Measles Outbreak 2025--RFK Jr's Misinformation Is Making It Worse

kweiquartey
Apr 30
3 min read

Why measles vaccine misinformation could bring back diseases we thought were gone for good.

Person receives vaccine injection in arm. The subject wears a pink shirt. The setting is neutral, with a focus on the syringe. — MMR vaccine—protection against measles, mumps, and rubella in a single shot.

A Public Health Emergency—Fueled by Lies

Since my last post on measles, the number of cases has risen sharply—over 660 in Texas alone as of late April 2025, with two preventable child deaths. Nearly 900 cases nationwide—triple last year's numbers. (Source: Reuters, The Guardian)

This isn’t just a medical crisis. It’s a credibility crisis because trusted science is being drowned out by conspiracy and confusion.

The Measles Outbreak 2025: RFK Jr.’s Misinformation Could Make It Worse

RFK Jr., now head of HHS, has promoted cod liver oil, vitamin A, budesonide, and antibiotics as measles treatments. Because of this recommendation, cases of vitamin A toxicity, which can cause liver damage, have shown up in emergency rooms as people attempt to prevent measles by consuming excessive cod liver oil.

Silver spoon holding golden gel capsules against a bright yellow background, conveying health and vibrancy. — Cod liver oil capsules contain vitamins A, D, and cholesterol.

There’s no scientific backing for any of it.

The only proven protection is vaccination. Period.

Autism Misinformation: Misguided and Harmful

Kennedy adds more misinformation around the 2025 measles outbreak by also blaming vaccines for autism and paints autism as a family tragedy, claiming, “These are kids who will never pay taxes. They’ll never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted." These views are harmful, outdated, and deeply stigmatizing. Source: PBS, Axios, CNN.

Polio, Smallpox, and the Ghosts of the Past

Think measles is bad? Smallpox, an awful disease that was once eradicated, could return in areas with low vaccine coverage. If you survive smallpox, it leaves horrendous and disfiguring pockmarks and scars on the skin.

A child’s body covered in smallpox pustules — Smallpox was eradicated in 1980, but it could return.

Read: The Unforgiving History of Smallpox

Polio, a disease that has been eradicated, is making a comeback.

Child smiling inside an iron lung, vintage setting. The machine is cylindrical and metallic, creating a historical and resilient mood. — Martha Lillard, age 5, was in an "iron lung" during the 1953 polio epidemic.

What Was the Iron Lung? The “iron lung” was a negative-pressure ventilator used to help patients breathe when polio paralyzed their chest muscles. Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can destroy motor neurons in the spinal cord, resulting in muscle weakness, paralysis, or even death. While modern ventilators have replaced the iron lung, this haunting image is a stark reminder of the devastating toll of vaccine-preventable diseases. Martha survived, but many did not. Without vigilance, polio can return. We’ve seen these diseases before, and we don’t want them back.

Public Health Under Siege

RFK Jr. is proposing to slash NIH and CDC budgets, weakening our ability to stop outbreaks before they start. Epidemics don’t respect borders. Measles in Europe. Ebola in Africa. They’ll reach us fast.

This Isn’t Just Policy—It’s Personal

Parents grieving children. Disabled people are mischaracterized. Doctors stripped of tools. This is real harm, not a theoretical debate.

We can choose truth, or we can choose collapse. Vaccines protect more than bodies. They protect lives, families, and futures. This is why RFK Jr's misinformation makes the 2025 measles outbreak so dangerous.