RFK Jr.’s Vitamin A Fix for Measles Is Hurting Kids in Texas

A expected cure for measles is harming radical successful Texas. A children’s infirmary successful the country has reported that respective children treated for measles person besides developed vitamin A toxicity.

The New York Times first reported connected the improvement past week, and has since backed by further reports from local media outlets. The Covenant Children’s Hospital successful Lubbock, 1 of respective counties successful West Texas presently affected by measles, stated that it has treated less than 10 children with concurrent measles and vitamin A toxicity. Robert F. Kennedy, the caput of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has touted vitamin A arsenic a measles treatment, contempt small rationale for its usage successful the U.S.

There are respective related outbreaks of measles ongoing successful Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and perchance Kansas, present totaling implicit 500 reported cases since January (the existent toll is apt higher). These outbreaks person mostly been concentrated among pockets of unvaccinated people, and vaccination remains the astir effectual measurement to incorporate the dispersed of this highly contagious disease.

RFK Jr., a longtime and regularly debunked vaccine skeptic, has tepidly supported the usage of vaccination during these outbreaks, but not without bringing up different worthless interventions. In aboriginal March, during a lengthy Fox News interview, Kennedy claimed that cod liver lipid pills (rich successful vitamin A), steroids, and antibiotics could beryllium utile treatments for measles, for instance.

Research has shown that measles tin beryllium terrible successful children with vitamin A deficiency, and the World Health Organization does recommend that doctors supply vitamin A to measles-infected children successful regions wherever deficiency is common.

But this deficiency is incredibly uncommon successful the U.S. (perhaps around 0.3% of the wide population), and determination is nary grounds that cod liver lipid itself tin beryllium beneficial for measles. The precocious doses sometimes utilized to dainty measles could besides origin toxicity if fixed carelessly, which seems to beryllium precisely what’s happening with these cases. Too overmuch vitamin A tin origin significant, adjacent irreversible organ damage.

There person been over 600 cases of measles successful the U.S. arsenic of aboriginal April, including isolated, travel-related cases successful 17 different states; 97% person progressive radical who were unvaccinated oregon had an chartless vaccination status. 74 people, mostly children, person been hospitalized. At slightest 1 idiosyncratic has died arsenic a result, portion officials successful New Mexico are investigating a second death that whitethorn person been connected to measles.

These cases and deaths were wholly preventable, acknowledgment to a highly effectual and long-lasting vaccine. RFK’s enactment of vitamin A arsenic a measles attraction is some wrongheaded and actively harming children with small prime successful the matter. Covenant Children’s Hospital successful Lubbock has called for radical to debar excessive vitamin A use, fixed the imaginable broadside effects.