Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens as President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Pool via AP)AP
Science is not political.
That’s the message from Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall after another unvaccinated person died from a measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico.
Marshall got into a back-and-forth with Mary Katherine Ham on air with Fox News' Howard Kurtz:
Howard Kurtz: The measles outbreak is becoming a much bigger story, not just in Texas, but in 12 states with two deaths of unvaccinated people, and the reaction of the Health and Human Services Secretary? Well, as Politico pointed out, RFK Jr. posted this on Instagram: ‘Afternoon mountaineering above Coachella Valley.’
A post shared by RFK Jr. (@robertfkennedyjr)
Leslie, do the optics of this look terrible, especially when RFK has only been in the job for 10 minutes?
Leslie Marshall: Absolutely. And this is exactly why, not just those on the left, but many on the right, didn’t want this man to be in charge of any kind of health program. And this is what happens, Howie, when you have fear-mongering and you make science the enemy, and that’s what happened during COVID. So now we have men, women and children who will contract things like measles that were practically eradicated here in the United States and will die. We’ve already seen deaths, and there will be more.
I’m not trying to be, you know, dramatic, but you know that these are the facts that we’re facing with or hearing from the medical community. And it’s shameful. Science is not political. Science is just that, and we need that, especially when it comes to health for the better health of our nation. And that’s not a Democratic or Republican talking point.
Kurtz: I’ve been critical of Kennedy’s lifelong crusade against vaccines. His top spokesman quit after two weeks because he didn’t like the way he was handling the measles business. But also, he’s just an oddball character, and that picture from California is just blatantly tone-deaf.
Mary Katherine Ham: Yeah, I think it is, and he should illustrate that he’s on top of this crisis in the proper way, if we were, you know, in normal times. But the idea from Leslie that science is not political, coming from a Democrat after COVID is, frankly, laughable.
…
Marshall: I’m sorry, but it’s RFK Jr., it’s the Republicans that were demonizing vaccines, not Democrats, and that demonization of vaccines led to so many people choosing not to vaccinate themselves and their children, and that’s why we’re seeing people’s bodies being lowered into the ground with measle deaths, which is unheard of, that that I’m sorry I’m not put, can’t put that on my party. … Please get vaccinated.
Last week, an unvaccinated adult infected with measles died in New Mexico.
The person was from Lea County, just across the state line from the West Texas region where 159 measles cases have been identified and a school-age child died the prior week.
Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the CDC.
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases. The first shot is recommended for children ages 12 to 15 months, and the second for ages 4 to 6 years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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