New
Rfk Jr. Recommends Vitamin A, Cod Liver Oil Amid Growing Measles Outbreak
Health experts have raised concerns about a new CDC advisory that recommends vitamin A supplements as a therapy for measles. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
- The CDC released a new advisory on measles, noting that vitamin A can be used as a treatment for some cases.
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed concern over the growing measles outbreak, which has spread to 9 states.
- Kennedy has not explicitly recommended the measles vaccine but supports the use of alternative treatments like vitamin A and cod liver oil.
- Measles can cause vitamin A deficiency in some people, but experts say supplementation only eases that condition and doesn’t treat other symptoms.
- Most health experts agree the best way to prevent serious illness from measles is to be vaccinated.
A new federal advisory touts vitamin A as a potential treatment for measles.
The advisory issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) comes as the agency reports at least 164 cases of measles reported in nine states. More than 80% of those cases were in people 19 years of age and younger. Only 5% of the cases are in people known to be vaccinated.
In addition, around 20% of people with measles required hospitalization. Only one death has been reported.
The biggest cluster of measles cases is linked to a region of western Texas, where officials say at least 159 people have contracted the disease.
The new CDC advisory states that “vaccination remains the best defense against measles infection.” However, the advisory also mentions vitamin A as a potential treatment for measles.
“Measles does not have a specific antiviral treatment. Supportive care, including vitamin A administration under the direction of a physician, may be appropriate,” the CDC advisory reads.
Earlier this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that vitamin A and substances high in vitamin A, such as cod liver oil, have shown “good results” in helping treat measles.
While Kennedy has not explicitly recommended the measles vaccine, he said the outbreak is a “call to action” and advised parents to consult with healthcare professionals about getting their children immunized against the disease.
Still, the vitamin A recommendation has some experts concerned, particularly as low vaccination rates drive the outbreaks. People with measles can develop vitamin A deficiency, but supplementing with vitamin A cannot prevent measles and does not reduce the disease’s more serious symptoms.
“Vitamin A alone cannot prevent measles. Prevention of measles requires vaccination,” said William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University.
Experts also echoed concerns from some Texas health officials about reports of people organizing “measles parties” to expose children to the disease so they can build immunity to it.
“This is unbelievably dangerous,” said Danelle Fisher, MD, a pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. “They are playing roulette with their kids’ lives.”
Can vitamin A treat measles?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends vitamin A supplementation to help some people with measles.
Experts explain that measles can produce vitamin A deficiency and supplementation can help ease that condition.
“Vitamin A has an important role in supporting effective immune function,” Schaffner told Healthline.
“Careful supplementation of vitamin A is a recommended part of the treatment plan of children with measles, particularly those children who require hospitalization. Measles can deplete the body’s stores of vitamin A. Low vitamin A levels can predispose to more severe measles complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis.”
Schaffner and other experts, however, are quick to point out the limitations of vitamin A therapy.
Fisher noted that not everyone who develops measles has vitamin A deficiency. She added that Vitamin A does not help ease other symptoms such as rashes, high fever, and cough.
“It’s important to understand when and how to use vitamin A in these circumstances,” she told Healthline.
“[Vitamin A] is something that a doctor can potentially give you if you have measles and are hospitalized, but it is not a treatment,” added Gina Posner, MD, a pediatrician at MemorialCare Medical Group in Fountain Valley, CA. “The treatment is only supportive. That is why prevention is so important.”
Experts also expressed concern that the CDC advisory may prompt parents to forgo vaccinations for their children, figuring they can give them vitamin A if they contract measles.
“I am very concerned [about this],” Posner told Healthline. “People are always looking for ‘natural’ alternatives when the reality is that the best form of prevention for measles is getting the vaccine.”
“I am concerned that some parents have elected to decline vaccination, instead giving their children vitamin A supplements,” added Schaffner.
“This is a misunderstanding of the role of vitamin A. Further, chronic administration of vitamin A can lead to overdosing as the body can retain excess amounts of vitamin A, resulting in hypervitaminosis A, which causes nausea, vomiting, liver dysfunction, and other abnormalities.”
Anne Liu, a specialist in infectious diseases and a clinical associate professor in pediatric immunology and allergies at Stanford University in California, has a blunt message for parents.
“Parents and caregivers, please know that there is no effective treatment for measles, but there is a very effective way of preventing measles, which is measles vaccination in children deemed safe for vaccination by their pediatricians,” she told Healthline.
Fisher said the situation is similar to what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic when people didn’t get vaccinated because they were led to believe they could treat that contagious disease with certain unproven medications.
“What has proven to be helpful with measles is to get vaccinated,” she said.
Why ‘measles parties’ are a bad idea
Before the chickenpox vaccine was introduced in 1995, some parents organized “chickenpox parties” to expose children without the illness to other children who did have the disease. The idea was to allow children to contract chickenpox in a controlled environment and build immunity.
At the time, health officials recommended against these parties, noting that chickenpox can sometimes produce serious complications.
Now, health officials in Texas are finding it necessary to issue warnings to parents against hosting “measles parties” in an effort to expose children to that disease.
There haven’t been any reports of actual measles parties, but Texas officials say there has been “social media talk” about such gatherings.
“We can’t predict who is going to do poorly with measles, being hospitalized, potentially get pneumonia or encephalitis, or potentially pass away from this,” Ron Cook, DO, the chief health officer for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, said at a press conference. “It’s a foolish thing to go have measles parties.”
Experts who spoke with Healthline couldn’t agree more.
“Measles is very dangerous. Even if you don’t die of it, it can cause permanent disability. The risk of getting the vaccine is infinitely lower than getting the actual disease,” said Posner.
Liu also notes the potential long-term effects of measles.
“Aside from the risk of brain inflammation from an active infection, there are risks that stick with kids even after the infection has resolved,” she said. “Measles virus has a very scary ability to wipe out part of a child’s immune memory from prior infections. That effect leaves children who have recovered from measles with a hole in their immunity, and they are again vulnerable to a variety of other infections.”
Other experts point out the community-wide impact of spreading measles.
“Nothing could be more dangerous than to invite a scourge into your community,” said Fisher.
“I agree strongly with the warning against having ‘measles parties’ with the intention of exposing children to the measles virus. Measles and its complications can be very severe,” noted Schaffner. “If parties are held, they should be ‘measles vaccination parties.’”
What to know about measles
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world.
Up to 90% of people exposed to the virus will contract the disease. A person with measles can quickly spread the virus to more than 10 people.
In the United States, 285 measles cases were reported in 2024, the most in five years.
Before the measles vaccine became widely available in the mid-1950s, the disease caused more than 3 million illnesses per year in the U.S., with 48,000 hospitalizations and 500 deaths annually.
The CDC recommends that all children receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, with the first dose given between 12 months and 15 months of age and the second dose between 4 years and 6 years of age.
The virus is transmitted through the air or by direct contact with a surface that has droplets that contain the virus. The virus can remain alive in the air or on surfaces for up to 2 hours.
Symptoms will usually appear within 14 days. Those symptoms include:
- widespread skin rash
- high fever
- cough
- sore throat
About 30% of measles cases lead to some form of complication, the most common being ear infections and diarrhea. Serious complications are rare, but they include:
Treatments for measles include administering a vaccine within 72 hours of exposure and a dose of immune proteins called immunoglobulin within 6 days of exposure.
Over-the-counter medications can also help ease symptoms. Drinking a lot of fluids and getting plenty of rest are also recommended.
Takeaway
Health experts have raised concerns about a new CDC advisory that mentions that vitamin A supplements can be a therapy for measles.
Experts note that measles can cause vitamin A deficiency in some people. However, they caution that these supplements cannot treat other symptoms or complications that arise from the disease.
The experts also expressed alarm over reports that some people on social media are discussing the organization of “measles parties” to expose children to the disease so they can build immunity to it.
They say the best prevention against measles and its potentially serious consequences is to be vaccinated against the disease.
