In the midst of a growing measles outbreak in Texas that has killed one child, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has misleadingly focused on vitamin A, including from cod liver oil,

In 2000, 287 years later, measles was declared eradicated by the World Health Organization due to the success of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. Just 25 years later we have an outbreak of measles in this country directly related to rampant misinformation and a decrease in vaccination rates.

Dr. Patrick Jackson, a UVA infectious disease expert, warns declining vaccination rates could lead to more outbreaks.

How the World Health Organization is responding after the United States dropped out, why a teenager stayed awake during his heart surgery, looking at those suffering from long COVID five years after the beginning of the pandemic,

RFK Jr. has cited vitamin A and cod liver oil as effective methods of measles prevention while stopping short of outright suggesting vaccines.

Research does show that vitamin A can help children with deficiencies after they’re infected with measles, but the vast majority of children in the United States do not fall into that category. To suggest that vitamins, good nutrition or other remedies can prevent measles is misleading and dangerous. The immune system simply doesn’t work that way.

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in an op-ed that vitamin A could help against measles. Doctors explain why it's no substitute for vaccines.

Pediatricians and public health experts said they’ve seen a surge in requests for “bonus” doses of measles immunization following the death of an unvaccinated six-year-old in West Texas last week.

However, taking vitamin A won't prevent a child from getting measles in the first place, Hayes said, and it can have "significant toxicities," especially when taken in high doses. "And just because you're taking vitamin A or have a good vitamin A level doesn't guarantee that you will not have a ... severe case of measles," she added.

RFK Jr. is pushing this vitamin for measles treatment. Health experts are worried - While taking vitamin A can help prevent complications in people infected with measles, only the vaccine can ward off