Unfortunately, some media outlets and government officials in the United States are promoting false notions about measles. They suggest that people hold “measles parties” so that children are more likely to be exposed and get infected. These foolhardy and wrong-headed ideas lay children open to a deadly virus.
Then there is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who wrote on X:
“In Seminole, Texas, with Jake and Tina Fehr whose 2-year-old daughter, Helena was just discharged after three weeks in the ICU, Peter and Eva Fehr whose daughter, Kayley, 6, passed in February, and Pete and Eva Hildebrand whose daughter, Daisy, 8, we buried this afternoon. I also visited with these two extraordinary healers, Dr. Richard Bartlett and Dr. Ben Edwards who have treated and healed some 300 measles-stricken Mennonite children using aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin. It was a heartbreaking day, but I felt so much warmth and love from the entire Mennonite community. I have bonded with many of these resilient, hardworking, resourceful, and God-loving people over the past three months and it was good to finally meet them in person.” Emphasis added.
Here Secretary Kennedy promotes the use of “aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin” as a way to “heal” measles. He has also promoted Vitamin A. None of these treat the virus. Drs. Bartlett and Edwards, did not “heal” anyone. Dr. Edwards treated people while himself sick with measles, thus exposing more people to the illness.
Measles is a virus and it is deadly. It is extremely infectious and there is no treatment or cure.
Four days before you know you have the disease and four days after you get the rash, the virus inside you spreads through the air with every word that you say, every sneeze, cough, and breath.
Measles viruses linger in the air for as long as two hours. Ninety percent of people who are unvaccinated around an infected person will get measles.
Measles is not just a rash. The virus enters through the the nose and mouth, enters cells there, and starts multiplying. The virus spreads to the lungs, intestines, immune system and the brain. Pneumonia occurs in one in 20 children.
Encephalitis, inflammation of the brain, can occur causing permanent brain damage, coma and death. Years after measles, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis can manifest in people who had been infected. There is a 95 percent mortality rate for this condition, where children slowly deteriorate: with seizures, loss of balance and motor skills, and finally death.
Another horrible result of this infection is called immune amnesia. As we get different illnesses or are vaccinated, our body builds immunity to the viruses and bacteria that cause the illness. This is called acquired immunity. Our body’s lymphocytes learn and remember the viruses and bacteria they have faced before. When we get measles, the measles virus replaces our lymphocytes that have learned and acquired immunity. In other words, after having measles, your body loses all the immunity to other illnesses you have had. You can get the illnesses you had before because your body has no memory to fight back.
Now, think about this. There have been government officials, like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who have suggested that parents hold “measles parties.” Measles parties so that their children can get a deadly disease that lingers in their bodies, can cause them to get pneumonia, brain swelling AND causes them to be more susceptible to other harmful illnesses that they have survived before. Is that a good idea?
Scientific outcry has led Robert Kennedy Jr to finally suggest people get their children vaccinated. However, while saying this, he has also falsely claimed that the vaccine is unsafe and gives only brief protection.
Readers, it is time to rely on reputable institutions like the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic for information about measles and vaccines. Unfortunately, there are now people in the US government who are supplying false information that can hurt, maim, and kill you and your children.
Millions of people have been safely vaccinated for measles. In 2000, the US almost eliminated the disease because of high vaccination rates. Let’s get back to common sense, back to the intelligence of the year 2000, and think about how you are saving your children and yourselves from an extremely grave illness. Go get your measles shots!
References
Badash, D. Marjorie Taylor Greene supports infecting kids at measles ‘parties’ as outbreaks turn deadly. MSN. March 7, 2025. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/marjorie-taylor-greene-supports-infecting-kids-at-measles-parties-as-outbreaks-turn-deadly/ar-AA1AtFmI?ocid=EMMX. Accessed April 28, 2025.
Bendrix, A. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claims measles vaccine protection ‘wanes very quickly.’ NBC News. April 11, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/health-secretary-rfk-jr-measles-vaccine-falsely-claims-wanes-rcna200636. Accessed April 28, 2025.
Bendrix, A. Szabo, L. Zadrozny, B. Kennedy draws from misinformation playbook by touting an inhaled steroid to treat measles. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kennedy-draws-misinformation-playbook-touting-inhaled-steroid-treat-me-rcna200085. Accessed April 28, 2025.
Measles. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/measles/symptoms-causes/syc-20374857. Accessed April 28, 2025.
Measles and Immune Amnesia. American Society of Microbiology. February 7, 2024. https://asm.org/articles/2019/may/measles-and-immune-amnesia. Accessed April 28, 2025.
Mukherjee, N. Instead of vaccines, RFK Jr. focuses on unconventional measles treatments, driving worries about misinformation. CNN News. March 5, 2025 https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/health/measles-rfk-vitamin-a-misinformation/index.html. Accessed April 28, 2025
