--- title: "RFK Jr. Suggests That Everyone Just Catch Measles" description: "RFK Jr., the anti-vaxxer in charge of America's health, is now suggesting that getting measles is the best way to not get measles." date: "2025-03-13" modified: "2025-03-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/rfk-jr-suggests-getting-measles" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "anti-vaxxers" - "measles" - "rfk jr" - "vaccines" --- # RFK Jr. Suggests That Everyone Just Catch Measles ![RFK Jr., the anti-vaxxer in charge of America's health, is now suggesting that getting measles is the best way to not get measles.]() *\Image: Win McNamee via Getty / Futurism\* The [anti-vaxxer]() in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is now suggesting that the best way to not get measles is... getting measles? If you're lost, us too. During an [interview with *Fox News*](), HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. insisted that getting the infectious disease was "normal" when he was a kid before claiming that being exposed to the virus provides longer-lasting immunity than inoculation. "It used to be, when you and I were kids, that everybody got measles. And the measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection," said the [brain-wormed]() blue blood. "The vaccine doesn’t do that. The vaccine is effective for some people for life, but for many people it wanes." While there's some research suggesting that "natural" immunity gleaned through measles infection can provide [longer-lasting protective effects]() than immunization with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, studies have also shown that unvaccinated children who contract the virus are [more likely to end up with weakened immune systems]() overall. In short, getting measles without being vaccinated against it can make a child sicker down the line — and that's if it doesn't [kill them first](). Though the HHS head did offer tempered support for MMR vaccination a few weeks ago in a [*Fox News* op-ed]() penned in the wake of the first measles death in the United States [in a decade]() amid the growing outbreak around the country, he's also walked it back repeatedly since. In yet [another *Fox* interview](), Kennedy suggested that cod liver oil has provided "[very, very good results]()" for people infected with measles, and said that he directed doses of Vitamin A to be sent to Gaines County, the West Texas region where the outbreak began. This latest exchange — which, by the way, took place inside a Steak 'n Shake burger chain in Florida where workers "[RFK'ed]()" their fries by switching from vegetable oil to beef tallow to appease the [anti-pharma health nut]() — is clearly in the latter camp. "There are adverse events from the vaccine," Kennedy said. "It does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that measles itself cause, like encephalitis and blindness, etc., so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves." Regardless of what our boneheaded HHS secretary claims, cases of encephalitis — a [potentially life-threatening]() brain swelling disorder generally caused by West Nile virus, untreated herpes simplex, or measles itself — linked to vaccination are vanishingly rare. As the nonprofit [Encephalitis International organization notes](), only about one or two out of every million children who receive an MMR vaccine will develop the disorder, while between one and three in 1,000 children who get measles will end up getting it. While each state has [its own laws]() requiring what vaccines children must get to attend school, [most have exemptions]() for medical, philosophical, or religious reasons. To that end, Kennedy is correct to say that people can and should make the choice whether to get vaccinated — but with numbers like that, the odds are clearly in favor of the jabs. **More on measles:** [*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]()