Last week, a top Health and Human Services official resigned abruptly. Tom Corry, the assistant secretary of public affairs at HHS resigned after two weeks on the job. Reportedly, Corry’s resignation was because he was deeply uncomfortable with HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy’s “muted response” to the measles outbreak in Texas. More than 140 people in Texas have been diagnosed with measles, a disease which had been largely eradicated in the US due to MMR vaccine mandates for schoolkids. Following Corry’s resignation, Kennedy actually made a public statement in support of the MMR vaccine… but still left wiggle room for anti-vaxxers to allow their children to die from measles.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke of the benefits of the MMR vaccine on Sunday in response to a growing measles outbreak in Texas. Kennedy has a long record of sowing skepticism about vaccines and last week appeared to downplay the situation in Texas when he described such outbreaks as “not unusual.” He has previously repeated debunked claims about vaccines and provided elusive answers to senators on his stance on vaccinations ahead of being confirmed.

Kennedy wrote an op-ed for Fox News Digital on Sunday with the headline “Measles outbreak is call to action for all of us” and the subheading “MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease.”

Kennedy wrote that before the introduction of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the 1960s, “virtually every child in the United States contracted measles.” He noted that from 1953 to 1962, “on average there were 530,217 confirmed cases and 440 deaths,” with a fatality rate of 1 in 1,205 cases.

“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,” Kennedy wrote. Yes, but: Kennedy emphasized that the decision to vaccinate is “a personal one.”

At least 146 measles cases have been identified in the South Plains and Panhandle since January, according to the latest available information from the Texas Department of State Health Services. A school-aged child in Lubbock who was not vaccinated against measles died after contracting the highly contagious virus, according to the department. The outbreak comes as vaccination rates fall and trust in public health institutions declines.

[From Axios]

“The outbreak comes as vaccination rates fall and trust in public health institutions declines.” The outbreak also comes as Kennedy canceled an FDA and CDC meeting about this year’s flu shots. The outbreak also comes as Kennedy has spent decades sounding like a rusty muffler as he spread deadly conspiracies about vaccines and public health. Apparently, Kennedy is talking about the efficacy of Vitamin A in treating measles. You know what’s better? Vaccinating your g–damn children.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Instagram.