Measles cases in the U.S. are growing

[Free]

I'm glad he's (finally!) on the side of science, but for how long?

Anti-Vaxxers Aghast as RFK Jr. Admits That Vaccines Are Pretty Fantastic

In the face of a major measles outbreak, HHS secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has seemingly done a 180. Fellow anti-vaccine activists are furious.

futurism.com

Twenty-five years after it was declared eliminated from the US thanks to a nationwide and highly effective vaccination program, a measles outbreak in Texas has health experts raising the alarm bells.

As of Monday, there have been 146 confirmed cases in the state, including one death of a school-aged child, in the "first measles-related fatality in the United States in over a decade," according to a statement by Robert Kennedy Jr., the Trump adminsitration's secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

It's a particularly bizarre situation, given Kennedy's staunch anti-vaccine track record. He's spent many years engaging in fearmongering campaigns surrounding vaccines, including ones targeting immunizations against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) specifically, as Mother Jones reports.

However,

In the Face of a Measles Outbreak, Our Dingbat Health Secretary Is Recommending Cod Liver Oil

For the first time in decades, measles cases are on the rise in the United States — and our brainwormed health czar, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is hawking nutritional supplements. In an interview with Fox News, the alleged dog-eater who now helms the Department of Health and Human Services boasted...

futurism.com

 

[Dancien]

Unfortunately, I live in one of the new hot spots (San Antonio.) Made an appointment this week to get tested for antibodies because honestly I can't remember if I needed a booster or not. Even if I don't need one, probably going to ask for one and it is back to wearing a mask in public again. I am thoroughly annoyed because this bullshit was all so easily preventable.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

"I have an immune system!"

"So do I and I arm it to the teeth!"

 

[Free]

We're now at the "hundreds" point.

Measles Outbreak – August 12, 2025 | Texas DSHS

www.dshs.texas.gov

The Texas Department of State Health Services is reporting an outbreak of measles in the South Plains region of Texas. At this time, 223 cases have been identified since late January. Twenty-nine of the patients have been hospitalized.

There has been one fatality in a school-aged child who lived in the outbreak area. The child was not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

I'm glad he's (finally!) on the side of science, but for how long?

Well he's already on the other side again, kind of.

“It used to be, when I were a kid, that everybody got measles. And the measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection,” he said, then taking a swipe at the vaccine. “The vaccine doesn’t do that. The vaccine is effective for some people for life, but for many people it wanes.”

So in other words while RFK now embraces that vaccines do work, he's favoring that people should just embrace them because you've got a lifetime protection then compared to vaccines, which wane down during the years.

RFK Jr.: It Would Be Better if ‘Everybody Got Measles’

“The measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Sean Hannity on Fox News.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[Free]

Well he's already on the other side again, kind of.

Yep, that switch back to the dark side is just so easy for some of them.

 

[Dancien]

Well, he allegedly is missing half his brain from some parasite and sucks down roadkill so I didn't have much hope to begin with.

 

[Free]

Well, he allegedly is missing half his brain from some parasite and sucks down roadkill so I didn't have much hope to begin with.

It's "alleged" when others claim that it happened. When the actual brain it happened to provides the claim, I think we can move past any equivocations.

 

[Dancien]

It's "alleged" when others claim that it happened. When the actual brain it happened to provides the claim, I think we can move past any equivocations.

I mean true, but the man is the walking embodiment of the fart you should have never trusted so it is hard to believe a single thing he says.

 

[Free]

I'll have to change the title of this thread soon...

Measles arrives in Kansas, spreads quickly in undervaccinated counties

Since a single case last week, at least 9 more have been reported, with more pending.

arstechnica.com

Measles has arrived in Kansas and is spreading swiftly in communities with very low vaccination rates. Since last week, the state has tallied 10 cases across three counties with more pending.

On March 13, health officials announced the state's first measles case since 2018. The case was reported in Stevens County, which sits in the southwest corner of the state. As of now, it's unclear if the case is connected to the mushrooming outbreak that began in West Texas.

That initial case in Kansas already shows potential to mushroom on its own. Stevens County contains two school districts, both of which have extremely low vaccination rates among kindergartners. By the time children enter kindergarten, they should have their two doses of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, which together are 97 percent effective against measles. In the 2023–2024 school year, rates of kindergartners with their two shots stood at 83 percent in the Hugoton school district and 80 percent in the Moscow school district, according to state data. Those rates are significantly below the 95 percent threshold needed to block the onward community spread of measles—one of the most infectious viruses known to humankind.

As of today, March 21, Stevens County has reported three more cases—two confirmed and one epidemiologically linked probable case—bringing the total to four cases. And there's more to come.

 

[Free]

The U.S. "Health" Secretary is doing his best to hurt children.

Remedy Supported by Kennedy Leaves Some Measles Patients More Ill (archive.today)

Doctors in West Texas are seeing measles patients whose illnesses have been complicated by an alternative therapy endorsed by vaccine skeptics including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary.

Parents in Gaines County, Texas, the center of a raging measles outbreak, have increasingly turned to supplements and unproven treatments to protect their children, many of whom are unvaccinated, against the virus.

One of those supplements is cod liver oil containing vitamin A, which Mr. Kennedy has promoted as a near miraculous cure for measles. Physicians at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, say they’ve now treated a handful of unvaccinated children who were given so much vitamin A that they had signs of liver damage.

Some of them had received unsafe doses of cod liver oil and other vitamin A supplements for several weeks in an attempt to prevent a measles infection, said Dr. Summer Davies, who cares for acutely ill children at the hospital.

“I had a patient that was only sick a couple of days, four or five days, but had been taking it for like three weeks,” Dr. Davies said.

While doctors sometimes administer high doses of vitamin A in a hospital to manage severe measles, experts do not recommend taking it without physician supervision. Vitamin A is not an effective way to prevent measles; however, two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are about 97 percent effective.

At high doses, vitamin A can cause liver damage; dry, peeling skin; hair loss; and, in rare instances, seizures and coma. So far, doctors at West Texas hospitals have said they’ve seen patients with yellowed skin and high levels of liver enzymes in their bloodwork, both signs of a damaged liver.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Now it's whooping cough. Better get FEMA to send a lot of whole milk and beef tallow to Lousisiana. Oh, wait -- there's no FEMA any more.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/health/whooping-cough-pertussis-louisiana/index.html

 

[Khamon]

Let's tell every Republican Texan we know that Garnier V2 Dark Intense Violet permanent hair dye contains an enzyme that will cure whooping cough when absorbed through the follicles. Wait. Let me buy the stock first.

Edit: On second thought, let's tell them it will prevent whooping cough; that'll sell much more dye and effectively alter satellite imagery of the state.

 

[Free]

Not exponential yet, but it's not looking good.

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social)

#CDC reports that as of 4/24, there have been 884 confirmed measles cases so far this year, up from 800 last week. That total, accumulated in less than 4 months, is 69% of the total seen in 2019, the worst year since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000...

bsky.app

 

[Free]

Sort of an update...

The US is having its worst year for measles in more than three decades

Measles cases in the U.S. are at their highest in more than three decades. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. has 1,288 cases since the beginning of the year.

apnews.com

The U.S. is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, and the year is only half over.

The national case count reached 1,288 on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though public health experts say the true figure may be higher.

The CDC’s count is 14 more than 2019, when America almost lost its status of having eliminated the vaccine-preventable illness — something that could happen this year if the virus spreads without stopping for 12 months. But the U.S. is far from 1991, when there were 9,643 confirmed cases.

 

[Free]

Good news. I assume the timing with summer recess helped this outcome.

The West Texas measles outbreak has ended

A measles outbreak that killed two children is now over.

arstechnica.com

 

[Free]

New school season!

Measles outbreak in SC sends 150 unvaccinated kids into 21-day quarantine

The outbreak includes at least seven confirmed cases, but some are clearly being missed.

arstechnica.com

 

[Free]

2 months later, and no improvement.

South Carolina measles outbreak is 'accelerating,' driving hundreds into quarantine

Some students who remain unvaccinated are now in a second 21-day quarantine since the beginning of the school year.

www.nbcnews.com

The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials said Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, 111 measles cases had been reported in what’s known as upstate South Carolina — an area in the northwest of the state that includes Greenville and Spartanburg.

“We are faced with ongoing transmission that we anticipate will go on for many more weeks,” Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist for the South Carolina Department of Public Health, said during a news briefing Wednesday.

 

[Casey Pelous]

2 months later, and no improvement.

South Carolina measles outbreak is 'accelerating,' driving hundreds into quarantine

Some students who remain unvaccinated are now in a second 21-day quarantine since the beginning of the school year.

www.nbcnews.com

There's an old saying about the regions of South Carolina.

Western SC: "What church y'all go to?"

Central SC: "What business y'all in?"

Eastern SC: "What y'all drinkin'?"

We see which region is getting measles. The only logical conclusion is they're going to the wrong church.

 

[Free]