RFK Jr. cites safety concerns to reimburse global vaccine group
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said funding for organizations providing free vaccines for meningitis, malaria and other illnesses has been suspended.
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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has called for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to declare a rush to a measles case accusing him of causing the measles incident, dismantling public health and accusing him of promoting the outbreak by undermining confidence in the vaccine.
“Under your guidance as a secretary, you have weakened the vaccine, destroyed public health funds, and dismantled core federal protections to keep Americans safe,” Schumer wrote in a letter on July 11th.
“You’ve walked our country to the largest measles outbreak in the country in 33 years,” he added.
Measles cases have not been specifically vaccinated
A quarter of a century after measles was eradicated in the United States, cases have skyrocketed this year, reaching 1,288 confirmed cases in 39 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three people have passed away this year. Officials say almost nine have spread across 10 cases in New Mexico and Texas, the Mennonite community site that became the first hub of the outbreak earlier this year.
Most cases – 65% – are in people over the age of 19, and the majority – 92% – have not been vaccinated.
The outbreak has changed attention and fierce criticism from health experts to Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism and unfounded claims that the vaccine is dangerous and ineffective. Kennedy says that the measles vaccine, a claim challenged by scientists, will weaken over time, saying, “We cannot simply rely on vaccines.”
He also downplays the outbreak of measles and says instead they should focus more on chronic diseases such as diabetes and autism.
In May, Kennedy instructed the CDC to find a new “scientific process” for treating measles and other diseases with drugs and vitamins. Vaccines are still recommended as the best way to prevent illness, but some people may “choose not to get the vaccine.”
Last month, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the vaccine advisory, replenishing vaccine skeptics who announced their top priorities and replenishing vaccine recommendations for children.
The dramatic cuts to Kennedy’s departmental program and the cuts to thousands of workers in the department have sparked vigilance from public health experts and outrage from Democrats. Kennedy said in April that he would plunder 10,000 health and benefits employees as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce.
Since then, the department has faced countless legal challenges from top healthcare providers surrounding Kennedy dropping the Covid vaccine from a list of recommended shots for children and pregnant women.
Schumer is the newest Democrat in Capitol Hill since he grew up Kennedy from the recent Kennedy over the measles outbreak.
“We have a record number of measles cases in America,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA Sen., wrote to X, accusing Kennedy of filling the vaccine panel with “no-net-vaccine skeptics.”
“Where is the hearing on this crisis?”
According to the CDC, the measles vaccine is 97% effective at preventing illness when administered in the recommended two doses.
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, measles vaccinations have fallen across the country when vaccine skepticism has skyrocketed and supported by online conspiracy and mistrust of public health agencies.
