Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is overseeing the most severe year for measles infections in the United States in over three decades, as the anti-vaccine organisation he once led actively works to defend his record and spread misinformation about the disease.
Outbreak Figures and Misinformation Campaign
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,958 people have been infected with measles in the US this year, resulting in three deaths. A significant outbreak in South Carolina has seen 144 people fall ill, with 224 placed under quarantine, the majority being unvaccinated children.
During this crisis, Children's Health Defense (CHD), the non-profit group Kennedy built and led from 2015 until 2024, has produced a daily stream of content. This material stokes fear about vaccines and falsely suggests the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles are exaggerated.
At the height of the South Carolina outbreak this month, CHD published an article arguing that criticism of Kennedy over the measles spread was unfounded. The piece circulated familiar anti-vaccine tropes, with the group's chief scientific officer questioning whether measles needs to be prevented at all.
Kennedy's Statements and Expert Criticism
Public health experts state that Kennedy's own comments have undermined confidence in the measles vaccine and the public health response. While he has told people they should get the vaccine, he has simultaneously raised concerns about its safety testing, described it as "leaky," and suggested US case numbers are not severe compared to other countries.
The CDC states that two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective at preventing measles, with most side-effects being mild, such as a fever.
"Even if he's not responsible for the actual start of the outbreak, he is most certainly responsible for the spread of the outbreak," said Amy Pisani, CEO of Vaccinate Your Family. Experts like Dorit Reiss, a vaccine law scholar, argue CHD's posts serve to convince people measles is not dangerous while defending Kennedy, despite the group's long-term promotion of anti-vaccine misinformation being a contributing factor to outbreaks among the unvaccinated.
A Familiar Playbook in Texas and South Carolina
This is not the first time CHD has mobilised around an outbreak in 2025. During a measles outbreak in Texas earlier this year, the group encouraged people not to vaccinate, produced videos downplaying measles' dangers, and suggested deaths attributed to measles had other causes. Kennedy later echoed these assertions.
Medical authorities, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, state that pneumonia—which Kennedy cited—is a known and deadly complication of measles, alongside brain swelling and deafness.
In its recent South Carolina post, CHD included false information about the Texas deaths, claiming they resulted from "hospitals, hospital-acquired infections and biased healthcare professionals." Local officials and the CDC attribute the deaths directly to measles.
The group's activities create a significant distraction from the proven, life-saving benefits of vaccination. This comes as a new study highlights an emerging online "health communication void" around measles, with the CDC posting far less about the disease on social media in 2025 compared to previous years. In contrast, CHD posted about measles 101 times on X alone between January and August.
As the outbreak continues, with 18 new infections reported in South Carolina since 12 December and quarantines extending into the new year, public health advocates warn that misinformation from influential groups poses a direct threat to child safety and national health security.
