Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s dangerous anti-vaxx nonprofit, Children Health Defense, has two new star spokespeople: the parents of the 6-year-old Texas girl who died of measles in February.
The parents—who are Mennonites—appeared in an online interview with Children’s Health Defense on Monday, during which the young parents stifled sobs, detailing how their unvaccinated daughter got sick from measles and then pneumonia, ultimately leading to her death.
In a normal world, this would be a cautionary tale of the dangers of the anti-vaxx movement and the importance of vaccinating children. Ideally, something good would come out of this tragedy.
But this is Donald Trump’s America.
The interviewer asked the parents what they would tell other parents about vaccinating their children against measles.
“Don’t do the shots. Measles [is] not as bad as they’re making it out to be,” the mother said.
She also noted that her four other children recovered from measles after receiving alternative treatments from an anti-vaccine doctor, including cod liver oil—a source of vitamin A—and budesonide—a steroid that is usually used to treat asthma.
How far gone do you have to be to say that the disease that killed your daughter is “not as bad as they’re making it out to be?” You see, measles only killed 20% of their children—now they have proof that vitamin A is more effective than the vaccine.
The father didn’t want to be left out of the Worst Parent Ever competition, which he won by flying colors.
“Also, the measles are good for the body,” he said.
According to NBC, influencers at Children’s Health Defense and beyond have reframed the girl’s death as proof—without evidence—of the efficacy of unproven cures like vitamin A, maltreatment by hospital staff, and even a plot to undermine Kennedy.
And this isn’t the first time these parents have said wild-ass shit.
Soon after the girl’s death, her father spoke with Tom Bartlett of The Atlantic.
The death of his daughter, Peter told me, was God’s will. God created measles. God allowed the disease to take his daughter’s life. “Everybody has to die,” he said.
God created measles? Then God created the vaccine and other medical breakthroughs, because maybe God didn’t want the median age of humans to be 23 years old. Perhaps it was a good thing when humans improved their odds of making it to adulthood.
Yes, everyone has to die. But generally speaking, later is better than sooner. Is that actually controversial?
Kennedy himself—likely through gritted teet—penned an op-ed for Fox News urging conservatives to get the measles vaccine, a reversal of his original (and incorrect) knee-jerk response claiming that it was “malnutrition” that caused her death.
But given his inability to stay on a consistent vaccine message, this feels more like a wink to the anti-vaxx community, and I certainly expect them to treat it as such. After all, they know he’s one of them, and his organization continues to promote anti-vaxx lies.
It really is amazing how, facing the calamitous results of their actions, anti-vaxxers dig in and attempt to rationalize their actions rather than learn from the tragedy and try to prevent others from making the same mistake.
Fundamentalist religion and warped ideology are dangerous drugs.
