The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board published an op-ed Monday calling on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to set aside his anti-vaccine activist positions in light of the nearly 50 measles cases that have been confirmed among mostly unvaccinated children in Texas.
“We are on record as skeptical of RFK Jr.’s nomination. The Senate confirmed him. Now the best-case scenario would be for Mr. Kennedy to internalize that he is no longer an activist outsider who needs to take provocative potshots to get attention,” the Journal’s editorial board wrote.
As of last week, 48 children in the South Plains region of Texas have confirmed cases of measles, and 13 have been hospitalized. The disease is so transmissible that up to 9 out of 10 people who come into contact someone with measles can be infected, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, all the children who have been infected are either unvaccinated or have unconfirmed vaccination statuses. The department has stated “additional cases are likely” due to how contagious measles is.
“The tragedy is that this doesn’t have to keep happening. In 2000 measles was declared eliminated from the U.S., meaning 12 months with no continuous spread,” the Journal’s op-ed read.
“Yet for some people, the reality of measles feels like a sepia-toned history lesson, whereas the antivax hooey featured on podcasts these days sounds current,” the Journal added. “RFK Jr., an environmental lawyer by trade, has long been part of the problem, and at his Senate confirmation hearings he presented himself as just asking questions, man. That undersells his role in spreading doubt and confusion.”
The op-ed additionally noted the falling vaccination rates among kindergarteners in recent years. All states and D.C. require vaccinations for school attendance, but exceptions are often permitted. During the 2023-2024 school year, vaccination coverage among U.S. kindergarteners fell to 92.7 percent when it came to the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Federal health authorities have long maintained a “Healthy People 2030” target of achieving 95 percent MMR immunization coverage. This level of coverage is considered ideal for maintaining herd immunity in a population.
Whether this aim for vaccine coverage will continue now remains unclear as Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has signaled he will prioritize work on chronic illnesses as opposed to infectious disease.
The Hill has reached out to the HHS for comment on the Journal’s op-ed.
