“Even if I got hit by a truck tonight, HHS will never go back to what it was before,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bragged.
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Pennsylvania has surpassed 1,000 measles cases this year — nearly four times the amount of cases recorded across the entire U.S. in 2024.
The Keystone State has recorded 198 hospitalizations and five deaths as a result of the ongoing measles outbreak.
On Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declared an emergency order in New York, citing the rising number of measles cases in neighboring states, including Pennsylvania, and an increase in cases in rural areas.
The move comes as the total number of measles cases across the U.S. this year has reached 4,020, according to figures collected by Johns Hopkins University. Aside from Pennsylvania, Texas and South Carolina are also at or near the 1,000-cases mark.
There haven’t been this many cases of measles in the U.S. since the early 1990s.
The current numbers mark a significant departure from the number of cases seen just a few years ago. In 2024, for example, there were only 285 cases identified across the entire U.S. That rate increased to 2,289 cases in 2025, the first year that President Donald Trump returned to office and appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted anti-vaxxer, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Measles was once declared virtually eliminated in the U.S., as widespread vaccination for the virus vastly drove down case numbers. However, as anti-vax movements and right-wing disinformation gained influence over the past two decades, the rate of Americans receiving the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine decreased, likely leading to the current increase in cases. Notably, the MMR vaccine has a higher threshold than most vaccines to provide broader protection to a community.
A two-dose regimen generally provides an individual with lifetime protection from measles — and when breakthrough cases do occur, they tend to be milder and less dangerous because of the vaccine. Conversely, when unvaccinated people are infected with the virus, it can result in lifetime complications, including neurological and respiratory issues, or even death.
Despite the number of measles cases rising, Kennedy bragged about his controversial HHS tenure to an audience of MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) supporters in a speech in Washington, D.C. last week.
“Even if I got hit by a truck tonight, HHS will never go back to what it was before,” Kennedy said.
Under Kennedy’s leadership, HHS has overseen changes to the childhood vaccine schedule with little to no scientific basis, issued questionable changes to food advisory standards, and undergone major layoffs.
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