RFK Jr Says U.S. Measles Outbreak 'Not Unusual' - Here Are The Facts

During President Donald Trump's first Cabinet meeting since his return to the White House, his new health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the measles outbreak, which has killed one child, was "not unusual" based on previous data.

Kennedy was appointed head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) despite misgivings among others about his recorded views on vaccines.

Speaking to the Trump team on Wednesday, Kennedy said while HHS was monitoring the measles outbreaks, he said the situation was "not unusual."

"We are following the measles epidemic every day. I think there's 124 people who have contracted measles at this point, mainly in Gaines County, Texas, mainly, we're told, in the Mennonite community," Kennedy said.

"There are two people who have died, but we're watching it," adding, "Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. Last year, there were 16, so it's not unusual.

"We have measles outbreaks every year."

The latest outbreak, which started in late January, has been most severe in Gaines County, where 80 cases have been recorded. The virus has also spread to eight other counties, and cases have also been reported in Lea County, New Mexico.

Health officials are urging residents, particularly those in impacted areas, to check their vaccination records and get the MMR vaccine if they haven't already.

Newsweek has looked at the recent history of measles cases in the U.S. to see what data says about this year's outbreak.

Outbreak Data

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that as of February 20, 2025, there have been 93 measles cases across 8 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island, and Texas.

More recent data, from the Texas Department of State Health Services says there have been 124 confirmed cases since late January 2025.

The CDC states there have been three reported outbreaks, defined as three or more related cases, of which 92 percent are outbreak-associated. Last year, there were 16 reports, 69 percent of which were outbreak-associated. It says it will update its data on Friday.

Comparative data shows there are some differences between recent years. For example, the CDC's records of weekly cases measured by rash onset date show a far higher reporting rate this year than in 2024 and 2023.

In 2025, there have been 92 cases reported against this metric, more than double the amount over the same period in 2024. Only three cases were reported between early January and mid-February 2023.

However, the current rate of weekly cases is less than those recorded during the same period in 2019, the U.S.' worst measles outbreak since 1992.

But, unlike the 2019 outbreak, during which 1,274 individual cases of measles were confirmed in 31 states, this latest outbreak has already caused one death, the first from the disease in the U.S. since 2015.

The school-aged child, who died on Tuesday night, was not vaccinated. According to the Associated Press, Kennedy misspoke when he said there had been two deaths.

Except for 2023, the annual number of measles cases has been increasing year-on-year since 2020.

Vaccination Rates

As reported by the CDC, the measles vaccination rate among children in kindergarten nationally has fallen since 2019, from approximately 95 percent of children receiving a two-dose MMR coverage to 92.7 percent. In some states, the rate is as low as 79.6 percent. The number of jurisdictions that have struggled to secure more than 95 percent vaccination coverage among kindergarteners has grown yearly since 2020.

So, by some metrics, it does appear that the pace of the recent measles cases at the very least differs from recent history. Newsweek has contacted a media representative for the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services via email for comment.

Kennedy And Measles Vaccinations

Kennedy has previously been accused of ties to a measles outbreak in Samoa in 2019 in which 83 people died. Kennedy visited the American territory in June 2019 and was pictured with anti-vaccine influencers. Later that year he wrote to the Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, questioning whether vaccination drives in the country could have led to fatalities, adding it was "critical" to determine whether the outbreak of measles "was caused by inadequate vaccine coverage or alternatively, by a defective vaccine."

Kennedy denied his visit was related to the vaccines.

Since being made HHS head, and despite a vow not to do so, he has also said he would investigate the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule, which protects against diseases including measles.

Experts speaking to Newsweek have shared their fears that the rates of vaccination, among other factors, could make the recent measles outbreak more likely to grow.

David Fishman, a physician and professor of epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, told Newsweek on Wednesday: "It's highly likely given the fall-off in vaccination rates, the proliferation of anti-vax disinformation, and the apparent disassembly of a lot of federal public health capacity in the U.S. over the past month, that this outbreak will grow, and that we'll see similar outbreaks elsewhere in Texas and in the U.S."