‘He needs to do much more’: Scrutiny Intensifies Over RFK Jr.’s Response to Measles
The health secretary's restrained reaction to the initial significant disease outbreak during his tenure raises concerns among some of his supporters.
TroibNews 
As a deadly measles outbreak extended its reach across Texas, the nation’s leading health official took to Instagram on Sunday to share a message with his nearly 5 million followers.
“Afternoon mountaineering above Coachella Valley,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a caption to accompany photos of himself hiking in California.
The post was quickly circulated within the department, causing distress among officials who were diligently working to monitor and contain the highly contagious disease, according to two sources close to the response effort who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. In just a few weeks, measles had infected over 140 individuals in west Texas, resulting in the death of a child and raising concerns of further outbreaks across the nation.
For critics and even some increasingly concerned allies, this incident encapsulated the troublingly nonchalant attitude Kennedy has displayed publicly in managing the first significant health crisis during his tenure, as noted by a half-dozen current and former administration officials, outside advisers, and other public health experts, most of whom were granted anonymity for candid discussion.
The measles outbreak serves as an early challenge for Kennedy as he navigates his new responsibilities as the nation's chief health official in conjunction with his history as a critic of vaccines and the health system.
"It's a serious role; he's just a couple of weeks in, and measles is not a common occurrence, and it should be all hands on deck," said a former Trump official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with current administration health officials. "When you're taking a selfie out at Coachella, it's pretty clear that you're checked out."
Since taking office three weeks ago, Kennedy has primarily focused on addressing the fast-escalating measles outbreak. Initially, he characterized the situation as "not unusual" during a Cabinet meeting, but two days later he referred to controlling the outbreak as a "top priority."
Kennedy has endorsed vaccinating children against the illness while concurrently suggesting that the decision remains a personal choice. On Tuesday, during his first national television interview on the issue, he advocated for the vaccine but spent significant time discussing the advantages of supplements, such as vitamin A-rich cod liver oil.
“What we’re trying to do is really to restore faith in government and make sure that we are there to help them with their needs,” Kennedy stated, “and not to dictate what they ought to be doing.”
This mixed messaging has caused unease within some sectors of the Trump administration. On Monday, top HHS spokesperson Thomas Corry announced his resignation after only two weeks, partly due to what two sources familiar with the situation described as frustration with Kennedy’s handling of the outbreak.
Kennedy’s promotion of vitamin A as a treatment for measles in a Sunday op-ed for Fox News prompted one of his advisers to publicly caution parents to “please do not rely” on it for protection.
“He could be misinterpreted that vitamin A will save your suffocating suffering child,” Brett Giroir, a first-term Trump health official now advising Kennedy on infectious disease policy, expressed in a statement on X. “It will not.”
In Texas, local officials have raised concerns that Kennedy’s messaging may undermine their own communication efforts. They emphasize that his mixed signals could jeopardize their best chance of controlling the outbreak: persuading people to get vaccinated against measles.
“We don't want to diminish the primary message,” Phil Huang, director of health and human services in Dallas County, Texas, remarked in an interview. “It’s the vaccines that are the most important.”
Katherine Wells, director of public health for the city of Lubbock, Texas, shared a similar perspective.
“We need to make sure that we're all talking about the importance of vaccination, and although there's some focus on treatment, preventing the disease in the first place is really what public health works on.”
Since President Donald Trump nominated him to head HHS late last year, Kennedy has worked to reassure skeptics that he does not oppose vaccines, despite his history as an activist who often expressed doubts about the safety and efficacy of immunizations.
As recently as 2021, Kennedy suggested without evidence that measles outbreaks might have been fabricated to “inflict unnecessary and risky vaccines on millions of children." However, faced with a significant real-world opportunity to demonstrate whether his views have changed, the HHS secretary seems to be seeking a middle ground — asserting that the measles vaccine is protective for both individuals and communities while stopping short of the strong endorsement that public health experts say is crucial from the nation's top health official.
“What he should be saying is that these kinds of outbreaks are fully preventable and unacceptable, and that as secretary he will do everything in his power to ensure the public that it never happens again,” stated Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. “It’s the first major public health crisis that he’s had to face, and he hasn’t reassured doubters about his ability to get on top of it.”
HHS did not respond to requests for comment. However, a White House official dismissed the criticisms leveled at Kennedy, asserting that his messaging is a clear endorsement of the vaccine and maintaining that HHS' actions align with those of previous administrations during outbreaks of other diseases.
"He is pushing the vaccine, very much so — he’s been very clear about it," said the official. "If you take a sober look at it without the priors of what he said in the past, he said during his confirmation proceedings, 'I support the measles vaccine.' And that’s what he’s consistently said as health secretary."
Sen. Bill Cassidy, who confirmed Kennedy despite nagging doubts about his anti-vaccine activism, also praised the secretary's Fox News op-ed, calling it an “urgent message” regarding the necessity of the measles vaccine.
Kennedy’s supporters contended that he has not impeded the government's response, which has included distributing vaccines to Texas and providing testing, guidance, and technical support to local health officials. They argued that HHS cannot deploy its own experts without a state request, which limits Kennedy’s options until Texas requested federal assistance on Friday.
“They’re trying to have standard protocols,” remarked one Kennedy adviser, who spoke anonymously to discuss the issues freely, adding that among Kennedy's close allies, “the feeling is this is being overplayed” by his critics.
“This doesn’t directly have to do with him,” the adviser noted.
Nevertheless, some within Kennedy’s circle privately concede that the mixed messages and inadequate optics have contributed to a perception that he is disengaged from the issue. HHS officials and public health experts frustrated by Kennedy’s response maintain that he has numerous opportunities to aid the response and display his involvement, such as traveling to Texas to engage with local officials or participating in a series of television interviews.
Most importantly, health experts argue that Kennedy could straightforwardly communicate, as Texas health officials have done, that vaccination is the primary strategy to control the outbreak.
During his confirmation hearings in January, Kennedy countered criticism about his anti-vaccine history by portraying himself as uniquely equipped to rebuild public trust and persuade skeptical Americans of the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Kennedy now has a clear opportunity to back up that assertion, according to Gostin. But thus far, he has yet to capitalize on it.
“All states are at risk — blue and red,” Gostin warned. “He needs to do much more.”
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
“Afternoon mountaineering above Coachella Valley,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a caption to accompany photos of himself hiking in California.
The post was quickly circulated within the department, causing distress among officials who were diligently working to monitor and contain the highly contagious disease, according to two sources close to the response effort who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. In just a few weeks, measles had infected over 140 individuals in west Texas, resulting in the death of a child and raising concerns of further outbreaks across the nation.
For critics and even some increasingly concerned allies, this incident encapsulated the troublingly nonchalant attitude Kennedy has displayed publicly in managing the first significant health crisis during his tenure, as noted by a half-dozen current and former administration officials, outside advisers, and other public health experts, most of whom were granted anonymity for candid discussion.
The measles outbreak serves as an early challenge for Kennedy as he navigates his new responsibilities as the nation's chief health official in conjunction with his history as a critic of vaccines and the health system.
"It's a serious role; he's just a couple of weeks in, and measles is not a common occurrence, and it should be all hands on deck," said a former Trump official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with current administration health officials. "When you're taking a selfie out at Coachella, it's pretty clear that you're checked out."
Since taking office three weeks ago, Kennedy has primarily focused on addressing the fast-escalating measles outbreak. Initially, he characterized the situation as "not unusual" during a Cabinet meeting, but two days later he referred to controlling the outbreak as a "top priority."
Kennedy has endorsed vaccinating children against the illness while concurrently suggesting that the decision remains a personal choice. On Tuesday, during his first national television interview on the issue, he advocated for the vaccine but spent significant time discussing the advantages of supplements, such as vitamin A-rich cod liver oil.
“What we’re trying to do is really to restore faith in government and make sure that we are there to help them with their needs,” Kennedy stated, “and not to dictate what they ought to be doing.”
This mixed messaging has caused unease within some sectors of the Trump administration. On Monday, top HHS spokesperson Thomas Corry announced his resignation after only two weeks, partly due to what two sources familiar with the situation described as frustration with Kennedy’s handling of the outbreak.
Kennedy’s promotion of vitamin A as a treatment for measles in a Sunday op-ed for Fox News prompted one of his advisers to publicly caution parents to “please do not rely” on it for protection.
“He could be misinterpreted that vitamin A will save your suffocating suffering child,” Brett Giroir, a first-term Trump health official now advising Kennedy on infectious disease policy, expressed in a statement on X. “It will not.”
In Texas, local officials have raised concerns that Kennedy’s messaging may undermine their own communication efforts. They emphasize that his mixed signals could jeopardize their best chance of controlling the outbreak: persuading people to get vaccinated against measles.
“We don't want to diminish the primary message,” Phil Huang, director of health and human services in Dallas County, Texas, remarked in an interview. “It’s the vaccines that are the most important.”
Katherine Wells, director of public health for the city of Lubbock, Texas, shared a similar perspective.
“We need to make sure that we're all talking about the importance of vaccination, and although there's some focus on treatment, preventing the disease in the first place is really what public health works on.”
Since President Donald Trump nominated him to head HHS late last year, Kennedy has worked to reassure skeptics that he does not oppose vaccines, despite his history as an activist who often expressed doubts about the safety and efficacy of immunizations.
As recently as 2021, Kennedy suggested without evidence that measles outbreaks might have been fabricated to “inflict unnecessary and risky vaccines on millions of children." However, faced with a significant real-world opportunity to demonstrate whether his views have changed, the HHS secretary seems to be seeking a middle ground — asserting that the measles vaccine is protective for both individuals and communities while stopping short of the strong endorsement that public health experts say is crucial from the nation's top health official.
“What he should be saying is that these kinds of outbreaks are fully preventable and unacceptable, and that as secretary he will do everything in his power to ensure the public that it never happens again,” stated Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. “It’s the first major public health crisis that he’s had to face, and he hasn’t reassured doubters about his ability to get on top of it.”
HHS did not respond to requests for comment. However, a White House official dismissed the criticisms leveled at Kennedy, asserting that his messaging is a clear endorsement of the vaccine and maintaining that HHS' actions align with those of previous administrations during outbreaks of other diseases.
"He is pushing the vaccine, very much so — he’s been very clear about it," said the official. "If you take a sober look at it without the priors of what he said in the past, he said during his confirmation proceedings, 'I support the measles vaccine.' And that’s what he’s consistently said as health secretary."
Sen. Bill Cassidy, who confirmed Kennedy despite nagging doubts about his anti-vaccine activism, also praised the secretary's Fox News op-ed, calling it an “urgent message” regarding the necessity of the measles vaccine.
Kennedy’s supporters contended that he has not impeded the government's response, which has included distributing vaccines to Texas and providing testing, guidance, and technical support to local health officials. They argued that HHS cannot deploy its own experts without a state request, which limits Kennedy’s options until Texas requested federal assistance on Friday.
“They’re trying to have standard protocols,” remarked one Kennedy adviser, who spoke anonymously to discuss the issues freely, adding that among Kennedy's close allies, “the feeling is this is being overplayed” by his critics.
“This doesn’t directly have to do with him,” the adviser noted.
Nevertheless, some within Kennedy’s circle privately concede that the mixed messages and inadequate optics have contributed to a perception that he is disengaged from the issue. HHS officials and public health experts frustrated by Kennedy’s response maintain that he has numerous opportunities to aid the response and display his involvement, such as traveling to Texas to engage with local officials or participating in a series of television interviews.
Most importantly, health experts argue that Kennedy could straightforwardly communicate, as Texas health officials have done, that vaccination is the primary strategy to control the outbreak.
During his confirmation hearings in January, Kennedy countered criticism about his anti-vaccine history by portraying himself as uniquely equipped to rebuild public trust and persuade skeptical Americans of the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Kennedy now has a clear opportunity to back up that assertion, according to Gostin. But thus far, he has yet to capitalize on it.
“All states are at risk — blue and red,” Gostin warned. “He needs to do much more.”
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
