--- title: "Father Whose Daughter Died From Measles Says RFK Jr. Never Even Mentioned the Vaccine" description: "Despite public instances to the contrary, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is still as \"vaccine-skeptical\" as ever." date: "2025-04-09" modified: "2025-04-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/rfk-jr-measles-father-vaccine" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "measles" - "politics" - "rfk jr" - "vaccines" --- # Father Whose Daughter Died From Measles Says RFK Jr. Never Even Mentioned the Vaccine ![Despite public instances to the contrary, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is still as "vaccine-skeptical" as ever.]() *\Image: Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty / Futurism\* In public, Donald Trump's health czar Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has [become a surprise vaccine advocate]() amid the growing measles outbreak. His private comments, however, betray his [conspiratorial leanings](). Following the funeral for eight-year-old Daisy Hildebrand — the [second known child]() to die from measles complications in Texas, the heart of the outbreak — the [girl's father told *The Guardian*]() that the anti-vaxxer now running America's healthcare seemed to fall down on the job when he [came to pay his respects](). "He did not say that the vaccine was effective," Pete Hildebrand, the father of the unvaccinated girl, told the newspaper of the Health and Human Services secretary. "I had supper with the guy... and he never said anything about that." Despite his public change of heart regarding the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, it's not exactly shocking that Kennedy is privately talking out of both sides of his mouth. Soon after the outbreak of the previously-contained respiratory virus claimed its first life — an unvaccinated six-year-old Mennonite girl who, like Hildebrand, died in West Texas' Gaines County — the [brain-wormed political scion]() not only [touted natural treatments]() over vaccination, but also suggested that immunity was better gained by simply [allowing children to get the measles](). "It used to be, when you and I were kids, that everybody got measles. And the measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection," [Kennedy told *Fox News* host Sean Hannity]() during a March interview. "The vaccine doesn’t do that. The vaccine is effective for some people for life, but for many people it wanes." That claim, it's worth noting, is undercut by strong evidence that catching measles [weakens a child's immune system]() so significantly that they may become more susceptible to getting sicker from *other* illnesses down the line. Like with that first measles death, Kennedy once again sent mixed messages about measles prevention and treatment. Though he reupped his public [endorsement of the MMR vaccine](), the health secretary and [alleged former drug dealer]() also touted the work, as the [*Daily Beast* reports](), of two shady "healers": Ben Edwards, a [local antivaxxer]() who runs a so-called "wellness clinic," and Richard Bartlett, an infamous doctor who was once [videotaped digging through hospital trash]() and who used to misprescribe medications so severely that he was [barred from practicing medicine]() in Texas for two years. Worse, he used a [lengthy X post]() about a Texas toddler who'd survived measles to promote the pair — and once again, there was nary a mention of vaccines in that missive. Regardless of what he says in public, it's clear that Kennedy's antivax bona fides have a home in West Texas. Unfortunately, that includes the father of the latest girl to die from measles. "I know \[the vaccine is\] not effective because some family members ended up getting the vaccine, and they got the measles way worse than some of my kids," Hildebrand told the *Guardian* after his daughter Daisy's funeral. "The vaccine was not effective." **More on paternal illness:** [*Man Whose Daughter Died From Measles Stands by Failure to Vaccinate Her: "The Vaccination Has Stuff We Don’t Trust"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()