WASHINGTON (AP) —The nation’s top health official wrote Sunday that the measles vaccine has benefits but he stopped short of calling on parents to inoculate their children from the deadly disease.
In an opinion piece for Fox News, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged parents to consult with “healthcare providers” on whether their children should get the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
“Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” Kennedy wrote in the piece, published Sunday.
Kennedy has previously criticized the vaccines, although research and real-world use has proven that they are safe and effective.
Meanwhile, the top spokesman for the U.S. Health and Human Services agency abruptly resigned on Friday, just two weeks after being sworn in to lead communications for the agency overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Tom Corry said on LinkedIn that he resigned from the job on Friday. His resignation comes as Kennedy has struggled with his public response to the measles outbreak in West Texas, first calling it “not unusual,” then on Sunday describing it as a “call to action.”
Corry previously oversaw communications for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services agency during the first Trump administration.