Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced questions about measles deaths in Pennsylvania after an aide attempted to prevent a reporter from asking about the outbreak.
The exchange took place after a healthcare round table in Virginia Beach, where Kennedy appeared alongside Representative Jennifer Kiggans (R. Va).
As a reporter began asking about "five deaths, potentially six" related to measles in Pennsylvania, an aide quickly intervened.
"We're also not going to talk about measles," the aide said.
The reporter pushed back, arguing that Kennedy should answer questions about the outbreak.
"He’s the highest-ranking health official in the country. He can answer that question. He’s a Cabinet secretary," the reporter said.
Kennedy indicated that he was willing to respond before attributing the outbreak to missed vaccinations during the pandemic and pointing to statements made by the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci.
"The measles outbreak is occurring because so many people went unvaccinated during the COVID pandemic. And this is something that Anthony Fauci, in fact, predicted," he said.
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Kennedy's remarks referred to a private journal entry written by Fauci on May 6, 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, which were later discussed during a congressional hearing in July this year.
“Greater than one million children worldwide have missed their measles vaccination because of the shutdown," Fauci wrote.
“This is terrible and needs to be addressed, since on that basis alone there would be far, far more excess deaths from measles among children than coronavirus deaths among children.”
Measles Cases Rise Across U.S.
The United States is experiencing its worst measles resurgence in decades, with cases already far exceeding the total recorded throughout 2025.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 4,080 confirmed cases across the country as of October 8, compared with 2,289 for the whole of last year, and 285 in 2024.
But Pennsylvania has emerged as one of the worst-affected states and a major focus of the outbreak, with more than 1,222 cases reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as of October 14.
The state's outbreak has prompted a dispute between Kennedy and Governor Josh Shapiro (D. Pa) over the number of deaths associated with the disease and the federal response.
Pennsylvania officials have reported five measles-associated deaths this year, with a sixth suspected death announced in October. The CDC, however, has confirmed two measles-associated deaths nationwide in 2026, with other cases under review.
The disagreement has complicated efforts to establish a definitive national death toll.
The CDC announced this week that it would send additional assistance to Pennsylvania to help investigate and control the outbreak.
Kennedy has also criticized Shapiro's handling of the situation, claiming that Pennsylvania had declined an offer of federal assistance through the CDC's epidemic investigation programme.
Other states also experiencing significant outbreaks include South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin. CDC figures for October 8 recorded 670 cases in South Carolina, 535 in Utah and 207 in Wisconsin.
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The resurgence has now raised concerns about declining vaccination coverage.
The CDC says measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination coverage among U.S. kindergarteners fell to 92.4 per cent in the 2025 to 2026 school year, below the 95 per cent level generally needed to maintain community protection against sustained transmission.
But Kennedy's recent comments are notable given his longstanding record of vaccine skepticism.
Before becoming health secretary, he led Children's Health Defense, an organization known for its anti-vaccine advocacy.
During his remarks on Thursday, Kennedy also defended his administration's response to the outbreak, claiming that the US had controlled measles more effectively than other countries – citing reported case numbers in Mexico, Canada and Europe to support his argument.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Paul Donnelley.