US Well being Secretary and long-standing anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is going through criticism for his equivocal response to the raging measles outbreak in West Texas, which as of Tuesday has grown to 159 cases, with 22 hospitalizations and one youngster demise.
Whereas public well being officers want to see a convincing endorsement of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine as one of the simplest ways to guard kids and weak group members from additional unfold of the extraordinarily infectious virus, Kennedy as a substitute penned an Op-Ed for Fox News sprinkled with anti-vaccine speaking factors. Earlier than noting that vaccines “defend particular person kids” and “contribute to group immunity,” he careworn parental selection. The choice to vaccinate is “a private one,” he wrote, and merely suggested dad and mom to “seek the advice of with their healthcare suppliers to know their choices to get the MMR vaccine.”
Additional, Kennedy appeared extra desperate to embrace vitamin and dietary supplements as a method to fight the possibly lethal an infection. He declared that the “greatest protection” towards infectious illnesses, just like the measles, is “good vitamin”—not lifesaving, extremely efficient vaccines.
“Nutritional vitamins A, C, and D, and meals wealthy in nutritional vitamins B12, C, and E must be a part of a balanced eating regimen,” in accordance with Kennedy, who has no medical or well being background. Specifically, he highlighted that vitamin A can be utilized as a therapy for extreme measles instances—only when it is administered carefully by a doctor.
Nutritional vitamins over vaccines
However, Kennedy’s emphasis has spurred a common embrace of vitamin A and cod liver oil (which is wealthy in vitamin A, amongst different vitamins) by vaccine-hesitant dad and mom in West Texas, according to The Washington Post.
A Put up reporter frolicked in Gaines County, the undervaccinated epicenter of the outbreak, which has a big Mennonite group. At a Mennonite-owned pizzeria in Seminole, the county seat of Gaines, a waitress suggested diners that vitamin A was a good way to assist kids with measles, in accordance with the Put up.
A Mennonite-owned well being meals and complement retailer a mile away has been working low on vitamin A merchandise as demand elevated amid the outbreak. “They’ll do cod liver oil as a result of it’s excessive in vitamin A and D naturally, food-based,” mentioned Nancy Ginter, the shop’s proprietor, instructed the Put up. “Some folks are available earlier than they get away as a result of they’re making an attempt to only get their children’ immune system to go up so that they don’t get a secondary an infection.”