Conflicting vaccine messages from RFK Jr.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Credit: AP/Jose Luis Magana
Reading Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s words during a measles outbreak that in Texas alone has infected nearly 160 people and killed one child might lead you to think the longtime vaccine critic is now a believer.
"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," the Health and Human Services secretary wrote in a Fox News opinion piece.
Well, you say, that sounds about right.
Not quite. Kennedy provides just enough sensical language to soothe some, while simultaneously sending a stronger contrary message to parents on Long Island and beyond who embrace anti-vax perspectives, those who believe vaccines are neither safe nor effective.
He's saying exactly what they want to hear. There is no doubt Kennedy is their champion in Washington.
"Parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their children's health," he wrote in the same Fox article. "All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine. The decision to vaccinate is a personal one."
Kennedy's emphasis on choice — a key concept among parents who don't believe in vaccinating their children and don't think vaccines should be mandated for school — is telling. What Kennedy doesn't say is that vaccination is a public health necessity. It's not just a "personal" decision.
Such commentary is a dangerous harbinger, signaling a likely strategy anti-vax parents will embrace — one that weakens or even eliminates school vaccine requirements, allows broad parental choice, and strengthens or even mandates philosophical, religious or conscientious exemptions.
A careful read of Kennedy's words shows nuance and caveats where there shouldn't be any.
"As healthcare providers, community leaders, and policymakers, we have a shared responsibility to protect public health. This includes ensuring that accurate information about vaccine safety and efficacy is disseminated," Kennedy wrote. "We must engage with communities to understand their concerns, provide culturally competent education, and make vaccines readily accessible to all who want them."
That's a nod to another bedrock anti-vax concept: a warped notion of "informed consent" that involves doctors educating parents only on vaccination's alleged harms without appropriate context and advocacy. Note that Kennedy doesn't say what "accurate information" means.
The HHS secretary won't say vaccines are safe and effective. He refuses to combat misinformation and assuage concerns, instead promising to "understand" them. And he declines to say everyone who can be vaccinated must be vaccinated.
Kennedy also places "therapeutic medicines" in the same bucket as vaccinations, emphasizing Vitamin A and cod liver oil as treatments.
"By 1960 — before the vaccine's introduction — improvements in sanitation and nutrition had eliminated 98% of measles deaths," Kennedy wrote. "Good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious illness."
The nod to nutrition is a familiar refrain that ignores the fact that before the vaccine was made available in 1963 millions of people contracted measles, and hundreds died, in the U.S. annually. It was the vaccine that ended measles outbreaks and cut deaths to zero.
For the first time since 2015, deaths are no longer at zero. That has everything to do with vaccine skepticism and opposition. It's no surprise that measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rates in Nassau and Suffolk counties stand at around 82%. Some ZIP codes fall under 60%.
That could get worse. Kennedy says the measles outbreak is a "call to action." On that, he's right. But his own actions could put the nation's public health at risk.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.