Measles 'Natural' Cures Claims: Dangerous Misinformation Exposed

On February 26, 2025, Texas DSHS announced the outbreak's first death: a school-aged child, unvaccinated against measles, who had been hospitalized in Lubbock. ^[4]

FactCheck.org noted this was the first measles death in the United States in a decade. ^[1]

The second death was an 8-year-old unvaccinated girl who had no underlying health conditions and died on April 3, 2025, of measles pulmonary failure, according to CIDRAP. ^[5]

FactCheck.org reported that both fatal cases involved unvaccinated children without underlying health conditions. ^[2]

Neither child died of a vitamin deficiency or a rare pre-existing illness — both were unvaccinated against a disease the MMR vaccine reliably prevents. ^[2][5]

What Kennedy said: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described the outbreak as involving "about 20 people hospitalized, mainly for quarantine." ^[1]

The Facts: FactCheck.org found this false. Lara M. Anton, a senior press officer at Texas DSHS, said: "People in the hospital are there because they need treatment. We are not quarantining anyone in the hospital." ^[1]

Dr. Lara Johnson, chief medical officer at Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock, said "We don't hospitalize patients for quarantine," and noted that the admitted children had breathing issues requiring supportive care. ^[1]

Children were admitted because measles was attacking their lungs, not as an administrative isolation measure. ^[1]

What Kennedy said: In an April 6, 2025 post on X, Kennedy said that since a CDC team deployed in early March, "the growth rates for new cases and hospitalizations have flattened." ^[2]

The Facts: FactCheck.org found no sign of a slowdown. Between March 21 and April 4, measles cases announced by the state grew by 56% — the identical growth rate as the preceding two weeks. ^[2]

The case growth rate had not flattened at all; it was unchanged. ^[2]

FactCheck.org reported that vitamin A is recommended for people who already have measles, but that it is not known whether supplementation improves measles outcomes in countries like the United States, where deficiency is uncommon. ^[3]

Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said: "Cod liver oil has vitamins A and D but is not something we recommend for measles." ^[3]

Steroids and the antibiotic clarithromycin are not specific treatments for measles, experts told FactCheck.org. ^[3]

The outlet's conclusion was explicit: "Neither vitamin A nor these medications replace vaccination, which is safe and effective in preventing the highly contagious disease." ^[3]

The CDC states that two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles, and one dose is about 93% effective. ^[6]

Vitamin A is a supportive treatment for people already infected — it is not a preventive, and no 'natural' remedy substitutes for the MMR vaccine. ^[3][6]

Before the measles vaccine became available in 1963, the United States saw 3 million to 4 million cases each year, with 48,000 hospitalizations and 400 to 500 deaths annually. ^[1]

The CDC warns that measles is extraordinarily contagious: if one person has it, "up to 9 out of 10 people who come into close contact with that person will become infected if they are not protected." ^[6]

Because of that contagiousness, 95% of a community needs to be vaccinated or have prior immunity to prevent spread. ^[1]

Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, and the CDC notes that since early 2025 U.S. cases have been increasing, with several outbreaks of more than 50 cases. ^[6]

Measles was not a harmless rite of passage before vaccination — it hospitalized tens of thousands of American children every year and killed hundreds. ^[1]

The World Health Organization estimates that 95,000 people died from measles in 2024, mostly children under the age of five. ^[7]

That figure is down sharply from an estimated 780,000 deaths in 2000, and the WHO credits vaccination with averting nearly 59 million deaths between 2000 and 2024. ^[7]

Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, the WHO estimates measles caused roughly 2.6 million deaths each year worldwide. ^[7]

The global death toll fell by nearly 90% in a generation because of vaccination — not because of improved nutrition supplements. ^[7]

Claims that "natural" treatments such as vitamin A, cod liver oil, or steroids can replace measles vaccination are FALSE and dangerous, as FactCheck.org and the infectious-disease experts it consulted stated directly. ^[3]

Two children died in the 2025 West Texas outbreak; both were unvaccinated and neither had underlying health conditions. ^[2][5]

The deaths occurred in a country that had declared measles eliminated in 2000, in an outbreak driven through a community with below-average vaccination coverage. ^[1][6]

The first US measles deaths in a decade happened not because of inadequate vitamin supplementation, but because children were not vaccinated. ^[1][2][5]

For accurate information on measles and vaccination, consult the CDC measles website or a licensed healthcare provider. ^[6]