As measles cases surge throughout the U.S., Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is encouraging people to get vaccinated against the disease.
Kennedy, who has given mixed messages about his support for the vaccine, said his position and the federal government's stance are that the government should not be mandating people to get the vaccine.
"We encourage people to get the measles vaccine," Kennedy told CBS News. "The federal government's position, my position, is that people should get the measles vaccine, but the government should not be mandating that."
Kennedy suggested his views on vaccines have been misinterpreted.
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"I always said during my campaign and in every public statement I've made, 'I'm not gonna take people's vaccines away from them,'" Kennedy said. "What I'm gonna do is make sure that we have good science so that people can make an informed choice."
The World Health Organization says that herd immunity against measles can be reached when a community achieves a 95% vaccination rate. U.S. health officials estimate that 92.7% of kindergarten students were vaccinated last school year.
But the data might not include all children in that age group since various states have different requirements for vaccinations to enroll in school.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that it has identified six measles outbreaks in the United States so far in 2025. A measles outbreak is declared when there are three or more related cases.
The CDC says it has identified 607 measles cases this year in the U.S. The agency reported that only 3% of those with confirmed cases had a known measles vaccine.
The largest outbreak has been reported in Texas, where 505 cases have been cited this year.
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Seventy-four of the 607 cases resulted in hospitalization, the CDC said. Forty-two of the hospitalizations were among children under age 5. Children are routinely vaccinated for measles at 12 to 15 months and again at 4 to 6 years of age — before going to kindergarten — but children as young as 6 months old can receive the measles vaccine if they are at risk.
According to the CDC, measles causes the following symptoms:
- Pneumonia
- Brain Damage
- Blindness
- Deafness
- Diarrhea
- Premature birth or low-birthweight baby (in unvaccinated pregnant women who contract measles during pregnancy)
- Measles infection leads to loss of immunity to other deadly diseases.
