{"id":848332,"date":"2025-05-14T22:12:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T03:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/amid-measles-outbreak-in-ontario-rfk-jr-s-advice-has-canadian-experts-alarmed\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T22:12:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T03:12:20","slug":"amid-measles-outbreak-in-ontario-rfk-jr-s-advice-has-canadian-experts-alarmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/amid-measles-outbreak-in-ontario-rfk-jr-s-advice-has-canadian-experts-alarmed\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid measles outbreak in Ontario, RFK Jr.\u2019s advice has Canadian experts alarmed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<article aria-labelledby=\"articleTitle\" data-wcm-id=\"f4f43329-49b5-43ba-8803-9083e2147f64\">\n<div>\n<header aria-label=\"Beginning of Article\">\n<div>\n<p>America&#8217;s new top health official said the measles vaccine &#8217;causes deaths every year&#8217; and &#8216;all the illnesses measles itself causes&#8217;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Published Mar 14, 2025<\/p>\n<p><span>Last updated Mar 15, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<p>7 minute read<\/p>\n<p><a aria-label=\"Join the conversation\" data-story-comment-component href=\"http:\/\/nationalpost.com\/#comments-area\">   <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure data-aqa=\"featured-image\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=564&#038;h=423&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=uha6hKJ9zNFJBfAkvV62Fg, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1128&#038;h=846&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=j7ixfYrNr1z4bUixfS9RiQ 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=564&#038;h=423&#038;type=jpg&#038;sig=4a__V9osFsZCb_tMLLGrvQ, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1128&#038;h=846&#038;type=jpg&#038;sig=CxAULvTslHk-6MjfYIhpCQ 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=472&#038;h=354&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=zChwRJXxB1Paw1UaitGxKA, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=944&#038;h=708&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=ZoC5WWkrtAXI2KXBwf_S7w 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=472&#038;h=354&#038;type=jpg&#038;sig=K-j7srZV8_2h8lPkToVY1Q, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=944&#038;h=708&#038;type=jpg&#038;sig=k2shRzl-9zSlX9aMgNZ-hA 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=288&#038;h=216&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=CF5iybIuK4QUPMJbYgpd_w, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=576&#038;h=432&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=yZ8Xppkbh04BsfKK-cF0aQ 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=288&#038;h=216&#038;sig=cFhAfp9ul39683T57mIQBQ\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=288&#038;h=216&#038;sig=cFhAfp9ul39683T57mIQBQ,\n                    https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=576&#038;h=432&#038;sig=LLMYhc5viuw-42no585Hiw 2x\" height=\"750\" width=\"1000\"><\/picture><figcaption><span>U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been giving opinions on measles vaccination that have health experts rattled.<\/span> <span>Photo by Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images\/File<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p data-async>Measles cases are rising in Canada, the country\u2019s chief public health officer is urging people to <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"get vaccinated,\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/canada\/canadians-strongly-urged-to-get-measles-vaccine-by-public-health-officials-before-traveling\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/canada\/canadians-strongly-urged-to-get-measles-vaccine-by-public-health-officials-before-traveling\">get vaccinated,<\/a> and Ontario is dealing with an ongoing \u201cmulti-jurisdictional outbreak.\u201d As of March 12, a total of 372 cases (277 confirmed, 95 probable) from 11 public health units have been reported in Ontario that are associated with an outbreak that began last October. Thirty-one people required hospitalization. Thirty were unvaccinated, 27 of whom were children, including one child who needed intensive care, <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"Public Health Ontario\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/-\/media\/Documents\/M\/24\/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=5c2bfb28ad734f639f583b2623011fac&#038;sc_lang=en&#038;hash=D56979170BE12E671153928179A59A90\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/-\/media\/Documents\/M\/24\/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=5c2bfb28ad734f639f583b2623011fac&#038;sc_lang=en&#038;hash=D56979170BE12E671153928179A59A90\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\">Public Health Ontario<\/a> reported Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-aqa=\"identity-sign-in\" data-async id=\"article-block\">\n<header>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"National Post\" height=\"37\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/18.6.3\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-np-new.svg\" width=\"280\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. 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Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.<\/li>\n<li>Unlimited online access to National Post.<\/li>\n<li>National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.<\/li>\n<li>Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/li>\n<li>Support local journalism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n<p>Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Access articles from across Canada with one account.<\/li>\n<li>Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.<\/li>\n<li>Enjoy additional articles per month.<\/li>\n<li>Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n<p>Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Access articles from across Canada with one account<\/li>\n<li>Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments<\/li>\n<li>Enjoy additional articles per month<\/li>\n<li>Get email updates from your favourite authors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div data-auth-component id=\"auth-screen-form\" aria-live=\"assertive\">\n<h2>Sign In or Create an Account<\/h2>\n<p><span><\/span><span>or<\/span><span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>The numbers are alarming but not surprising, said Dr. Mansour Haeryfar, president of the Canadian Society for Immunology. \u201cCOVID-related immunization delays, vaccine hesitancy and the relative ease of international travel may have introduced vulnerable pockets among many communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<div aria-labelledby=\"NPPosted5728799856803483712243151627354112\" data-account-id=\"b9d3df2fccd108b5eff3c44f573b2cd6\" data-aqa=\"widget-newsletter\" data-newsletter=\"single\" data-newsletter-component data-target-list=\"NP_HeadlineNews\" data-widget=\"newsletter\">\n<p>By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p data-async>During a recent <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"interview with Fox News\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6369907937112\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6369907937112\">interview with Fox News<\/a> at a Florida Steak N\u2019 Shake outlet, and amidst rising cases of measles globally, America\u2019s top health official, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said the measles vaccine \u201ccauses deaths every year\u201d as well as \u201call the diseases that measles itself causes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Long a vaccine skeptic who now oversees the U.S. public health system, Kennedy also recently remarked that it\u2019s exceedingly difficult for measles to kill a healthy person and, while he is encouraging people to get vaccinated, he has also suggested vaccine-induced immunity wanes faster than scientists say it does.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p data-async>Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to man, and Kennedy\u2019s comments have experts rattled. \u201cWill RFK\u2019s vaccine agenda make America contagious again,\u201d asks a <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"Nature\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-025-00709-9\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-025-00709-9\">Nature<\/a> headline. Rolling Stone described the Fox Interview as <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"u201cbonkers.u201d\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-news\/rfk-jr-measles-vaccine-skepticism-fox-news-1235294291\/\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-news\/rfk-jr-measles-vaccine-skepticism-fox-news-1235294291\/\">\u201cbonkers.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Haeryfar, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Western University\u2019s Schulich School of Medicine &#038; Dentistry, McGill University professor of medicine Dr. Brian Ward and McMaster University immunologist Dawn Bowdish helped National Post deconstruct some of the statements Kennedy made in his recent interviews with Fox. Haeryfar and Ward (who is travelling) responded via email.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kennedy: <i>We have measles outbreaks every year and part of that is that there are people who don\u2019t vaccinate. But also the vaccine itself wanes. The vaccine wanes about 4.5 per cent per year. So that means older people are essentially unvaccinated. Their immune system is not protected. And one of the problems is that tends to shift measles infections to older groups and also to very young children. It used to be, when you and I were kids, everybody got measles. And measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection. The vaccine doesn\u2019t do that. The vaccine is effective for some people for life but many people it wanes.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Haeryfar:<\/strong> This is not accurate! After we receive immunizations, we develop antibodies that can protect us against future infections. It is true that detectable antibody levels can gradually decline over time in some individuals. However, this is not equal to waning \u201cimmunity\u201d because vaccination (or infections) generates immune memory cells that last a very long time, if not forever, in our body. Older people have a large pool of memory cells in their immune cell repertoire. Two doses of the vaccine can afford protection against measles in about 97 per cent of people for decades, if not for life.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ward:<\/strong> Although some people still deny this, immunity after vaccination probably does wane slowly in the absence of exposures to natural infection. It\u2019s called \u201csecondary vaccine failure\u201d and it may occur at a rate as high as five per cent per DECADE (not 4.5 per cent per year!).<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bowdish:<\/strong> If there was this massive waning, we would be seeing outbreaks or infections occurring in people born in the \u201970s and \u201980s (publicly funded, one-dose vaccination programs were introduced in the 1970s). That\u2019s not what we see. What we see is that almost all the cases are in young people who are not vaccinated or who had one vaccine. (The combined MMR \u2014 measles-mumps-rubella \u2014 vaccine is given in two doses.)<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kennedy: <i>One of the problems is (the vaccine) does not appear to provide maternal immunity. It used to be, in very young kids \u2014 you don\u2019t want a one-year-old kid getting measles, that\u2019s very dangerous \u2014 they were protected by breast milk and by maternal immunity. Women who get vaccinated do not provide that level of maternal immunity that the natural measles infection did. So you\u2019re now seeing measles hit very, very young kids and hitting older people within whom the vaccine has waned. And that is something that we need to worry about and we\u2019re looking at at HHS.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Haeryfar:<\/strong> Both vaccination and natural infection give rise to a class of antibodies that can cross the placenta to provide protection against measles. After vaccination or infection, a different class of antibodies is also found in the breast milk and contributes to anti-measles immunity in infants born to vaccinated mothers. This is called \u201cpassive immunity\u201d since the immune system of the fetus\/infant does not actively participate in antibody production. While efficient, passive immunity is only temporary and protects the infant only for a few months, since the transferred antibodies gradually disappear. Therefore, it makes sense that the first dose of the MMR vaccines is recommended at 11 to 12 months of age, after such antibodies degrade. It is true that antibody levels after vaccination may not be as high as those found after natural infection. However, they are extremely effective. So, high infection rates in \u201cvery, very young kids\u201d is likely a reflection of the time period in which maternal antibodies have disappeared when a vaccine has yet to be introduced.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bowdish:<\/strong> Measles has always been an infection of very young children. It has always been something that was particularly dangerous in young children and there is no shift. If an unvaccinated woman is exposed to measles during pregnancy, it can result in birth defects, still births, spontaneous miscarriages, developmental delays, blindness, deafness and neurological conditions in the babies. One of the things I\u2019m particularly worried about is when this whole measles-autism scandal started in the late \u201990s and early 2000s, there was a noticeable dip in parents vaccinating their kids. One 2013 study in Canada suggested that about 10 per cent of young people who were born in that era don\u2019t seem to have any detectable immunity to measles. If you do the math, those are the young people who would now, may be thinking about starting a family. My big worry is that with all these outbreaks, we\u2019re going to start seeing loss of pregnancies or birth defects due to measles in this particularly vulnerable group who are now reaching baby-having age.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kennedy: <em>We\u2019re providing vaccines. <\/em><i>Anybody who wants a vaccine can get one and we will make sure of that\u2026. I\u2019m a freedom of choice person. We should have transparency; we should have informed choice. But if people don\u2019t want it the government shouldn\u2019t force them to do it. There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes \u2014 encephalitis, blindness, etcetera. And so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves. And what we need to do is give them the best information. Encourage them to vaccinate. The vaccine does stop the spread of the disease.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ward:<\/strong> No vaccine is 100 per cent safe and the adverse events discussion can rapidly get very dangerous. Any intelligent discussion HAS TO focus on danger of vaccine versus danger of disease, and not danger of vaccine versus nothing. Rare cases of post-vaccination encephalomyelitis (swelling of the brain that can lead to permanent neurological deficits) do occur at a rate of possibly one per million. Of course, the risk of the same complication is one per 1,000 with natural infection, so orders of magnitude higher.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bowdish:<\/strong> There have been case reports of very, very, very, like, exceedingly rare cases where someone has an undiagnosed immunodeficiency and they have a really strong reaction to the vaccine because it\u2019s an attenuated virus, meaning a weak version of the virus. In Canada and the U.S. those are caught way before a person would ever be vaccinated.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p data-async><strong>Haeryfar:\u00a0<\/strong>The wild-type measles virus can induce long-term immunosuppression, which could in turn result in increased susceptibility to various unrelated infections. This is at least partly due to the ability of the measles virus to find and kill immune memory cells. As a consequence, the immune system can no longer remember its previous encounters with microbes and vaccines (a phenomenon known as <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"u201cimmune amnesia.u201d) \", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/www.harvardmagazine.com\/2025\/03\/measles-immune-amnesia\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harvardmagazine.com\/2025\/03\/measles-immune-amnesia\">\u201cimmune amnesia.\u201d) <\/a>The vaccine strain does not target memory cells. So, to make a long story short, natural measles infection can render us defenceless against many unrelated infections. Vaccination does not.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p data-async>(In an interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2025\/03\/14\/rfk-jr-measles-vaccine-death-claims-scientists-disagree\/#:~:text=Kennedy's%20assertion%20that%20the%20vaccine,were%20caused%20by%20a%20vaccine.\"><em>Stat News<\/em>,<\/a> infectious disease specialist Dr. Daniel Griffin said the MMR vaccine \u201chas never been found to cause a death in an immunocompetent patient.\u201d And blindness? One <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"2016 study\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4853958\/\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\" href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4853958\/\">2016 study<\/a> reported that six cases of optic neuritis, an inflammation of the optic nerve that can lead to vision loss or temporary blindness, following an MMR vaccination had been reported over the previous 30 years. The complication may be due to a \u201ctoxic reaction to the non-viral component of the vaccine,\u201d researchers reported. It <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"can also occur in measles patients who develop encephalitis.\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/www.aao.org\/eye-health\/tips-prevention\/six-ways-measles-can-affect-eyes-2#:~:text=Optic%20neuritis%3A%20This%20inflammation%20affects,without%20encephalitis%20have%20also%20surfaced.\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aao.org\/eye-health\/tips-prevention\/six-ways-measles-can-affect-eyes-2#:~:text=Optic%20neuritis%3A%20This%20inflammation%20affects,without%20encephalitis%20have%20also%20surfaced.\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\">can also occur in measles patients who develop encephalitis.<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kennedy:\u00a0<i>It\u2019s exceedingly difficult for measles to kill a healthy individual.\u2026 We see a correlation between people who get hurt by measles and people who don\u2019t have good nutrition or don\u2019t have a good exercise program.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bowdish:<\/strong> Malnutrition is frankly true for any infectious disease. If you don\u2019t have biological reserves, you don\u2019t do well with any infection, measles being one of them. But measles kills the healthiest people alive. There are plenty of perfectly healthy children who are fit, active, well-nourished and who die or are permanently damaged by measles.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p><em>National Post<\/em><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"nationalpost.com\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/\">nationalpost.com<\/a> and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, <a data-evt-val=\"{\"control_fields\": {\"mparticle\": {\"keys\": {\"click_source_type\": \"click_source_type\", \"anchor_text\": \"anchor_text\", \"target_url\": \"target_url\", \"layout_section\": \"layout_section\"}, \"mp_event_type\": \"Navigation\", \"extra_keys\": [\"click_vertical_position_percentage\", \"click_vertical_position_pixels\"]}}, \"click_source_type\": \"in-page link\", \"anchor_text\": \"here\", \"target_url\": \"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/newsletters\/\", \"layout_section\": \"in-page-link\"}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/newsletters\/\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> Sharon Kirkey <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/canada\/measles-outbreak-ontario-rfk-jr-advice\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America&#8217;s new top health official said the measles vaccine &#8217;causes deaths every year&#8217; and &#8216;all the illnesses measles itself causes&#8217; Published Mar 14, 2025 Last updated Mar 15, 2025 7 minute read U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been giving opinions on measles vaccination that have health experts rattled. Photo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":848333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4869,22340],"tags":[9307,7056],"class_list":{"0":"post-848332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-measles","8":"category-outbreak","9":"tag-measles","10":"tag-outbreak"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}