RFK Jr. Tells CDC To Go All In On Bogus Vitamin ‘Cures’ For Measles | EUROtoday

Amid the most important measles outbreak in many years, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services is spearheading a brand new effort to search out therapies for the infectious illness for Americans who “choose not to vaccinate.”

HHS introduced Friday that Kennedy, a outstanding spreader of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and propaganda, is directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give you extra measles therapies ― although many years 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 mentioned 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 mentioned.

The directive comes as Kennedy ramps up his promotion of a spread 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 treatment for measles, however specialists say that many of the research supporting vitamin A as a attainable measles therapy had been performed within the Eighties and Nineties in sub-Saharan Africa, the place a deficiency in that vitamin is much extra prevalent.

Research on vitamin A’s influence on measles in individuals 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. Doctors within the space say lots of these kids have been displaying indicators of liver injury, a facet impact of extreme vitamin A consumption.

And on Monday, Kennedy mentioned HHS was deploying docs 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 mentioned 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 mentioned.

Though Kennedy has inspired individuals to get the MMR vaccine ― which is 97% efficient at stopping measles within the first place ― he constantly 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 informed mother and father to “do your own research” on vaccines, echoing a typical chorus amongst anti-vaccine skeptics.