Two days after initially downplaying the outbreak as “not unusual,” the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on Friday said he recognizes the serious impact of the ongoing measles epidemic in Texas – in which a child died recently – and said the government is providing resources, including protective vaccines.
“Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team,” Kennedy – an avowed anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who for years has sown doubts about the safety and efficacy of vaccines – said in a post on X.
Kennedy said his federal Department of Health and Human Services would send Texas 2,000 doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine – typically meant to be given to children in a series of two shots at 12 to 15 months old as well as between the ages of four and six years old – through its immunization program.
2000 doses is enough to vaccinate 1000 individuals. He’s sending enough to vaccinate a single neighborhood. This is almost medically meaningless. It’s only for show and does not cover the situation or care for any individuals at length.
It does however expose that he does believe in vaccines to some degree and that jfk jr doesn’t actually believe his own bullshit in an emergency.
Depending on the area, 1000 could easily not even be a neighborhood
Surely the bigger issue is that even if you have 1000 kids to vaccinate, there are 10,000 parents who don’t believe measles is anything to be worried about?
The NIH believes 7% of Americans are anti-vax, so in Texas that 10,000 is more like 2.1m.