Alex Bray, MS, LAT, ATC

MAHA: Take a deep breath. RFK Jr.’s measles op-ed is not the disaster 𝕏 is making it out to be. He wrote: “By 1960—before the vaccine’s introduction—improvements in sanitation and nutrition had eliminated 98% of measles deaths.” Everyone is focused on his promotion of the MMR vaccine, but remember two things: 1. No other HHS Secretary would have acknowledged that measles deaths were virtually eliminated before the vaccine—not because the vaccine … … or that “good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses.” 2. Big Pharma is still one of the most powerful/influential entities in the US, despite the fact that we have an HHS Secretary willing to stand up to them for the first time in our lifetimes. This is a marathon, not a sprint. You should absolutely push back on the false notion that the MMR vaccine is responsible for slashing measles deaths since the 1960s. But you should also celebrate that for the first time, we have an HHS Secretary who promoted good nutrition and Vitamin A as the best defense against illness, said “the decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” and disputed the idea that the measles vaccine is responsible for the significant drop in measles deaths.