Josh Marcus, Independent; ‘It’s not unusual’: RFK Jr. downplays largest measles outbreak in decades as cases spread to Kentucky
"During a Trump administration cabinet meeting, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downplayed the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas that has killed a child and resulted in over 120 cases of the disease since January.
“We are following the measles epidemic every day,” Kennedy said during the meeting. “Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year. In this country last year there were 16. So, it’s not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year.”
He described those hospitalized as part of the outbreak centered near Gaines County as “mainly for quarantine,” though a local official said otherwise...
It’s the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015, all the more notable because the disease was considered eliminated in the U.S. as of 2000 given widespread vaccination."
