On measles outbreak, the Trump administration’s messaging strikes some as off-key Experts fear tepid statements reflect hesitancy to endorse importance of vaccination

https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/27/trump-administration-measles-outbreak-response-breaks-with-past/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--GRlw5BAKpThFdx99Vzod80CFrD5zJL7xsFpQGD6QLGktB6vJHLPfsar5J0z_ZePycHcYHJgx781DGS1IhlDGNhNZEvA&_hsmi=349369332&utm_content=349369332&utm_source=hs_email When measles struck New York in 2018 and 2019, federal health officials uniformly preached the power of immunizations. President Trump, himself, implored people to get the shot. But several years later, public messaging has dramatically changed, writes STAT’s Andrew Joseph. https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/27/trump-administration-measles-outbreak-response-breaks-with-past/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8a3VzHb4t0gKuNeSiaZz1FCRubGFDp9bPxgcLzSC4MB3c_VUChj5pQt8Gg01b6O3hbDFWoV4fs-L7-TqeWWJ68itfjJQ&_hsmi=349369332&utm_content=349369332&utm_source=hs_email At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, a reporter asked Trump about the rapidly growing outbreak centered in Texas — over 124 confirmed cases, including the country’s first measles death in a decade in an unvaccinated child. Trump passed the question to his health secretary, and longtime vaccine critic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who downplayed the outbreak and misstated the death toll. The lack of messaging from the executive branch is an early sign that Trump’s embrace of prominent anti-vaccine critics like RFK Jr. could usher in a period of greater skepticism of basic public health tenets. “What I’m struck by is the near total silence from [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] in communicating about this outbreak, talking about the importance of vaccination, providing its own perspective and voice on the outbreak,” said Jason Schwartz, an expert on vaccine policy at the Yale School of Public Health. Late Thursday, the CDC quietly released a statement about the outbreak, burying it on its website instead of sending an email to reporters. While it emphasized that "vaccination remains the best defense against measles infection," the statement lacked the full-throated defense of vaccines present in prior administrations. Read more from Drew's excellent story. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2025/2025-cdc-statement-on-measles-outbreak.html?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9DOYg5n9erNGKkIo-7WbDHWjJ9PyRVifULuMqStveN2gbyiuR2L914OqR4lf4gRss4dskWIqnJyzYkYI0nT2eE3je_wA&_hsmi=349369332&utm_content=349369332&utm_source=hs_email