Kennedy posts vaccine misinformation, spars on social media amid measles deaths
HHS secretary has downplayed the risk of measles, blamed others for declining vaccination rates
WASHINGTON — After Pennsylvania health authorities announced that
two unvaccinated people had died from measles-associated causes, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the state’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, to offer federal assistance. According to accounts from both men, the call turned heated.
“I was very, very blunt with him, and I made very clear his actions and his rhetoric coming from this administration are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said at a press conference Tuesday. “That there’s real-life consequences to spreading misinformation.”
He was referring to
comments Kennedy made before he joined the Trump administration that cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines, including the combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, and to his continued mixed messaging on the importance of the MMR shot.
Kennedy has blamed others for declining vaccination rates, and downplayed the dangers of measles.
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