Mom of child dead from measles: “Don’t do the shots,” my other 4 kids were fine
The parents of an unvaccinated 6-year-old girl who died of measles in Texas last month sat down for an interview with Children's Health Defense (CHD), the rabid anti-vaccine organization founded and run until recently by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now US health secretary under the Trump administration.
The child's vaccine-preventable death marked the first measles fatality in the US in a decade. It's a tragedy that stands as a dark reminder of the dangers of the disease—one of the most infectious known to humankind—and the importance of the lifesaving vaccinations. But, in the interview, CHD wielded the loss of the young child as a means to downplay the deadly disease, attack the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine, tout unproven treatments, and spread misinformation.
The video interview, which was posted Monday, begins with the grieving parents, who are Mennonites, recounting their daughter's decline amid sobs: She came down with measles, developed the telltale rash, and then her fever kept climbing, and her breathing worsened. They took her to the emergency room and she was admitted to the hospital. Doctors found she had developed pneumonia, a known complication of measles that strikes about 1 in 20 children infected and is the most common cause of measles deaths in young children. Her condition deteriorated, she was moved to the intensive care unit, intubated, but continued to decline and died.
From there, the interview took a turn. The mother said that after the death, her other four children developed the disease. It "must have been petrifying," CHD's director of programming, Polly Tommey, who was leading the interview, said. "Yeah, it was. It was hard," the mother replied. But then, the family had the children treated by an alternative practitioner, Ben Edwards, who has grown popular in their West Texas community amid the ongoing measles outbreak. Edwards administers unproven treatments, including cod liver oil and the steroid budesonide, which is used to treat asthma and Crohn's disease.
Cod liver oil contains high levels of vitamin A, which is sometimes administered to measles patients under a physician's supervision. But the supplement is mostly a supportive treatment in children with vitamin deficiencies, and taking too much can cause toxicity. Nevertheless, Kennedy has touted the vitamin and falsely claimed that good nutrition protects against the virus, much to the dismay of pediatricians.
"They had a really good, quick recovery," the mother said of her other four children, attributing their recovery to the unproven treatments.
Most children do recover from measles, regardless of whether they're given cod liver oil. The fatality rate of measles is nearly 1 to 3 in 1,000 children, who die with respiratory (e.g., pneumonia) or neurological complications from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tommey noted that the sibling who died didn't get the alternative treatments, leading the audience to believe that this could have contributed to her death. She also questioned what was written on the death certificate, noting that the girl's pneumonia was from a secondary bacterial infection, not the virus directly, a clear effort to falsely suggest measles was not the cause of death and downplay the dangers of the disease. The parents said they hadn't received the death certificate yet.
Tommey then turned to the MMR vaccine, asking if the mother still felt that it was a dangerous vaccine after her daughter's death from the disease, prefacing the question by claiming to have seen a lot of "injury" from the vaccine. "Do you still feel the same way about the MMR vaccine versus measles?" she asked.
"Yes, absolutely; we would absolutely not take the MMR. The measles wasn't that bad, and they got over it pretty quickly," the mother replied, speaking again of her four living children.
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U.S. measles outbreak spreading ‘like a forest fire’
Measles, one of the most contagious viruses in the world, has been confirmed in 17 states and counting as outbreaks multiply around the country.
As of last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 378 cases of the virus have been confirmed in 2025 – and that number is expected to keep rising.
“What is interesting about this current outbreak is the speed at which it’s expanding and increasing,” said Dr. William Moss, an epidemiology professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and director of the school’s International Vaccine Access Center.
In a briefing this month, Moss said he expects measles will continue spreading in the U.S. as long as we still have these two conditions in place: a susceptible community and an infected person.
Click on the link for the full article
Measles, one of the most contagious viruses in the world, has been confirmed in 17 states and counting as outbreaks multiply around the country.
As of last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 378 cases of the virus have been confirmed in 2025 – and that number is expected to keep rising.
“What is interesting about this current outbreak is the speed at which it’s expanding and increasing,” said Dr. William Moss, an epidemiology professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and director of the school’s International Vaccine Access Center.
In a briefing this month, Moss said he expects measles will continue spreading in the U.S. as long as we still have these two conditions in place: a susceptible community and an infected person.
Click on the link for the full article
Man infected with measles was on Amtrak train that traveled from Boston to D.C.
Officials say a man with measles was on an Amtrak train that originated at Boston’s South Station, and traveled to Washington, D.C. last week.
The 175 Northeast Regional Train departed South Station Wednesday evening. The individual is believed to have boarded at 7:30 p.m. in New York City, arriving to Union Station in Washington, D.C. Thursday at 1:30 a.m., according to the D.C. Department of Health.
The D.C. Health Department says they learned of the case after the man arrived at an Urgent Care three days after arriving in the nation’s capitol.
It is unclear at this time where or when the man infected got on the train.
Click on the link for the full article
Officials say a man with measles was on an Amtrak train that originated at Boston’s South Station, and traveled to Washington, D.C. last week.
The 175 Northeast Regional Train departed South Station Wednesday evening. The individual is believed to have boarded at 7:30 p.m. in New York City, arriving to Union Station in Washington, D.C. Thursday at 1:30 a.m., according to the D.C. Department of Health.
The D.C. Health Department says they learned of the case after the man arrived at an Urgent Care three days after arriving in the nation’s capitol.
It is unclear at this time where or when the man infected got on the train.
Click on the link for the full article
Kansas lawmakers want to loosen vaccine requirements amid measles outbreak in the state
An outbreak of measles in southwest Kansas continues to grow. State health data shows 23 people in six counties have tested positive for measles since the start of this year. Data released on Wednesday showed the number of cases and counties affected by the spread have doubled.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment first reported a measles case in Stevens County March 13, stating it was the first measles case in Kansas since 2018. But the state’s measles dashboard also shows two cases, one in January and one in February. A state health department spokesperson said those cases were “retrospectively identified” and part of the current outbreak. The eight other cases were recorded this month.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said during a health conference in Wichita that state officials are closely monitoring the outbreak and are ensuring infected people are isolated. She also urged Kansans to get vaccinated.
“They are safe and effective,” Kelly said. “I have two kids. They were both vaccinated. They are alive and well.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classify a measles outbreak as three or more cases linked to each other. This makes Kansas one of the most recent states with a measles outbreak. Texas has the largest outbreak, with more than 300 cases of the measles. Health experts say the disease can lead to serious complications, hospitalization or death.
The CDC has confirmed one death amid the outbreak in Texas. In New Mexico, health officials are investigating the cause of death for a person who tested positive for measles.
The ongoing spread of the illness in Kansas comes as state lawmakers in Topeka are considering a bill that includes loosening vaccine requirements in child care regulations.
The bill is aimed at reducing specific fees and training requirements for early child care facilities. But a provision expands religious exemptions for vaccines that are required for child care programs. The Kansas House recently approved the bill with bipartisan support.
Kansas vaccine advocates argue the requirement changes could reduce vaccine rates amid a growing public health issue.
Click on the link for the full article
An outbreak of measles in southwest Kansas continues to grow. State health data shows 23 people in six counties have tested positive for measles since the start of this year. Data released on Wednesday showed the number of cases and counties affected by the spread have doubled.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment first reported a measles case in Stevens County March 13, stating it was the first measles case in Kansas since 2018. But the state’s measles dashboard also shows two cases, one in January and one in February. A state health department spokesperson said those cases were “retrospectively identified” and part of the current outbreak. The eight other cases were recorded this month.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said during a health conference in Wichita that state officials are closely monitoring the outbreak and are ensuring infected people are isolated. She also urged Kansans to get vaccinated.
“They are safe and effective,” Kelly said. “I have two kids. They were both vaccinated. They are alive and well.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classify a measles outbreak as three or more cases linked to each other. This makes Kansas one of the most recent states with a measles outbreak. Texas has the largest outbreak, with more than 300 cases of the measles. Health experts say the disease can lead to serious complications, hospitalization or death.
The CDC has confirmed one death amid the outbreak in Texas. In New Mexico, health officials are investigating the cause of death for a person who tested positive for measles.
The ongoing spread of the illness in Kansas comes as state lawmakers in Topeka are considering a bill that includes loosening vaccine requirements in child care regulations.
The bill is aimed at reducing specific fees and training requirements for early child care facilities. But a provision expands religious exemptions for vaccines that are required for child care programs. The Kansas House recently approved the bill with bipartisan support.
Kansas vaccine advocates argue the requirement changes could reduce vaccine rates amid a growing public health issue.
Click on the link for the full article