Kennedy draws from misinformation playbook by touting an inhaled steroid to treat measles
The measles outbreak in West Texas has reignited familiar anti-vaccine tactics: claiming there are readily available treatments for the disease while sowing doubt in the safety of vaccines.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday touted two particular medications that have not been shown to work as first-line treatments for measles: the steroid budesonide and the antibiotic clarithromycin.
Although experts say there are no specific treatments proven to help people recover faster from measles, Kennedy claimed on X that the medications had been instrumental in treating around 300 children in Texas, and told Fox News that doctors prescribing them had seen “very, very good results.” Kennedy has been sharply criticized by medical experts for weeks for spreading misinformation about the measles vaccine and failing to encourage parents to vaccinate their children. (He has since said that the vaccine is the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles, and on Wednesday said that people should get it.)
Since January, measles has taken off in a primarily Mennonite community in Gaines County, Texas, where vaccine hesitancy is prevalent. Families in the community have turned to questionable remedies like budesonide to treat their illnesses — in some cases, at the recommendation of two Texas doctors, Dr. Ben Edwards and Dr. Richard Bartlett.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/kennedy-draws-misinformation-playbook-touting-163425735.html
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