Former CDC chief warns that measles surge reflects weakened public-health readiness under new health secretary

The United States is experiencing its highest number of measles cases in 35 years, prompting former CDC chief medical officer Debra Houry to warn that the outbreak is being downplayed and that the nation is not ready for future global health threats. Houry, who left the agency last year, told MS NOW’s Ali Velshi that childhood vaccination rates have slipped, in part because of misinformation promoted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"I think there’s just been a really kind of a misconception that it’s a harmless childhood disease. Children are hospitalized with it. People can die from it. And even after you recover from measles, years later, people can die from a brain infection. … It’s a really concerning disease, and this is not a record that we want to be having," Houry said.

Houry added that, unlike previous health leaders who emphasized vaccine importance during outbreaks, the secretary has spread misinformation about measles vaccines and advocated unproven treatments such as steroids and antibiotics. She linked the current surge to broader cuts to the CDC workforce and the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization, saying these actions have reduced the ability to track foodborne illnesses and monitor international health threats.

"With about 30% of the workforce being cut, 80% of senior leaders at CDC being gone, we’re seeing now that we’re not able to track foodborne outbreaks as much. And certainly if you can’t have visibility into other countries, because we have withdrawn from the World Health Organization, we are not prepared for global health threats, either," Houry explained.