Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing immense criticism for saying a “global measles outbreak” is being caused because “so many people went unvaccinated during the COVID pandemic.”

“We’re having a global measles outbreak right now. It’s all over the world and the measles outbreak is occurring because so many people went unvaccinated during the COVID pandemic,” RFK Jr. said.

“And this is something that Anthony Fauci, in fact, predicted. He said we’re going to kill more people from measles than we save from COVID as we’re shutting down measles vaccination programs,” he continued.

“So now, six years later, we’re seeing that population. We have a global outbreak,” he added.

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Newsweek shared further:

Kennedy’s remarks referred to a private journal entry written by Fauci on May 6, 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, which were later discussed during a congressional hearing in July this year.

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“Greater than one million children worldwide have missed their measles vaccination because of the shutdown,” Fauci wrote.

“This is terrible and needs to be addressed, since on that basis alone there would be far, far more excess deaths from measles among children than coronavirus deaths among children.”

The United States is experiencing its worst measles resurgence in decades, with cases already far exceeding the total recorded throughout 2025.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 4,080 confirmed cases across the country as of October 8, compared with 2,289 for the whole of last year, and 285 in 2024.

But Pennsylvania has emerged as one of the worst-affected states and a major focus of the outbreak, with more than 1,222 cases reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as of October 14.

The state’s outbreak has prompted a dispute between Kennedy and Governor Josh Shapiro (D. Pa) over the number of deaths associated with the disease and the federal response.

Pennsylvania officials have reported five measles-associated deaths this year, with a sixth suspected death announced in October. The CDC, however, has confirmed two measles-associated deaths nationwide in 2026, with other cases under review.

RFK Jr. faced tons of backlash for saying the outbreak is being caused because of unvaccinated people.

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CIDRAP noted that RFK’s stance on the MMR vaccine is confusing:

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Most US adults either still mistakenly believe that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doesn’t recommend the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine or are unsure of his stance, prompting doubt about his ability to address ongoing measles outbreaks across the country, according to a poll released today by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition, most adults dismiss the Trump administration’s claim that childhood vaccines cause autism, and while half of poll respondents still hold the same unfavorable opinion of Kennedy they did in August 2025, significantly more say they view him very unfavorably.

Americans’ uncertainty of where Kennedy stands on the MMR vaccine might in large part be traced back to Kennedy himself. He has rarely provided unflinching support for the highly effective vaccine.

More than 1,900 adults responded to the poll, conducted from August 4 to 17. Of all participants, 31% correctly stated that Kennedy recommends the MMR vaccine, up from 23% in August 2025. But most indicated that Kennedy either doesn’t recommend the vaccine (29%) or are unclear about his position (40%).

 

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