U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the epicenter of Texas’ still-growing measles outbreak on Sunday, the same day a funeral was held for a second young child who was not vaccinated and died from a measles-related illness.
Kennedy said in a social media post that he was working to 鈥渃ontrol the outbreak” and went to to comfort the families who have buried two young children. He was seen late Sunday afternoon outside of a Mennonite church where the funeral services were held, but he did not attend a nearby news conference held by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the outbreak.
Seminole is the which started in late January and continues to swell 鈥 with nearly 500 cases in Texas alone, plus cases from the outbreak believed to have spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico.
The second young child died Thursday from “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure,鈥 and did not have underlying health conditions, the Texas State Department of State Health Services said Sunday . Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for UMC Health System in Lubbock, said that the child was 鈥渞eceiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalized.鈥
This is the third known measles-related death tied to this outbreak. One was in Texas and the other was ; neither were vaccinated.
It’s Kennedy’s first visit to the area as health secretary, where he said he met with families of both the 6- and 8-year-old children who died. He said he 鈥渄eveloped bonds鈥 with the in which the virus is mostly spreading.
Kennedy, an anti-vaccine advocate before ascending to the role of nation鈥檚 top health secretary earlier this year, has resisted urging widespread vaccinations as the measles outbreak has worsened under his watch. On Sunday, however, he said in a lengthy statement posted on X that it was 鈥渢he most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.”
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been used safely for more than 60 years and is 97% effective against measles after two doses.
Dr. Manisha Patel, CDC incident manager, said in a Sunday news conference that the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect against measles. She also told parents in Gaines County that it was important not to 鈥渄elay care鈥 for a child who is sick with measles.
鈥淐all your doctor and make sure you鈥檙e talking to a health care professional who can guide you on those next steps,” Patel said.
Kennedy鈥檚 social media post said CDC employees had been 鈥渞edeployed.鈥 CDC spokesman Jason McDonald clarified late Sunday that the first CDC team arrived in early March and left Gaines County on April 1, while a team led by Patel 鈥渨as redeployed and arrived today to assess needs” as ordered by Kennedy and requested by Texas’ governor.
Asked about the outbreak Sunday by reporters on Air Force One, Trump said, 鈥渢hey鈥檙e doing reports on it,鈥 adding that if the outbreak 鈥減rogresses, we鈥檒l will have to take action very strongly.鈥
Neither the CDC nor the state health department included the death in their measles reports issued Friday, but the CDC acknowledged it when asked Sunday.
The number of cases in Texas shot up by 81 between March 28 and April 4, and 16 more people were hospitalized. Nationwide, the U.S. has more than double the number of it saw in all of 2024.
Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, whose vote helped cinch Kennedy鈥檚 confirmation, called Sunday for stronger messaging from health officials .
鈥淓veryone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No benefit to getting measles,鈥 he wrote. 鈥淭op health officials should say so unequivocally b/4 another child dies.鈥
Cassidy has requested to appear before his health committee Thursday, although Kennedy has not publicly confirmed whether he will attend.
A CDC spokesperson noted the efficacy of the measles vaccine Sunday but stopped short of calling on people to get it. Departing from long-standing public health messaging around vaccination, the spokesperson called the decision a 鈥減ersonal one鈥 and encouraged people to talk with their doctor. People 鈥渟hould be informed about the potential risks and benefits associated with vaccines,” the spokesperson added.
Misinformation about how to prevent and treat measles is hindering a robust public health response, including claims about vitamin A supplements that have been pushed by Kennedy and holistic medicine supporters despite doctors鈥 warnings that it should be given under a physician’s orders and that too much can be dangerous.
Doctors at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, where the first measles death occurred, say they’ve treated fewer than 10 children for liver issues from vitamin A toxicity, which they found when running routine lab tests on children who are not fully vaccinated and have measles. Dr. Lara Johnson, chief medical officer, said the patients reported using vitamin A to treat and prevent the virus.
, said responsibility for the death rests with Kennedy and his staff. Marks was forced out of the FDA after disagreements with Kennedy over vaccine safety.
鈥淭his is the epitome of an absolute needless death,鈥 Marks told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday. 鈥淭hese kids should get vaccinated 鈥 that鈥檚 how you prevent people from dying of measles.鈥
Marks also said he recently warned U.S. senators that more deaths would occur if the administration didn鈥檛 mount a more aggressive response to the outbreak.
Experts and local health officials expect the outbreak to go on for if not a year. In West Texas, the vast majority of cases are in unvaccinated people and children younger than 17.
With several states facing outbreaks of the vaccine-preventable disease 鈥 and declining childhood vaccination rates nationwide 鈥 some worry that measles may cost the U.S. its status as having eliminated the disease.
Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, . The first shot is recommended for children ages 12 to 15 months, and the second for ages 4 to 6 years.
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Seitz reported from Washington. Photojournalist Annie Rice in Seminole, Texas, and AP reporter Matthew Perrone in Washington contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
