Overview
- CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz told CNN viewers to take the measles vaccine and said Medicare and Medicaid will continue to cover it with no access barriers.
- Dana Bash challenged Oz after he said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was at the forefront of measles vaccine advocacy, citing a Children’s Health Defense post that claimed there was no reason to fear measles and was flagged for misinformation on X.
- South Carolina has reported 920 measles cases, with additional clusters on the Utah–Arizona border, and the CDC counted 733 U.S. cases this year as of Friday.
- Public health reporting notes the United States could lose its measles elimination status as cases grow and outbreaks expand across multiple states.
- The administration recently dropped some childhood vaccine recommendations at President Trump’s request as federal data show falling vaccination rates and record-high exemptions, drawing warnings about RFK Jr.’s influence on guidance.