Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services:

We call on you to immediately stop promoting vitamin A and cod liver oil as alternatives or adjuncts to measles vaccination. Your recent public statements have contributed to dangerous confusion during a growing national health crisis — and children are already suffering the consequences.

As Secretary of HHS, your words carry the weight of public trust. And yet, in recent interviews and public statements, you have touted cold oil. You even told Fox News that the federal government was shipping vitamin A to Texas in response to the state’s worsening measles outbreak. 

While you have acknowledged the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine, your promotion of vitamin A as a “remedy” distracts from the real, evidence-based solution: vaccination.

This is not a harmless suggestion. Children are overdosing.

In West Texas, where the outbreak is centered, hospitals are reporting vitamin A toxicity in unvaccinated children whose parents believed it would prevent or cure measles. Experts warn that this can cause liver failure, birth defects, and even death. And tragically, two unvaccinated children have already died from measles in Texas this year.

Let’s be clear:

• Vitamin A is not a cure for measles.
• Vitamin A does not prevent measles.
• The MMR vaccine is 97% effective and is the only reliable protection.

As Dr. Claire Bocchini of Texas Children’s Hospital stated: “It’s not a cure for measles, and it absolutely does not prevent measles.” The CDC, WHO, and every major medical body agree: Vitamin A should only be used in carefully monitored hospital settings as a supportive treatment in rare cases of deficiency.

Your role as HHS Secretary should be to amplify the science — not undermine it. The United States is facing its worst measles outbreak in decades, and misinformation is fueling its spread. Public trust in vaccines is already under attack. Your comments are giving false hope, delaying real protection, and putting children at risk.

We urge you to:

1. Cease all public promotion of vitamin A, cod liver oil, or any unproven “remedies” for measles.
2. Clearly and repeatedly state that vaccination is the only effective prevention for measles.
3. Work with public health officials to increase MMR vaccine access and education, especially in outbreak areas.

Science has already given us the tools to prevent this crisis. It’s time to use them — and stop sending mixed messages while lives hang in the balance.