Amid the most important measles outbreak in a long time, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Division of Health and Human Companies is spearheading a brand new effort to search out therapies for the infectious illness for People who “choose not to vaccinate.”
HHS introduced Friday that Kennedy, a outstanding spreader of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and propaganda, is directing the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention to provide you with extra measles therapies ― although a long time of analysis have by no means turned up efficient therapies for measles, reinforcing the significance of the extremely efficient vaccine.
“Secretary Kennedy will be enlisting the entire agency to activate a scientific process to treat a host of diseases, including measles, with single or multiple existing drugs in combination with vitamins and other modalities,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon stated in an announcement.
The directive comes as a result of Kennedy and division officers “recognize that some individuals and communities across the U.S. may choose not to vaccinate,” Nixon continued.
“This effort will involve collaboration with universities nationwide to develop protocols, conduct testing, and pursue approval for new uses of safe and effective therapeutics that meet the highest scientific standards,” Nixon stated.
The directive comes as Kennedy ramps up his promotion of a variety of unproven therapies for measles, a illness that may trigger pneumonia, encephalitis, being pregnant problems, blindness and dying.
Kennedy has promoted cod liver with vitamin A as a possible miracle remedy for measles, however specialists say that a lot of the research supporting vitamin A as a potential measles therapy had been carried out within the Nineteen Eighties and Nineties in sub-Saharan Africa, the place a deficiency in that vitamin is way extra prevalent.
Analysis on vitamin A’s impression on measles in folks with out deficiencies stays inconclusive, however with Kennedy’s prompting, some mother and father in West Texas ― the middle of the 900-person measles outbreak ― have given it to their kids in excessive doses. Medical doctors within the space say lots of these kids have been displaying indicators of liver harm, a aspect impact of extreme vitamin A consumption.
And on Monday, Kennedy stated HHS was deploying medical doctors to Texas to deal with measles with “aerosolized steroids with budesonide with clarithromycin and others.” Neither budesonide nor clarithromycin is confirmed to deal with measles, and suggesting their use is harmful, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated in a blunt assertion final month.
“Promoting medications to treat measles, particularly when those medications are not recommended, suggests that measles is treatable, which it is not. The most important way to combat measles is through prevention with the MMR vaccine,” AAP stated.
Although Kennedy has inspired folks to get the MMR vaccine ― which is 97% efficient at stopping measles within the first place ― he persistently undermines his personal recommendation.
On Wednesday, he baselessly claimed that the measles vaccine “contains a lot of aborted fetus debris and DNA particles.” And in a TV look Monday, he instructed mother and father to “do your own research” on vaccines, echoing a typical chorus amongst anti-vaccine skeptics.
