(NewsNation) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a last-minute stop in Texas on Sunday ahead of his “Make America Healthy Again” tour.
The stop was added to his itinerary after an unvaccinated 8-year-old girl from Texas died from measles Thursday. She was the second child and third person to die during the outbreak.
Kennedy wrote on social media that he was in Texas on Sunday to “quietly console the families and be with the community in their moment of grief.”
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He said he was also in the Lone Star state to support local health officials and learn how HHS agencies can help control the measles outbreak. Kennedy has faced continued criticism due to his past refusal to endorse vaccinations and his touting of alternative treatments for measles.
Kennedy is expected to visit Utah, New Mexico and Arizona during the tour.
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On Sunday, Kennedy gave his most forceful endorsement of the measles vaccine to date, writing on social media: “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.”
Hours later, Kennedy shared a set of photos praising two doctors who he claims “treated and healed some 300 measles-stricken Mennonite children using aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin.”
Neither has been proven effective at treating measles.
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Aerosolized budesonide is used to prevent asthma attacks, while clarithromycin is an antibiotic used to treat pneumonia and bronchitis.
Antibiotics only address bacteria; measles is a virus. The Mayo Clinic has warned against using aerosolized budesonide in conjunction with measles.
After Kennedy recommended consuming vitamin A for measles treatment, some children in West Texas had to instead seek treatment for toxic levels of the vitamin.
