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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Guardian staff and agencies

Kennedy Jr backtracks and says US measles outbreak is now a ‘top priority’ for health department

A 'measles testing sign' stenciled on a cobbled together wooden sign.
As the outbreak spreads, measles testing is offered in Gaines county, Texas, on 25 February. Photograph: Sebastian Rocandio/Reuters

Two days after initially downplaying the outbreak as “not unusual,” the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on Friday said he recognizes the serious impact of the ongoing measles epidemic in Texas – in which a child died recently – and said the government is providing resources, including protective vaccines.

“Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team,” Kennedy – an avowed anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who for years has sown doubts about the safety and efficacy of vaccines – said in a post on X.

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