FACT FOCUS: RFK Jr. says the US is limiting measles outbreaks better
than the rest of the world
[April 18, 2026]
By DEVI SHASTRI
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that the U.S., under his
leadership, is limiting the spread of measles better than any other
country in the world.
His most recent comments came Friday as he testified in his first
congressional hearings in months, in which he sought to defend a more
than 12% proposed cut to his department’s budget.
THE CLAIM: “The measles outbreak is not an American phenomenon. It is
global. It’s happening all over the world. And we’ve done better under
my leadership than any country in the world in limiting it.”
THE FACTS: Measles is surging around the world, and other countries have
seen bigger outbreaks in 2025 and 2026 than the U.S., including
neighboring Mexico and Canada. Overseas, most world regions logged
higher case counts than the Americas did in 2025, and an ongoing
outbreak in Bangladesh has killed more than 100 children.
But the U.S. is getting worse, not better, at protecting people against
the spread of measles, because vaccination rates have been falling. And
public health experts have been critical of Kennedy’s response to the
rise in measles cases because, instead of forcefully advocating for more
vaccinations, he has been reluctant to promote them, cast doubt on their
safety and promoted other, untested remedies.
Declining vaccination rates have helped fuel the nation's biggest surge
in measles cases since 1991. And the 2026 case count is already trending
higher than last year’s record-breaking total. The U.S. is on the verge
of losing its 26-year-old measles elimination status.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears
before the House Education and Workforce Committee to defend his
agency's policies and goals at the U.S. Capitol in Washington,
Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
 Measles is so contagious that it
takes a 95% vaccination rate to prevent outbreaks. Nationally,
vaccination rates have fallen in recent years from 95.2% in the
2019-20 school year to 92.5% in 2024-25, according to data from the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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