RFK Jr.’s Vitamin A Fix for Measles Is Hurting Kids in Texas

A supposed cure for measles is harming people in Texas. A children’s hospital in the area has reported that several children treated for measles have also developed vitamin A toxicity.

The New York Times first reported on the phenomenon last week, and has since backed by further reports from local media outlets. The Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, one of several counties in West Texas currently affected by measles, stated that it has treated fewer than 10 children with concurrent measles and vitamin A toxicity. Robert F. Kennedy, the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has touted vitamin A as a measles treatment, despite little rationale for its use in the U.S.

There are several related outbreaks of measles ongoing in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and possibly Kansas, now totaling over 500 reported cases since January (the actual toll is likely higher). These outbreaks have largely been concentrated among pockets of unvaccinated people, and vaccination remains the most effective measure to contain the spread of this highly contagious disease.

RFK Jr., a longtime and regularly debunked vaccine skeptic, has tepidly supported the use of vaccination during these outbreaks, but not without bringing up other worthless interventions. In early March, during a lengthy Fox News interview, Kennedy claimed that cod liver oil pills (rich in vitamin A), steroids, and antibiotics could be useful treatments for measles, for instance.

Research has shown that measles can be severe in children with vitamin A deficiency, and the World Health Organization does recommend that doctors provide vitamin A to measles-infected children in regions where deficiency is common.

But this deficiency is incredibly rare in the U.S. (perhaps around 0.3% of the general population), and there is no evidence that cod liver oil itself can be beneficial for measles. The high doses sometimes used to treat measles could also cause toxicity if given carelessly, which seems to be exactly what’s happening with these cases. Too much vitamin A can cause significant, even irreversible organ damage.

There have been over 600 cases of measles in the U.S. as of early April, including isolated, travel-related cases in 17 other states; 97% have involved people who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. 74 people, mostly children, have been hospitalized. At least one person has died as a result, while officials in New Mexico are investigating a second death that may have been connected to measles.

These cases and deaths were entirely preventable, thanks to a highly effective and long-lasting vaccine. RFK’s support of vitamin A as a measles treatment is both wrongheaded and actively harming children with little choice in the matter. Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock has called for people to avoid excessive vitamin A use, given the potential side effects.