RFK Jr says Texas measles outbreaks is ‘not unusual’; times RFK Jr downplayed serious healthcare concerns

The HHS secretary of the United States of America is at it again!
The US Secretary of Health and Human Services just can’t take any health-related concern seriously – as it seems.
This time, RFK Jr. is imparting his thoughts on the measles outbreak, and once again – it has shaken up the internet.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently made a dismissive comment about a measles outbreak spreading in West Texas that has reportedly claimed the nation’s first life in a decade, telling reporters: “It’s not unusual” and “we have measles outbreaks every year.”
When asked about the death during the first Cabinet meeting of Donald Trump’s new administration, RFK Jr. said, “There are two people who have died, but we are watching it. There are about 20 people hospitalized, mainly for quarantine.”
His comments immediately followed health officials in Lubbock, Texas, who announced the death of an unvaccinated school-age child. However, it’s not clear when or where this second death cited by Kennedy occurred or whether there was a second death at all.

But this is not the first time RFK Jr. has made an ‘insensitive’ comment about a serious health concern. Let’s take a look at his consistent record of controversial remarks.

Vaccines

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a known anti-vaxxer. Not only that, but Kennedy is also the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine activist group. The US Secretary of HHS has repeatedly questioned the safety and effectiveness of routine vaccinations, such as those for hepatitis B and the flu.
In particular, he has reiterated a thoroughly debunked theory that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine causes autism. The theory is tied to research from the ‘90s that was later discredited and retracted; its author, Andrew Wakefield, lost his medical license. Many subsequent studies have found no link between the vaccine and autism.
RFK Jr. has also referred to the Covid vaccine as “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” despite data showing it’s overwhelmingly safe.
Besides, Kennedy is against school vaccine mandates, although he told NBC News in 2024 that he didn’t want to get rid of vaccines altogether, saying, “I’m going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments.”
Time and again, Kennedy has expressed doubts about the existing scientific literature on approved vaccines, which shows them to be safe and effective. Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick told CNN that Kennedy wants to “take on the data and show that it’s not safe.”
Not just that, Kennedy asserted to Fox News in 2023, “I do believe that autism comes from vaccines.”

Raw milk:

Kennedy mentioned that he only drank raw milk, which put people at risk of foodborne illness since pasteurization kills off pathogens. As many as 30 states allow raw milk to be sold, but the FDA regulates its sale across state lines.
Raw milk poses a particular threat at the moment, given the widespread bird flu outbreak in dairy cows. The CDC has warned that it might be possible to contract bird flu from drinking raw milk.

Covid and race

At an event in 2023, Kennedy promoted a racist and antisemitic theory that Covid “ethnically targeted” white and Black people but not Ashkenazi Jews or Chinese people. While the pandemic disproportionately impacted Black, Hispanic, and other minority groups, there is no evidence that race affects immunity to the coronavirus — rather, public health experts have found that socioeconomic factors made it harder for some groups to access vaccines and medical care.

Cellphone radiation

RFK Jr. told podcaster Joe Rogan in 2023 that cellphone radiation could cause cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer had mentioned that this type of radiation was possibly carcinogenic, but the FDA and the National Cancer Institute said that there was not enough evidence to support that.

HIV and AIDS

Kennedy had falsely suggested that AIDS was caused in part by “heavy recreational drug use in gay men and drug addicts,” whereas scientific research has established that the cause of AIDS is human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.

Antidepressants

RFK Jr. amplified baseless claims suggesting a link between antidepressants like Prozac and school shootings when he told Elon Musk, “Prior to the introduction of Prozac, we had almost none of these events.” However, research shows that most school shooters were not previously treated with psychotropic medications — and even when they were, there was no association between those drugs and the shootings.

Heavy metals

Kennedy also decried the presence of heavy metals in food and falsely claimed that a mercury-based preservative no longer used in childhood vaccines was linked to autism. However, as per the CDC, there was no evidence of that.
Kennedy claimed in 2012 that he suffered from mercury poisoning, perhaps from eating too much fish. After that health scare, he said, he underwent chelation therapy, which pulled heavy metals from the bloodstream. In 2024, he suggested that the FDA had suppressed this form of therapy. The agency had approved chelation therapy for particular uses, like treating lead poisoning, but warned about companies marketing unapproved, over-the-counter versions.