Why RFK Jr. and Trump can’t be trusted on measles vaccine safety
Misinformation from Washington about the MMR vaccine has helped push U.S. measles cases to a 35-year high.
A brouhaha recently broke out among Pennsylvania’s governor, the new head of the CDC, Health and Human Services head Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and various health agencies in the state about whether two infant deaths in Lancaster County, Pa., were caused by the measles. And now more measles-related deaths are further complicating the dispute.
Two facts are important to keep in mind.
One is that with a total of nearly 700 measles cases across 36 counties so far this year, maximum information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health about the deaths — particularly the deaths of the infants in Lancaster County — is needed in order to prevent further harm.
And two, nothing the federal government has to say about measles is trustworthy.
On Aug. 26, Kennedy told reporters, “We’re doing a better job than any country in the world at controlling the measles outbreak.” He made the same claim in congressional testimony earlier this year, arguing that measles is surging worldwide and the outbreak here is simply part of a global problem.
It isn’t.
Kennedy is not telling the truth. His anti-vaccine efforts, along with President Donald Trump’s unhinged attacks on the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shots — given in two doses to kids before entering kindergarten — have set off a 35-year high incidence of the disease in the U.S.
What is causing the rapid return of measles is a never-before-seen decline in vaccination rates. This has led to an explosion in measles cases that is, contrary to Kennedy’s assertions, worse than in many other countries.
Let’s look at the numbers.
As of Sep. 10, 3,294 confirmed measles cases were reported in the United States.
Cases were reported by 47 jurisdictions.
Thirty-eight new outbreaks had been reported.
So what is going on elsewhere?
The WHO European Region cut measles cases by 73% between 2024 and 2025. The U.S. saw an increase: 2,289 cases in all of 2025, and 3,294 already in 2026 — the highest number since 1991.
Cases are falling in Canada and flat in the U.K. Furthermore, our rate of measles per million people is much higher than Japan’s or Australia’s.
Why are we doing so poorly?
Kennedy blames measles coming in from other nations. So does U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida who is running for governor. He keeps pointing to “rampant illegal immigration” during the Biden administration for measles outbreaks.
Those claims are based on misinformation and bigotry about foreigners.
A total of 16 measles cases have been reported among international visitors to the United States, whereas 95% of U.S. cases this year are outbreak-associated — meaning they reflect domestic spread.
Ninety-five percent of those cases occurred in unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status individuals.
While some cases do have travel-related origins, the spread of measles is a domestic policy failure caused by falling vaccination rates. Other countries have tourists and immigrants, too — but only the U.S. is continuing to see rapidly increasing infection rates.
In the United States, kindergarten MMR coverage has slipped from 95.2% to 92.4%, with vaccine exemptions at a record 4.2%. In some states, the coverage is as low as around 75% — creating perfect conditions for the spread of the highly contagious disease.
Our national leaders keep pouring inaccurate fuel on the epidemic.
They suggest autism is a risk from the measles vaccine, that the combined MMR vaccine is lethally dangerous, that kids get too many shots, and that the MMR shot is losing efficacy every year. None of that is true.
What is true is that measles is a dangerous disease that can cause seizures, immune problems, pneumonia, deafness, or contribute to deaths. Each case can cost as much as nearly $60,000, including the public health response.
We can’t fight this preventable plague using incorrect data, misinformation, and outright lies. America’s kids deserve so much better.
Arthur Caplan is a retired professor of medical ethics, soon to be moving to Medford, N.J. Samuel Howard is an undergraduate student at the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University.
