Anti-vaccine activists question measles deaths, blame Texas doctors
- are questioning measles deaths and treatments, claiming that patients suffered from medical errors rather than the virus itself, theguardian.com reported.
- The controversy stems from a west Texas measles outbreak last year that infected at least 762 people and resulted in the deaths of two unvaccinated girls at a...
- Following these deaths, Brian Hooker, chief scientific officer for the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense (CHD), traveled to Texas to interview the first victim's parents and review medical...
Anti-vaccine activists and figures including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are questioning measles deaths and treatments, claiming that patients suffered from medical errors rather than the virus itself, theguardian.com reported.
Texas Outbreak Scrutiny and Medical Board Complaints
The controversy stems from a west Texas measles outbreak last year that infected at least 762 people and resulted in the deaths of two unvaccinated girls at a children’s hospital in Lubbock. The first victim, a six-year-old girl, suffered a fever, struggled to breathe, and spent weeks at home battling measles before she was placed on a ventilator. A second child, aged eight, subsequently died from the virus at the same hospital.
Following these deaths, Brian Hooker, chief scientific officer for the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense (CHD), traveled to Texas to interview the first victim’s parents and review medical records. Hooker shared the records with Pierre Kory, a critical care physician who lost his board certifications for promoting Covid misinformation and treating patients with ivermectin. Kory concluded that both girls died from medical mismanagement and pneumonia caused by inappropriate antibiotic regimens prescribed for secondary bacterial infections. Hooker and a colleague submitted complaints to the Texas Medical Board alleging improper antibiotic administration, and Hooker announced in a video that the medical board is reviewing the complaints following further review.
Public Health Defense of Treating Physicians
Public health officials and infectious disease experts strongly reject the medical malpractice narrative. Katherine Wells, Lubbock Public Health’s director, described the claims as a familiar playbook used by activists to disrupt and question vaccine safety while outbreaks continue unchecked. Wells stated that the physicians and hospitals went above and beyond in treating the critically ill children under high-stress conditions. Paul Offit, an internationally recognized vaccine expert and infectious diseases pediatrician, noted that anti-vaccine figures are attempting to deflect from the rising cases and deaths by falsely claiming the patients did not die of measles.
Pennsylvania Fatalities and Federal Rebuttals
The deflection campaign has expanded to Pennsylvania amid a separate outbreak. Hooker vowed to deploy boots on the ground in Pennsylvania to investigate hospital errors following the measles deaths of two unvaccinated infants and an unvaccinated 40-year-old woman. Peter McCullough, a former cardiologist whose board certification was revoked, posted on social media about the absence of antivirals, antibiotics, or steroids in the 40-year-old woman’s case, although the county coroner stated the woman was unable to seek healthcare before her condition worsened. State officials in Pennsylvania maintain that the deaths were directly caused by measles.
Broader Public Health Impact and Vaccine Uptake
Public health authorities emphasize that measles carries severe risks beyond fatalities, noting that about one in five unvaccinated patients require hospitalization. The virus erases immunity to other illnesses for years and can cause fatal, untreatable complications like subacute sclerosing panencephalitis later in life. Wells reported that during the Lubbock outbreak, vaccine-hesitant parents came forward to vaccinate their children as soon as local cases were confirmed.