As cases of the highly contagious and potentially deadly measles virus continue to proliferate around West Texas and other parts of the U.S., newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a notorious vaccine skeptic, has offered mild support for the MMR vaccine — while emphasizing it’s a “personal” decision.
At the same time, the health leader is promoting vitamin A as one way to manage the respiratory illness, a move that’s concerned some medical professionals as the number of reported cases in the Lone Star State has ballooned. There are now nearly 160 cases across the country, with 22 hospitalizations and one death.
Although there have been some breakthrough infections, the majority of those stricken with measles in this latest outbreak are unvaccinated or have a vaccination status that is unknown. The child who died was unvaccinated, state health officials said.
“While there is no approved antiviral for those who may be infected, CDC has recently updated their recommendation supporting administration of vitamin A under the supervision of a physician for those with mild, moderate, and severe infection,” Kennedy wrote in a FOX News Digital opinion piece on Sunday. “Studies have found that vitamin A can dramatically reduce measles mortality.”
Speaking with FOX News, the secretary said that the federal government was shipping doses of vitamin A to the outbreak’s epicenter.
While vitamin A can be beneficial for children and adults who have already been infected with measles, it is not a substitute for the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which is the only way to prevent the virus entirely.
Here’s what to know about vitamin A and how it is used on measles patients.
What do the experts say?
Vitamin A can prevent complications in those who are already infected, according to Dr. Sean O’Leary, the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. That’s particularly true for children who are hospitalized.
But he also offered a word of caution.
“It should not be used to try to prevent measles, and high doses of vitamin A are potentially very harmful. The only effective way to prevent measles is the MMR vaccine,” he said in a recent release.
“Vitamin A, at any dose, does not protect you from measles,” Dr. James D. Campbell, vice chair of the committee, said. “No one should take, and no parent should give to their child, vitamin A in hopes of preventing measles. It will not do that.”
Experts also say that zeroing in on vitamin A would take away from the most important point: getting vaccinated results in 97 percent protection, providing lifelong immunity.
“It’s actually valid information,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told CNN, referring to Kennedy’s op-ed. But, it is “out of context,” he added.
“Vitamin A supplementation can be lifesaving for measles cases when vitamin A deficiency is present,” he explained.
While vitamin A deficiency is more common in poorer countries, data for vitamin A use is “weak” in the U.S., according to Dr. Peter Hotez.
Vitamin A “really doesn’t have much of a role in the current discussion on the West Texas measles epidemic because it becomes a distraction about what we really need to focus on, which is vaccinating our kids,” Hotez, the co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told the network.
What role does Vitamin A play in treatment?
Vitamin A deficiency is a recognized risk factor for severe infection and the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness.
That’s why the World Health Organization recommends that some people take supplements.
Most people get enough of the vitamin from a healthy diet. Foods rich in vitamin A include carrots, sweet potatoes, mangos, liver, milk, cheese, butter, and egg yolk.
However, taking vitamin A can restore low levels that occur even in well-nourished children. Deficiency is common in many developing countries — and especially in young children.
Many experts agree with administering vitamin A to all children in the U.S. with measles, regardless of hospitalization status, according to the AAP Red Book.
Taking it can help prevent eye damage and blindness.
“Vitamin A supplements may also reduce the number of measles deaths,” the World Health Organization says.
What effect does it have on the body?
It helps to keep skin and mucous membranes that line the nose, sinuses, and mouth healthy, according to Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine.
It also plays a role in growth, bone formation, reproduction, healing woulds, and immune system function.
Where can you find it?
Vitamin A supplements are available for purchase without a prescription. Although, a doctor may prescribe it to treat certain conditions.
The majority of multivitamins contain vitamin A.
Despite evidence that vitamin A therapy can help to reduce measles mortality, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases notes that experts found use of the therapy was low across the U.S. in 2019.
How much would you need to consume?
According to the World Health Organization, all children or adults with measles should receive two doses of vitamin A supplements that are given 24 hours apart.
Just how much vitamin A one needs is dependent upon their age and sex, the National Institutes for Health notes.
And, physicians warn that there are consequences from taking too much. Larger and prolonged doses can result in nausea and vomiting, headache and fatigue, joint and bone pain, blurry vision, and skin and hair problems.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says it can also lead to dangerously high pressures inside the skull that push on the brain, liver damage, confusion, coma and other problems.
According to Dr. Campbell, vitamin A is a micronutrient, meaning only small amounts are needed to stay healthy.
“Those small amounts are what is found in a healthy diet and in recommended doses of over-the-counter multivitamin supplements,” he said. “Larger doses, especially larger doses given over prolonged periods, are very dangerous. In summary, MMR vaccine prevents measles. Vitamin A does not.”
