RFK Jr. visits West Texas as a second child is buried after dying from a measles-related illness

AP U S Healthcare Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr traveled to West Texas on Sunday after a second elementary school-aged child who was not vaccinated died from a measles-related illness Ahead of a Make America Healthy Again tour across southwestern U S Kennedy disclosed in a social media post that he was in Gaines County to comfort the families who have buried two young children Kennedy stated he was working with Texas robustness authorities to control the measles outbreak Seminole is the epicenter of the outbreak which started in late January and continues to swell with nearly cases in Texas alone plus cases from the outbreak held to have spread to New Mexico Oklahoma Kansas and Mexico The second young child died Thursday from what the child s physician described as measles pulmonary failure and did not have underlying healthcare conditions the Texas State Department of State Physical condition Services declared Sunday in a news release Aaron Davis a spokesperson for UMC Wellness System in Lubbock stated that the child was receiving healing for complications of measles while hospitalized This is the third known measles-related death tied to this outbreak One was another elementary school-aged child in Texas and the other was an adult in New Mexico neither were vaccinated It s Kennedy s first visit to the area as wellbeing secretary where he reported he met with families of both the - and -year-old children who died He disclosed he developed bonds with the Mennonite society in West Texas in which the virus is mostly spreading Kennedy an anti-vaccine advocate before ascending to the role of nation s top robustness secretary earlier this year has resisted urging widespread vaccinations as the measles outbreak has worsened under his watch On Sunday however he announced in a lengthy report posted on X that it was the greater part effective way to prevent the spread of measles The measles mumps and rubella vaccine has been used safely for more than years and is effective against measles after two doses U S Centers for Ailment Control and Prevention teams have been redeployed Kennedy added Sunday although the nation s masses physical condition agency never relayed it had pulled back Neither the CDC nor the state healthcare department included the death in their measles reports issued Friday but the CDC acknowledged it when petitioned Sunday The number of cases in Texas shot up by between March and April and more people were hospitalized Nationwide the U S has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of Republican U S Sen Bill Cassidy from Louisiana a liver practitioner whose vote helped cinch Kennedy s confirmation called Sunday for stronger messaging from healthcare administrators in a post on X Everyone should be vaccinated There is no rehabilitation for measles No benefit to getting measles he wrote Top vitality bureaucrats should say so unequivocally b another child dies Cassidy has requested Kennedy to appear before his robustness committee Thursday although Kennedy has not publicly validated whether he will attend A CDC spokesperson noted the efficacy of the measles vaccine Sunday but stopped short of calling on people to get it Departing from long-standing residents strength messaging around vaccination the spokesperson called the decision a personal one and encouraged people to talk with their physician People should be informed about the likely risks and benefits associated with vaccines the spokesperson added Misinformation about how to prevent and treat measles is hindering a robust residents robustness response including indicates about vitamin A supplements that have been pushed by Kennedy and holistic medicine supporters despite doctors warnings that it should be given under a physician s orders and that too much can be dangerous Doctors at Covenant Children s Hospital in Lubbock where the first measles death occurred say they ve treated fewer than children for liver issues from vitamin A toxicity which they uncovered when running routine lab tests on children who are not fully vaccinated and have measles Dr Lara Johnson chief biological officer commented the patients published using vitamin A to treat and prevent the virus Dr Peter Marks the Food and Drug Administration s former vaccine chief mentioned responsibility for the death rests with Kennedy and his staff Marks was forced out of the FDA after disagreements with Kennedy over vaccine safety This is the epitome of an absolute needless death Marks informed The Associated Press in an interview Sunday These kids should get vaccinated that s how you prevent people from dying of measles Marks also commented he lately warned U S senators that more deaths would occur if the administration didn t mount a more aggressive response to the outbreak Experts and local vitality personnel expect the outbreak to go on for several more months if not a year In West Texas the vast majority of cases are in unvaccinated people and children younger than With several states facing outbreaks of the vaccine-preventable complaint and declining childhood vaccination rates nationwide specific worry that measles may cost the U S its status as having eliminated the disorder Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours Up to out of people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed according to the CDC The first shot is recommended for children ages to months and the second for ages to years