Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who oversees the well being of greater than 340 million Individuals, says vitamin A can stop the worst results of measles relatively than urging extra individuals to get vaccinated.
Kennedy talked about up to date recommendation from the Facilities for Illness Management (CDC) to deal with measles with vitamin A. He additionally cited a research he mentioned exhibits vitamin A can cut back the chance of dying from measles.
Right here’s what the vitamin A research really says and why public well being officers are so involved about Kennedy’s newest assertion.
Why is a measles outbreak so worrying?
Measles is a extremely contagious illness brought on by a virus. It spreads simply together with when an contaminated particular person breathes, coughs or sneezes.
Measles initially infects the respiratory tract after which the virus spreads all through the physique. Signs embrace a excessive fever, cough, purple eyes, runny nostril and a rash everywhere in the physique.
Measles may also be extreme, could cause issues together with blindness and swelling of the mind, and might be deadly. Measles can have an effect on anybody however is commonest in kids.
The Texan well being division has confirmed 150-plus instances of measles and one dying of an unvaccinated little one through the present outbreak. Whereas that is by far the most important measles outbreak within the US in 2025, the CDC has reported smaller outbreaks in a number of different states up to now this yr.
Why vitamin A?
Vitamin A is important for our general well being. It has many roles within the physique, from supporting our progress and replica, to creating certain we’ve got wholesome imaginative and prescient, pores and skin and immune operate.
Meals wealthy in vitamin A or associated molecules embrace orange, yellow and purple colored vegatables and fruits, inexperienced leafy greens, in addition to dairy, egg, fish and meat. You may take it as a complement.
Vitamin A may also be used therapeutically. In different phrases, medical doctors could prescribe vitamin A to deal with a deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency has lengthy been related to extra extreme instances of infectious illness, together with measles. Vitamin A boosts immune cells and strengthens the respiratory tract lining, which is the physique’s first defence in opposition to infections.
Due to this, the CDC has lately mentioned vitamin A may also be prescribed as a part of remedy for kids with extreme measles – resembling these in hospital – beneath physician supervision.
One key message from the CDC’s recommendation is that individuals are already sick sufficient with measles to be in hospital. They’re not taking vitamin A to forestall catching measles within the first place.
The opposite key message is vitamin A is taken beneath medical supervision, beneath particular circumstances, the place sufferers might be carefully monitored to forestall toxicity from excessive doses.
Vitamin A toxicity could cause start defects and improve the chance of fractures in aged individuals. Vitamin A and beta-carotene (which the physique turns into vitamin A) from dietary supplements may improve your danger of most cancers, particularly in the event you smoke.
Taking an excessive amount of vitamin A can result in toxicity and trigger start defects.
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How in regards to the research Kennedy cites?
Kennedy cites and hyperlinks to a 2010 research, a sort often known as a scientific overview and meta-analysis. Researchers reviewed and analysed current research, which included ones that seemed on the effectiveness of vitamin A in stopping measles deaths.
They discovered three research that checked out vitamin A remedy by particular dose. There have been completely different doses relying on the age of the kids, measured in IU (worldwide models). Having two doses of vitamin A (200,000IU for kids over one yr of age or 100,000IU for infants beneath one yr) diminished mortality by 62% in comparison with kids who didn’t have vitamin A.
The 2010 research didn’t present vitamin A diminished your danger of getting measles from one other contaminated particular person. To my information no research has proven this.
To be honest, Kennedy didn’t say that vitamin A stops you from catching measles from one other contaminated particular person. As an alternative, he used the next obscure assertion:
Research have discovered that vitamin A can dramatically cut back measles mortality.
It’s straightforward to see how a reader might misread this as “take vitamin A if you want to avoid dying from measles”.
We all know what works – vaccines
The World Well being Group recommends all kids obtain two doses of measles vaccine.
The CDC states two doses of the measles vaccine (measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine) is 97% efficient in opposition to getting measles. This implies out of each 100 people who find themselves vaccinated solely three will get it, and this might be a milder type.
However these details have been lacking from Kennedy’s assertion. Ought to we be stunned? Kennedy is well-known for his vaccine sceptism and for undermining vaccination efforts, together with for the measles vaccine.
As Sue Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, instructed the Washington Publish:
counting on vitamin A as a substitute of the vaccine is just not solely harmful and ineffective […] it places kids at critical danger.
