Make America Healthy Again?

That's not what the data shows

RFK Jr says he is going to make America healthy again. That sounds great. Who wouldn’t love a healther nation? One of the ways Kennedy plans to do that is by decreasing vaccination which he believes is causing a decline in our health status. So, how is he doing? Here’s the latest on vaccine-preventable infections in the U.S.:

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🦠 Measles

• As of late May 2025, there have been 1,214 confirmed U.S. cases across 31 states, compared to 285 in all of 2024 — an over fourfold increase cidrap.umn.edu+1nypost.com+1.

• 27–23 outbreaks have occurred this year (varying by source) cdc.gov+1cidrap.umn.edu+1.

• Roughly 89–95% of cases are in unvaccinated individuals or those with unknown vaccination status floridahealth.gov+5en.wikipedia.org+5who.int+5.

• The Southwest outbreak (Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, etc.) accounts for most cases, with at least 3 deaths — first U.S. measles deaths since 2015 en.wikipedia.org+4en.wikipedia.org+4en.wikipedia.org+4.

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🚼 Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

• In 2025, the U.S. has already seen 8,485 reported cases, which is about twice the number at the same point in 2024 expressnews.com+6apnews.com+6cidrap.umn.edu+6.

• Multiple infant fatalities reported in states like Louisiana, South Dakota, and Washington wired.com.

• Causes include lower childhood immunization rates and growing vaccine hesitancy publichealth.jhu.edu+4wired.com+4apnews.com+4.

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Influenza & Pediatric RSV

• The 2024–2025 flu season was the most severe in seven years, resulting in ~216 child deaths, ~47 million illnesses, ~610,000 hospitalizations, and ~26,000 deaths overall theguardian.com.

• RSV hospitalizations in infants dropped 28–43%, thanks to new preventive options like maternal vaccines and infant antibodies expressnews.com+15reuters.com+15apnews.com+15.

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📉 Other Reported VPDs

• Hepatitis A in Florida during 2024 showed 121 cases, with 50% not up-to-date on vaccine floridahealth.gov+1floridahealth.gov+1.

• Tuberculosis (not vaccine-preventable with BCG in the U.S.) had a significant outbreak in Kansas: 68 active and 88 latent cases as of early 2025 en.wikipedia.org.

• National surveillance continues across mumps, rubella, varicella, meningococcal, pneumococcal, diphtheria, tetanus, and others cdc.gov+1cdc.gov+1.

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🔍 What It Means

• Measles and pertussis are surging, heightening public health risks.

• Rising vaccine hesitancy and lower vaccination coverage — particularly for kindergarten entry — are undermining herd immunity, which requires >95% MMR and >92–94% DTaP coverage wired.com+1apnews.com+1.

• Other illnesses like flu and RSV remain severe, while other vaccine-preventable diseases continue being tracked by the CDC.

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✅ Summary

• Measles: >1,200 cases in 2025, major outbreaks, multiple deaths

• Pertussis: 8,485 cases, doubling year-over-year, infant fatalities

• Influenza: record-high pediatric toll in recent years

• RSV: hospitalizations significantly down

• Other VPDs: monitored; occasional outbreaks in hepatitis A and TB

Kennedy is not making America healthy again. Just the opposite is true.