Now for all the stupid people, "TOLD YOU SO!!!!"

RFK Jr. suggests parents consider measles vaccine amid deadly Texas outbreak: 'Call to action'

Story by Eric Lagatta

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation's top health official, is asking parents to consider measles vaccinations for their children – though not outright suggesting them – as the once-eradicated disease spreads through Texas and other states.

Referring to the deadly outbreak as a "call to action," Kennedy wrote in an opinion piece published Sunday on Fox News Digital that parents should consult with physicians about the MMR vaccine, which also covers mumps and rubella.

"The decision to vaccinate is a personal one," Kennedy wrote. "Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons."

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Kennedy, who has previously expressed skepticism about vaccines and made false claims about the measles shot, authored the op-ed after an unvaccinated school-age child last week became the first measles death in the U.S. in a decade.

The highly contagious virus, which primarily affects children, has since been surging in Texas and several other states.

"By working together – parents, healthcare providers, community leaders, and government officials – we can prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of our nation," Kennedy wrote. "Under my leadership, (the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) is and will always be committed to radical transparency to regain the public’s trust in its health agencies."

RFK Jr.'s op-ed comes after measles questions at White House

Kennedy's op-ed comes after he fielded a reporter's question last week in the White House during his first public appearance as the nation's secretary of Health and Human Services.

During the meeting Wednesday of President Donald Trump's cabinet, Kennedy said two people had died in an ongoing measles outbreak in Texas. The claim contradicted reports from national and local health officials − including HHS − that only one person had died.

Kennedy, who founded the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense, also said at the same briefing that measles outbreaks were “not unusual.”

In his op-ed, Kennedy affirmed that healthcare providers, public leaders and policymakers all have a "shared responsibility to protect public health."

"This includes ensuring that accurate information about vaccine safety and efficacy is disseminated," Kennedy wrote. "We must engage with communities to understand their concerns, provide culturally competent education, and make vaccines readily accessible for all those who want them."

While no antiviral medication is approved for measles patients, Kennedy also touted vitamin A as a way to "dramatically reduce measles mortality." The Centers of Disease Control & Prevention recently updated its recommendation in support of vitamin A being administered in certain cases under physician supervision. Doctors hope to debunk claims, though, that vitamin A stops children from getting the measles, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

What to know about measles outbreak in Texas

Healthcare professionals have said the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) is the most effective method for people to protect themselves from the current measles outbreak that began in a West Texas Mennonite community.

More than 150 people in Texas and across state lines, including New Mexico, are now known to have been infected since January, most of them among people who weren't vaccinated or had no known vaccination status, according to the CDC.

The outbreak comes 25 years after measles was declared eliminated in 2000 in the United States.

But declining vaccination rates – primarily due to widespread misinformation about vaccines – has allowed the highly contagious disease, the symptoms of which include the telltale sign of a rash, to once again resurface. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, has himself amplified a false claim linking the MMR vaccines with autism in a since debunked and retracted 1998 study.