CDC has begun redeploying personnel in response to fatalities Measles outbreak A week later, a spokesperson said in Texas on Monday Steep layoffs The agency has influenced its response to the spread of the virus.
“The three-person team deployed yesterday met with county and state officials to assess the immediate needs to respond to the outbreak. The team met with officials again today,” CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said in an email.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Another uninoculated child Died from the measles epidemic. An 8-year-old girl died for the second time this year.
“Once the assessment is completed, every second it will be sent to Kennedy's orders and the governor's request.
Multiple agents engaged in CDC measles reactions are Thousands of people Last week, the agency told CBS News in the agency.
Several officials said that so far, a small number of employees within the department have returned to work, at least until the end of 60 days, before their layoff notices take effect.
McDonald's has not commented on whether layoff staff working on agency measles responses will be at Kennedy May be restored.
Ongoing outbreaks in Texas and neighboring countries have driven U.S. measles cases this year to The highest level It can be seen since a large number of cases in 2019, and this is the worst case in the United States in decades.
Although dozens of measles cases are seen each year, it is often associated with under-popular travelers traveling outside the health sector Warned Now, the continued spread of the virus this year is threatening the United States' status to eliminate the virus's unique transmission.
A CDC spokesperson told CBS News on Friday that there have been six measles outbreaks so far this year. The outbreak in Texas and neighboring countries constitutes most cases. Smaller outbreaks are also underway in New Jersey, Georgia, Ohio and Kansas.
The spokesman said details of the sixth outbreak have not been released yet.
Kennedy calls vaccines “the most effective way” to stop measles transmission
In Texas, Kennedy also posted on X that “the most effective way to prevent measles transmission is the MMR vaccine.” The MMR vaccine prevents measles, mumps and rubella, and is usually given two doses twice during childhood.
Kennedy's Statement scope Vaccines on measles vaccines have been under scrutiny in recent weeks by health experts, including incorrectly exaggerating the risk of shootings after an interview with Fox News.
In a later article, Kennedy also said he met “two extraordinary therapists,” who said “had cured about 300 Mennonite children with measles, using atomized Budsoninide and clarithromycin.”
Dr. James Campbell of the University of Maryland said Budsonid can sometimes help treat respiratory diseases and reduce inflammation in the lungs. Before Kennedy, CBS News approached Campbell after Kennedy previously expressed these treatments for “miraculous instantaneous recovery.”
“In 2025, we don’t have to treat measles in the United States because it is completely preventable, but of course, like all preventable diseases, we do the same.”
Campbell is vice chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee, which makes recommendations for the treatment of measles and other infectious diseases.
Campbell said clarithromycin is an antibacterial drug that has no effect on viruses like measles, but doctors can use some bacterial pneumonia to treat pneumonia that sometimes develops in infected children. However, it does not work for all bacteria.
“These choices should be made individually by the doctor, not comprehensive advice for all children with measles,” Campbell said. The drugs have no evidence that they should be used as routine treatments for measles, warning “statements about how those quirky choices related to measles treatment are promoted.”
“Vaccination will prevent measles, but for those who do get measles, rigorous research rather than anecdotal reports, it will help us treat them better,” Campbell said.
Kennedy's embrace of alternative therapies contradicts other health experts, including former Trump administration officials.
“My children and grandchildren won’t die from measles because they have been vaccinated. And, this year’s consultant Dr. Brett Giroir, Ph.D., wrote in an article published by Realcearhealth last week.
Giroir's editorial was published on news that he served as assistant secretary of health during President Trump's first term, his second child died in a measles outbreak in Texas. In the United States, a child died of measles last time, in 2015.
“A child dying from measles is a tragedy for the family and its communities, and for our country. If we can't stop measles, what can we really do? Let's not wait for another tragedy.”
