The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ordered staff not to release an expert assessment that found the risk of catching measles is high in areas near outbreaks where vaccination rates are lagging. The agency’s decision comes under new leadership from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines.
According to internal records, the CDC had planned to emphasize the importance of vaccinating people against measles, but changed its mind at the last minute. The new messaging instead suggests that the decision to get vaccinated is a personal choice and not a public health recommendation.
This shift in messaging has raised concerns among CDC staff, who have expressed anxiety over whether the agency will bend its public health messages to match those of Kennedy, a lawyer who founded an anti-vaccine group. In 2020, HHS halted the CDC’s flu shot campaign during the flu season, citing lack of funding.
The CDC had moderate confidence in the assessment that found the risk of measles is low for the general public but high in areas with low vaccination rates and close social ties to those areas. The agency also lacks detailed data on the onset of illness for patients in affected communities.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be life-threatening, especially for unvaccinated individuals. In 2020, an unvaccinated child died of measles in Texas, marking the first such death in the US since 2015.
The CDC’s decision to shift its vaccine messaging has raised concerns among health experts and parents who are worried about the spread of measles in the US.
Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/measles-vaccine-rfk-cdc-report