As measles cases rise in Texas, RFK Jr. urges parents to vaccinate their children – life news

Against the background of recent Texas measles outbreak, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked people to get vaccinated. The secretary of the Human Health and Services Department (HHS) claimed that the Western Texas focal is a “appeal to action”.

According to The Hill report, Kennedy encouraged parents to consider whether to vaccinate their children. The vaccine skeptic for a long time has also claimed that the decision to vaccinate is “personal”, but defended the effectiveness of the vaccine against measles, mud and rubes (MMR), saying it is “crucial to avoid potentially fatal diseases.”

“All parents should consult with medical service providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy wrote in an OP-ED published on Fox News Digital.

“The vaccination decision is a personal one,” he continued. “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to the immunity of the community, protecting those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.”

In the OP-ED, Kennedy said that medical service providers, community leaders and decision makers “have a common responsibility to protect public health”, adding: “This includes providing accurate information and effectiveness of the vaccine.

“We have to engage with communities to understand their concerns, to provide culturally competent education and to make the vaccines easily accessible to all those who want them,” he added.

Since 2015, almost 150 cases of measles have been confirmed in West Texas, where a child last week has become the first person to die of measles in the United States. According to a report of The Hill, the focal has spread to an area with a large community of menonites. According to information, this community rejects conventional drugs, such as vaccines, although the Church itself does not hold an anti-vaccine position.

A report by Associated Press revealed that the percentage of children with exemptions in Texas increased from 0.76 percent in 2014 to 2.32 percent in 2024. In Gaines County, almost 14 percent of the schoolchildren opted from at least one required in the school year 2023-24, according to AP. It has been found that a school district has a 47.95 percent K-12 vaccine exemption rate, reported the hill.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the team is in “close communication with Texas health authorities on the West Texas measles outbreak, following a child’s death.”

The CDC stressed that vaccination remains the best defense against measles infection. “Great does not have a specific antiviral treatment. Supporting care may be appropriate, including vitamin A administration under a doctor, ”he added.