Is the MMR the best way to prevent measles?

After a second child has died in Texas in the massive outbreak, anti-vaxxers are reacting poorly to HHS Secretary RFK Jr’s statement that the MMR is the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.

A child dying from measles, a preventable disease, is not an opportunity for fear-mongering. It’s a tragic reminder of what happens when public health systems fail or are undermined. CNN reporting on this incident, especially RFK Jr. attending the funeral, is not about emotional manipulation. It’s about accountability and public awareness.

Pointing out that 98% of the 481 measles cases in Texas were in unvaccinated or vaccine-status-unknown individuals is not blaming anyone. These are epidemiological facts. Measles outbreaks simply don’t spread through highly vaccinated communities.

As HHS Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr. has a clear and urgent responsibility to promote evidence-based health measures, including the MMR vaccine. Supporting a safe, effective vaccine isn’t about obedience, it’s about protecting lives. It’s especially reasonable to question the timing of his endorsement of the MMR vaccine.

What’s really happening here is a rhetorical sleight of hand. The tweet reframes journalistic scrutiny as persecution, rebrands science-based recommendations as tyranny, and paints Kennedy as a victim rather than a powerful figure responsible for safeguarding national health. Public health officials before him, regardless of party, have endorsed vaccines not out of obedience but out of evidence and necessity.

The call for Kennedy to promote the MMR vaccine isn’t a demand for compliance, it’s a call for leadership, transparency, and responsibility. Children’s lives are at stake, and that is all that matters.