False Claims about Vitamin A for Measles Prevention as Outbreak Grows
A measles outbreak in Texas and other states continues to grow, with cases quickly rising and multiple deaths reported. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine are 97% effective in preventing measles. However, growing concerns about vaccine safety have contributed to declining vaccination rates, exacerbating the outbreak. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, only five patients diagnosed with measles in the current outbreak are known to have received at least one dose of the vaccine, although the department notes that some patients may have been vaccinated after exposure to reduce the risk of severe illness.
Alongside growing vaccine hesitancy, some are turning to nutrition as an alternative prevention method. One emerging narrative promotes vitamin A and other nutritional supplements as an effective way to prevent and treat measles. On March 4, a prominent organization that spreads false claims about vaccine safety shared a post on X stating that the CDC’s website now recommends vitamin A treatment for children who are hospitalized with severe measles. While the CDC has updated its measles guidance, it recommends vitamin A treatment only in a hospital setting and under a doctor’s supervision. Some comments advocated for the MMR vaccine and correctly warned that too much vitamin A without medical supervision may cause both short-term and long-term health complications, others falsely suggested that giving children high doses of vitamin A is a safe and effective way to prevent measles.
Vaccine opponents who promote this claim often cite research showing that vitamin A deficiency—which is rare in the U.S.—can increase the risk of death from measles and other infections to falsely suggest that vitamin A prevents measles. The World Health Organization recommends vitamin A along with vaccination for children at risk of vitamin A deficiency in countries where vitamin A deficiency is common, but it cannot prevent measles infection and long-term, repeated use can carry risks, including liver damage. Even a single large dose of vitamin A can cause nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, and dizziness.
The claims gained traction when Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. published an op-ed for Fox News where he acknowledged that vaccines prevent measles, but also wrote that “good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses.” In an interview with Fox News, Kennedy said that doctors in Texas were giving cod liver oil, which is high in vitamin A, to their patients and “getting very, very good results.” He has since falsely claimed that the MMR vaccine causes the measles-like illnesses, including encephalitis, and leads to deaths every year. However, there are only three published reports of encephalitis among those who are vaccinated, and a study from the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office found no causal link between the MMR vaccine and death.
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