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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is more directly promoting measles vaccinations following the death of a second unvaccinated child. But he continues to highlight remedies that medical experts say do not prevent or treat the virus. As the number of measles cases grows around the country, experts worry that parents and other caregivers are getting mixed messaging about the safety of vaccines.

Over the weekend, Kennedy traveled to Texas for the funeral of an 8-year-old who public health officials say died this month of complications from measles. Kennedy met with the child鈥檚 family, as well as the family of a 6-year-old in the state who died in February of measles complications. . (An unvaccinated adult in New Mexico who died recently also had measles, .)

鈥淭he most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the [measles-mumps-rubella] vaccine,鈥� , the day of the funeral. In the lengthy post, he said he had redeployed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teams to Texas at the request of the state鈥檚 governor. He said staff previously helped supply pharmacies and clinics with MMR vaccines, medicines and medical supplies, and supported contact investigations and community outreach.

The MMR vaccine, which is , .

But in , which included photos with the impacted families, Kennedy also noted that he had visited with 鈥渢wo extraordinary healers鈥� 鈥� Dr. Richard Bartlett and Dr. Ben Edwards. Kennedy claimed the two men have 鈥渢reated and healed鈥� about 300 children from at the epicenter of the outbreak using aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin.

Aerosolized budesonide can open airways to . Clarithromycin is an antibiotic that can . But Patsy Stinchfield, an infectious disease nurse practitioner and a past president of the (NFID), told The 19th that neither is a measles antiviral medication.

Stinchfield said to suggest either treatment healed hundreds of children from measles 鈥渋s distracting.鈥� , though doctors can try to treat secondary symptoms that might emerge from an infection.

鈥淭he way that it鈥檚 being framed is confusing and misleading and kind of off the main message, which should be to vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate,鈥� she said.

Both 鈥渉ealers鈥� have a history of challenging . Bartlett faced disciplinary action from the Texas Medical Board in 2003 for 鈥渦nusual use of risk-filled medications,鈥� . At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he claimed vaccines were not needed and a combination of drugs, including budesonide, for treating the virus.

Edwards, who said mass infection is 鈥淕od鈥檚 version of measles immunization,鈥� , runs a facility in Texas where he reportedly treats some people for measles-related ailments with budesonide. A nearby store distributes cod liver oil, . Cod liver oil, which , is not a preventive measure for measles, Stinchfield said, and should not be used in place of the MMR vaccine.

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in an email that Kennedy has offered 鈥渃lear guidance that vaccines are the most effective way to prevent measles鈥� and defended the use of budesonide and clarithromycin to treat secondary symptoms.

Dr. Adam Ratner, who serves on an infectious diseases committee for the , said in an email to The 19th that there is no evidence to support the use of either treatment to care for children who have been infected with measles.

鈥淧romoting unproven medications for measles treatment puts children at unnecessary risk, and the only way to prevent measles is by vaccination with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine,鈥� Ratner wrote.

Dr. John Swartzberg, a clinical professor emeritus at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, made the same point in a separate email to The 19th.

鈥淏udesonide and clarithromycin have NO therapeutic role in treating or preventing measles infection,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淭here is no credible science to support their use for this purpose.鈥�

An HHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kennedy is traveling to parts of the Southwest this week.

Kennedy鈥檚 first expansive remarks on the measles outbreak came in an published on Fox News in early March, when the secretary encouraged parents to consult their health care providers about getting the MMR vaccine. He said at the time that the decision to vaccinate 鈥渋s a personal one.鈥�

Stinchfield said that messaging can dilute from efforts to end the current outbreaks, .

鈥淲hen we鈥檙e talking about the most contagious virus that we have and how easily it spreads to other children, when someone chooses not to vaccinate 鈥� it is not a personal choice anymore,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have now endangered other individuals, and especially little children, pregnant women. So an unvaccinated person is potentially a walking infectious risk to others.鈥�

In his , Kennedy recommended that some people administer vitamin A under the supervision of a physician to reduce related measles deaths. Cod liver oil also contains vitamin A.

While people who are malnourished or have a weakened immune system may be treated with vitamin A 鈥� along with AAP and NFID 鈥� any other use of vitamin A is not recommended, and importantly, .

At Covenant Children鈥檚 Hospital in Lubbock, Texas 鈥� which has treated children infected with measles 鈥� a representative confirmed to The 19th that its staff had encountered cases of vitamin A toxicity among unvaccinated children who were initially hospitalized due to measles complications. Some patients used vitamin A for both treatment and measles prevention. As of late March, the staff had reported fewer than 10 vitamin A toxicity cases.

鈥淭his topic has garnered extensive attention on social media and other platforms,鈥� according to a statement from Dr. Lara Johnson, pediatric hospitalist and chief medical office of Covenant

Health-Lubbock Service Area, which includes Covenant Children鈥檚 Hospital. 鈥淲hile there are potential benefits, it is crucial to consult with your primary care physician before initiating any new treatment regimen.鈥�

Stinchfield said the takeaways from Kennedy鈥檚 posts are offering mixed messaging to parents at a time when the federal government should already have more urgent calls for immunization.

鈥淲e should be in all hands on deck mode and pouring resources into stopping the measles outbreak and I am not seeing that,鈥� she later wrote in an email.

Kennedy has a long history of anti-vaccine views that he has tried to dispel as he begins to oversee HHS. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy told lawmakers that .

But since then he has alarmed some people within his own agency. In March, a top vaccine official within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is run under HHS, announced he would .

鈥淚t has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,鈥� Dr. Peter Marks wrote in his resignation letter as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. According to , Marks said he was asked to find data on brain swelling cases and deaths tied to the MMR vaccine 鈥� data that Marks said did not exist. Marks has encouraged parents to get the MMR vaccine for their children.

Swartzberg said he appreciates that Kennedy is 鈥渇inally鈥� stating that the best way to control measles infections and deaths is vaccination, but noted that it鈥檚 been months since the first cases were reported. He believes Kennedy鈥檚 promotion of vitamin A and other drugs has also steered people, including parents, away from vaccinating their kids.

鈥淭his came very late in the game,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd, he has never stated that the vaccine is safe.鈥�

Stinchfield helped address a measles outbreak in Minnesota within the Somali community and measles outbreaks in the early 1990s. She鈥檚 seen firsthand how children suffer from a measles infection. It can include brain swelling, long-term complications and death. have been declining since around the start of the pandemic, a dynamic that some medical experts believe is partially attributed to a growing distrust of the government.

Stinchfield encouraged parents to seek reliable sources of information 鈥� including from , and trusted pediatric providers 鈥� amid an onslaught of misinformation online.

鈥淵ou really need to make sure that you鈥檙e getting reliable information from people who know what they鈥檙e talking about,鈥� she said.

was originally reported by Barbara Rodriguez of . Read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.

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