not prevent or treat measles. In other words, people can have good nutrition in their diets and still get the measles virus. It is also dangerous to suggest as Kennedy does with his vagueness that, “The decision to vaccinate is a personal one” as it implies that the decision whether to vaccinate or not is only going to affect the person who either gets the shot or chooses not to get the shot (Kennedy 2025). The decision to vaccinate does not just affect this one individual, it affects the community that lives near this person as well such as by creating herd immunity.

Kennedy’s words are having a harmful effect as people are seeking Vitamin A in regard to measles. Children’s Health Defense, an organization that Kennedy has led in the past that is well-known for spreading health misinformation such as false information regarding the danger of vaccines, is producing online articles spreading misinformation that high doses of vitamin A can ward off measles in children. Some parents are reading this article and are becoming misinformed and hurting their children as a result such as giving their children cod liver oil and not getting vaccinated (Terhune 2025). Cod liver oil is even being sold at mass quantities by quack doctors and snake oil salesman that engage in pseudoscience like Ben Edwards (Edwards 2025).

Sources:

Barber, Carolyn. “RFK Jr. touts vitamin A and cod liver oil as another death is reported in growing measles outbreak. Health experts warn the move is ‘misleading the public’.” Fortune Magazine. March 6th, 2025.

Branswell, Helen. “As RFK Jr. delivers his message on measles, public health experts hear a familiar tune: The health secretary has not criticized vaccines — but has stressed arguments of those who do.” Stat News. March 3rd, 2025.

Bugos, Claire. “Can Vitamin A Prevent or Treat Measles?” Very Well Health. March 5th, 2025.

Butler, Kiera. “RFK Jr. Reportedly Had a Call With Texans Helping Distribute Unproven Measles Remedies: The Secretary of Health and Human Services recently baselessly claimed that steroids, antibiotics, and cod liver oil yielded “very good results” with measles.” Mother Jones. March 10th, 2025.

Chatterjee, Nandika. “RFK Jr.’s Bonkers Answer to Measles Outbreak Has Experts Worried: The U.S. health secretary suggests vitamin A and “good nutrition” will help stop the spread of measles.” The Daily Beast. March 4th, 2025.

Choi, Joseph. “Kennedy’s push for vitamins in response to measles outbreak worries physicians.” The Hill. May 5th, 2025.

Corum, Jonathan and Teddy Rosenbluth. “Where U.S. Measles Outbreaks Are Spreading.” New York Times. Updated March 14th, 2025.

Edwards, Erika and Brandy Zadrozny. “In West Texas' measles outbreak, families forgo conventional medicine along with vaccines: As the outbreak rages, unproven remedies like cod liver oil are being distributed free by some doctors. Families are lining up for them.” NBC News. March 10th, 2025.

Glenza, Jessica. “RFK Jr sparks alarm after backing vitamins to treat measles amid outbreak: Health experts wary as US health secretary fails to endorse effective vaccines and instead calls them a ‘personal choice’.” The Guardian. March 4th, 2025.

Godoy, Maria. “Amid a growing measles outbreak, doctors worry RFK Jr. is sending the wrong message.” NPR. March 7th, 2025.

Goodman, Brenda and Neha Mukherjee. “Kennedy touts unconventional therapies for measles linked to disciplined Texas doctor.” CNN. March 6th, 2025.

Halpert, Madeline. “Measles cases pick up as RFK promotes unproven treatments.” BBC News. March 13th, 2025.

Hamadeh, Yasmeen. “RFK Jr. Asks Quack Cure Activist for Help With Deadly Measles Outbreak.” Daily Beast. March 10th, 2025.

Hanson, Kayla E, Mona Marin, Matthew F Daley, Holly C Groom, Lisa A Jackson, Lina S Sy, Nicola P Klein, Malini B DeSilva, Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, Eric Weintraub, Edward A Belongia and Huong Q McLean. “Safety of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine in adolescents and adults in the vaccine safety Datalink.” Vaccine X. 2023 Feb 4;13:100268. June 15th, 2022.

Huang, Pien. “RFK says most vaccine advisers have conflicts of interest. A report shows they don't.” NPR. March 11th, 2025.

Jetelina, Katelyn and Kristen Panthagani. “Vitamin A and Measles: What the data show (and how to talk about it): RFK Jr. and a new form of germ theory denialism.” Your Local Epidemiologist. March 12th, 2025.

Johnson, Carolyn Y. and Joel Achenbach. “NIH to terminate or limit grants related to vaccine hesitancy and uptake: The order covers more than 40 awards to researchers around the country seeking to understand why vaccine acceptance has declined.” Washington Post. Updated March 10th, 2025.

Kennedy, Jr., Robert F. “ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.: Measles outbreak is call to action for all of us: MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease.” Fox News. March 2nd, 2025.

Kressly, Dr. Susan J. “Don’t fall for this misleading myth about vitamin A and measles: As a pediatrician, I’ve seen firsthand how children can suffer from diseases like this one.” MSNBC. March 7th, 2025.

Landsverk, Gabby. “RFK Jr. says vitamin A could help treat measles. Here's what doctors think.” Business Insider. March 7th, 2025.

Mantzioris, Evangeline. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr says vitamin A protects you from deadly measles. Here’s what the study he cites actually says.” The Conversation. March 5th, 2025.

Metcalf, Nathan. “RFK Jr. touts vitamin A and cod liver oil for measles. Here’s what the science says.” Boston Globe. March 11th, 2025.

Mills, David. “Why RFK Jr.’s Strategies for Containing Measles Outbreaks Have Experts Concerned.” Healthline. Updated March 11th, 2025.

Mole, Beth. “Cod liver oil embraced amid Texas measles outbreak; doctors fight misinfo: Overdoses of vitamin A have serious risks—and it doesn’t prevent measles.” Ars Technica. March 4th, 2025.

Morning Joe. “HHS Secretary Kennedy is linking measles outbreak to poor diet and health.” MSNBC. March 11th, 2025.

Musto, Julia. “Bad diets and cancer cure: All of the wild theories RFK Jr. has been spreading about the measles outbreak: The deadly measles outbreak has sickened hundreds in Texas and 11 other states.” The Independent. March 11th, 2025.