Reporter Confronts HHS Secretary's Aide Over Measles Question at Virginia Beach Roundtable
During a health roundtable in Virginia Beach, a reporter challenged an aide who tried to block a question about recent measles deaths in Pennsylvania, leading the secretary to address the issue.
At a health-care roundtable in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was fielding questions alongside Rep. Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA). A reporter raised a query about five or six recent measles deaths in Pennsylvania, but an aide standing beside the secretary interrupted, stating, "We're also not going to talk about measles."
Kennedy objected, indicating he was willing to answer, and the reporter responded, "He's the highest-ranking health official in the country! He can answer that question! He's a cabinet secretary!" The secretary then provided his remarks, linking the outbreak to reduced vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic and citing predictions by former CDC director Anthony Fauci. He claimed the United States had recorded about 4,000 measles cases this year, compared with higher numbers in Mexico, Canada and Europe, and asserted that the current administration had managed the outbreak better than any other nation.
Kennedy also criticized Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, accusing him of refusing a CDC epidemiological assistance request.