The measles outbreak that started in Texas is out of control

The US Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reiterates that he is not an anti-vaxxer – even though anti-vaxxers regard him as a leading figure – but merely advocates for greater safety and scientific transparency regarding vaccines. However, he promotes theories such as the link between paediatric vaccines and autism, and since joining the Trump administration he has carried out mass redundancies at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and has ordered the suspension of vaccination promotion campaigns. As a result, the United States is now facing its worst measles outbreak in 35 years, which is now considered to be out of control. As of 17 July, the CDC had recorded 2,260 cases since the start of the year – a figure equal to that for the whole of 2025 (2,288 cases) and ten times higher than that for 2024. This surge is expected to cost the United States its measles-free status – a designation it was awarded in 2000 – by November. The outbreak began in January 2025 in Texas, a state where the anti-vaxxer movement is particularly strong, but the response was extremely slow and clearly ineffective. To find an epidemiological impact of this magnitude, one has to go back to 1991, when the United States recorded 9,643 cases before mass vaccination drastically flattened the curve. However, 95 per cent of current patients are either unvaccinated or lack reliable vaccination records.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after initially underestimating the severity of the emergency, went on to recognise that vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella is the most effective means of curbing the spread of the pathogen. However, he insists that whether or not to undergo vaccination must remain a personal choice for each individual.