// ARS TECHNICA — FINANZA
Another child dies of measles as CDC reportedly holds up health alert
NY governor pointed to Kennedy’s long-standing anti-vaccine work as spurring outbreaks.
A child in New York has died of measles, health officials in the state announced late Monday. It marks the first reported measles-associated death in New York in more than 30 years. It is the seventh measles-linked death reported in the US this year; all six of the other deaths were reported in Pennsylvania, which is experiencing a dramatic measles outbreak that has stricken over 1,430 people this year. Prior to the deaths, Pennsylvania hadn’t seen a measles-related death in 35 years.
The boom in vaccine-preventable outbreaks, cases, and tragic deaths is being fueled by slipping vaccination rates nationwide as health misinformation and anti-vaccine sentiments have taken hold. One of the most prominent anti-vaccine activists in the US currently serves as the US health secretary; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent decades prior to taking office attacking vaccines and spreading misinformation. He and his anti-vaccine organization, Children’s Health Defense, have been one of the most prolific sources of anti-vaccine content.
Since taking office, Kennedy has waged a multi-front war on vaccines that has included dismantling and obstructing federal vaccine recommendations; launching dubious studies to look for alleged, unspecified harms of vaccines; promoting alleged vaccine injuries; and continuing to spread misinformation about vaccines and vaccine-preventable illnesses.
In a statement, New York Governor Kathy Hochul directly tied the state’s death to Kennedy’s policies and anti-vaccine activism. She called the child’s death “a devastating reminder of what’s at stake when Washington deliberately erodes decades of progress in protecting Americans from preventable illnesses.” She also said she was “heartbroken” by the death, sending her condolences to the family. “As a mother and grandmother, I cannot imagine what this family is going through,” Hochul said. Overall, New York has reported 170 measles cases in over a dozen counties.
In a statement emailed to Ars Technica after publication, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that “Secretary Kennedy and CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz continue to make clear that the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to prevent measles.”
Days before the seventh preventable measles death, The Washington Post reported on Kennedy’s latest push to thwart public health efforts: Career scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—which is under Kennedy’s control—were blocked from publishing an urgent health alert to clinicians regarding the risk and management of measles cases during pregnancy.
Given the previous success of vaccines and vaccination campaigns, many clinicians have never seen such cases in their careers. But measles infections during pregnancy pose severe, life-threatening risks to both pregnant people and fetuses. As such, CDC scientists wanted to issue an informational advisory through the CDC’s Health Alert Network.
But the CDC Director’s Office declined to provide the required approval for the alert, sources told the Post. The scientists have since moved to trying to publish the information in the CDC’s publication, The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). But the peer-review process for the publication is longer than that of an advisory. Further, vaccine-related studies already approved for publication in MMWR have been suspiciously delayed, the Post reported. The scientists are now considering publishing the information outside the agency to avoid onerous clearance.
In response to the Post’s reporting, the HHS spokesperson told Ars Technica that CDC is closely tracking measles and “providing clinicians and public health officials with guidance to protect mothers and babies.” Information on measles is “moving through CDC’s scientific review and clearance process, which informs publication decisions and timing.”