FACT FOCUS: Examining RFK Jr.’s claims about measles, autism and diet as head of HHS

WASHINGTON (AP) - In just two months as the federal health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made sweeping changes to the Department of Health and Human Services - and its priorities.

He's dismissed 10,000 public health workers, met with state governors who want to restrict unhealthy foods in taxpayer-funded programs and delivered an inconsistent message on vaccines as measles outbreaks across the country have sickened hundreds. Last week, he promised to find some of the causes of rising U.S. autism rates in under six months' time.

Kennedy’s followers - a contingent of health-conscious moms, Republicans loyal to President Donald Trump and others - have celebrated his "Make America Healthy Again" initiatives. But scientists and public health experts have expressed dismay over some of Kennedy’s statements about Americans’ diets, vaccines, measles and autism. Here's a look at some of those claims Kennedy has made, with additional context and facts.

KENNEDY, at a news conference Wednesday: Studies show that autism rates in the U.S. were "1 in 10,000 when I was a kid" compared to a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that found it to be 1 in 31. He says that is evidence of an autism epidemic in the U.S. and that, "we know it’s an environmental exposure. It has to be."

THE FACTS: It's true that in the 20th century, only 1 in 10,000 children were diagnosed with autism -- the diagnosis was rare and given only to kids with severe problems communicating or socializing and those with unusual, repetitive behaviors. But the term became shorthand for a group of milder, related conditions known as ″autism spectrum disorders," and the number of kids labeled as having some form of autism began to balloon.

The term "epidemic" is widely used to describe surges in different health problems - like autism, obesity and gun violence, to name a few. But strictly speaking, "epidemic" is defined as a fast-spreading outbreak of disease, and there’s not good evidence that autism meets that definition.

Health officials have largely attributed growing autism numbers to better recognition of cases, through wide screening and better diagnosis. Last week, the CDC said diagnosis rate is up to 1 in 31 children.

There are no blood or biologic tests for autism; it is diagnosed by making judgments about a child's behavior. Research has looked at a variety of other possible explanations, including genetics, the age of the father, the weight of the mother and chemicals in the environment.

Prior to his rise to health secretary, Kennedy joined anti-vaccine advocates in claiming childhood vaccines are responsible for autism, but studies by the CDC and others have ruled that out. A fraudulent single study that claimed a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was later retracted by the journal that published it.

Kennedy recently announced a major study into the cause of autism and told an April 10 Cabinet meeting: "By September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those exposures." But last week, he softened that to having "some of the answers by September.”

- Mike Stobbe and Devi Shastri

KENNEDY, in interview with Sean Hannity that aired on Fox News on March 11: "There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes - it causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, et cetera. And so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves."

THE FACTS: The measles vaccine is safe and its risks are lower than the risks of complications from measles. There have been no documented deaths from the MMR vaccine in healthy, non-immunocompromised people, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Most people who get the MMR vaccine have no serious problems from it, the CDC says. The most common side effects are mild: a sore arm, fever, mild rash and temporary joint pain or stiffness in teenage or adult women who don't already have rubella immunity. There is a very small risk of febrile seizures that increases as infants get older, which is why the shot is recommended as early as possible.

Some people can have allergic reactions; people allergic to the antibiotic neomycin should not get the shot, according to the CDC.

- Devi Shastri

KENNEDY, in an April interview with CBS: "We're always going to have measles, no matter what happens, as the (MMR) vaccine wanes very quickly."

THE FACTS: The measles vaccine is highly protective and lasts a lifetime for most people. Two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective against the virus, according to the CDC and medical experts worldwide. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, the U.S. saw some 3 million to 4 million cases per year. Now, it's usually fewer than 200 in a normal year.

Usually, most measles cases come to the U.S. from abroad. This is why high vaccination rates are important. When 95% or more people are vaccinated, entire communities are considered protected from the virus, which is important for people who are too young or who cannot get the vaccine due to health issues.

- Devi Shastri

KENNEDY, in a CBS interview posted April 9, discussing death of 8-year-old child in Texas who had measles: "The thing that killed (her) was not the measles, but it was a bacteriological infection."

THE FACTS: Two children in Texas have died - both from measles complications, according to the Texas State Department of Health and Human Services. The state health department has made clear that the children were not vaccinated and had no underlying conditions. Doctors at University Medical Center in Lubbock who treated the 8-year-old said she died of "measles pulmonary failure."

Claiming that patients die of complications and not the actual disease that led to them is a tactic that anti-vaccine advocates have used to undermine Texas health experts since the first child died of measles in March - and in other outbreaks before that. It’s also a talking point that Kennedy, who spent 20 years as one of the world’s leading anti-vaccine activists, continues to amplify.

Measles complications can include pneumonia, brain swelling and other respiratory or neurological complications, which can lead to death in 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children who are infected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

--Devi Shastri

KENNEDY, in April 6 in an X post, said two Texas doctors “have treated and healed some 300 measles-stricken Mennonite children using aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin."

THE FACTS: Pediatricians note there is no cure for measles: It is a virus that the body has to fight off on its own. The best way to protect against the risks of measles is to get vaccinated to lower the chance of contracting it.

Budesonide is a steroid used in different forms to treat asthma, ulcerative colitis and other conditions. Clarithromycin is an antibiotic; it fights bacteria, not viruses. Neither drug is recommended for treating measles - the use is "risky and unproven" - the American Academy of Pediatrics says.

"There are no miracle cures for measles," Dr. Sean O'Leary, who chairs the academy’s Committee on Infectious Diseases, recently said in a fact check on the organization’s website. “If your child becomes sick with measles, doctors will do everything we can to care for them, but the truth is we do not have effective treatments against this viral infection."

--Devi Shastri

KENNEDY, at an April 15 event in Indianapolis, said 70% of Americans are obese or overweight, compared to 3% of Americans during President John F. Kennedy’s tenure in the early 1960s.

THE FACTS: Nearly three-quarters of Americans are overweight, including about 40% with obesity, according to recent figures from the CDC. Between 1960 and 1962, about 13% of people in the U.S. had obesity, according to historic CDC data.

The rise in obesity in the U.S. and other developed countries in recent decades has been well-documented and studied. Experts say there is no single explanation for the increase, but that it stems from a combination of factors, including biological and environmental contributors, an increase in available calories and a decline in physical activity. Changes in the food supply, including the development of high-calorie, cheap ultraprocessed foods have been linked to obesity, but exactly how these foods affect weight gain remains unclear.

KENNEDY at April 10 cabinet meeting regarding food dyes: "We've shown now that this directly affects academic performance, violence in the schools, and mental health, as well as physical health."

THE FACTS: Recent research shows synthetic food colors common in U.S. foods are linked to neurobehavioral problems in children and that the dyes may cause or exacerbate symptoms, particularly hyperactivity. In addition, children may vary widely in their sensitivity to the dyes.

"It is clear that some children are likely to be more adversely affected by food dyes than others,” researchers in California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment reported in 2021.

Those responses have the potential to affect school work and behaviors such as aggression, but to date there is no clear evidence of a direct relationship between food dyes and academic performance, violence or other mental and physical conditions, scientists say.

To date, scientific evidence shows that "most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives," according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the dyes.

KENNEDY on March 28 during a speech in West Virginia to encourage restrictions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: "Twenty years ago, there was no diabetes in China. Today 50% of the population is diabetic."

THE FACTS: Diabetes prevalence has gone up in China over the past two decades, driven by rising living standards, urbanization and an aging population. About 6.1% of the population had diabetes in 2001-2002, according to a 2005 analysis.

But that has only grown to to 12.4%, according to latest data included in a Lancet report in 2024.

- JoNel Aleccia