Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to clarify his “intentions” after he seemingly changed up his view on vaccines amid the deadly measles outbreak.
“In your March 2nd op-ed responding to the Texas measles outbreak, which has already killed one unvaccinated child, you failed to include a strong call for vaccinations,” Warren wrote. “Instead, you claimed that ‘good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious diseases.’ Do you believe good nutrition is a better defense against measles than the [measles, mumps and rubella] vaccine?”
“Will you change course and tell American parents to vaccinate their children to protect against measles, yes or no?” she asked.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, wrote in an essay published on Fox News Digital about the growing threat of the measles outbreak in west Texas, noting the rising infection rates are a “call to action.”
He also encouraged parents to consider whether to get their children vaccinated, calling it a “personal” decision. Still, Kennedy defended the efficacy of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR).
“Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” he wrote, adding that there’s a shared responsibility to protect public health.
In a release, Warren noted that Kennedy had begun prepping to replace members of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Process (ACIP) and canceled the group’s first meeting of his tenure.
The Massachusetts senator argued that Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign is “already undermining confidence in vaccines.”
“The mission of the agency you lead is ‘to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans.’ You are already failing to do so — and you must reverse course immediately,” she wrote.
Warren demanded Kennedy explain his actions by March 10.
Nearly 150 reported cases of measles have come from the west Texas outbreak. One child has died, making it the first U.S. measles death since 2015.
The Hill has reached out to HHS for comment.
