While an outbreak of measles spreads through Western states, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed on Fox News that the measles vaccine does not provide lifetime immunity:
RFK Jr: "It used to be that everybody got measles. And the measles gave you lifetime protection against measles infection. The vaccine doesn't do that … it used to be that very young kids were protected by breast milk. Women who get vaccinated do not provide that level of… pic.twitter.com/C3ALSwbmwz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 12, 2025
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) contradicts RFK Jr.’s false claim:
Both serologic and epidemiologic evidence indicate that vaccine-induced measles immunity appears to be long-term and probably lifelong in most persons.
A study of the measles vaccine noted the effectiveness of measles vaccines:
Among primary health care programs, one of those that has the highest benefit/cost ratio is measles immunization.
(Sources: Centers for Disease Control, National Library of Medicine, Fox News via Twitter/X)