As measles continues to spread in West Texas, so does medical disinformation.
Children were treated for toxic levels of vitamin A after infamous vaccine skeptic — and Health and Human Services Secretary — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommended the supplement as a measles remedy earlier this month, Texas Public Radio first reported.
Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock said it admitted fewer than 10 pediatric patients for measles who also had heightened levels of vitamin A, which had caused abnormal liver function. All patients were unvaccinated, according to a statement from the hospital. The Texas Department of State Health Services has reported 327 measles cases as of March 25.
Kennedy asked that the CDC’s measles guidance be updated to support the use of vitamin A, according to TPR — despite the fact that toxic levels of vitamin A can lead to severe organ damage in the liver, bones, central nervous system, and skin, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
In a Fox News opinion article on March 2, Kennedy also promoted the “administration of vitamin A under the supervision of a physician for those with mild, moderate, and severe infection.” He cited studies that found vitamin A to help “dramatically reduce measles mortality” in children.
In a statement to The Barbed Wire, Covenant Children’s Hospital recommended that the public seek medical advice before trying any new treatment regimen. The patients who were admitted to the hospital reported using vitamin A to cure and prevent measles, according to Dr. Lara Johnson, pediatric hospitalist and chief medical officer of Covenant Health-Lubbock Service Area.
“A brief treatment course of Vitamin A is recommended for patients with severe measles and should be given under the direction of a physician,” Johnson said. “However, excessive consumption of vitamin A may result in significant adverse effects.”
It’s important to note that vitamin A isn’t actually proven to ward off measles, according to medical experts.
“(Vitamin A) supplements will not prevent people from getting measles,” said Christopher Sudfeld, an associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in an interview with Everyday Health. “Only vaccination does that.”
In an interview with Fox News on March 4, Kennedy said therapies such as using cod liver oil, which has vitamins A and D, were effective in treating measles patients. Vitamin A and cod liver oil have both been “flying off the shelf”, one pharmacy told Good Morning Lubbock.
