Health Secretary Kennedy Revives Misleading Claims About 'Fetal Debris' in Measles Vaccines

By Ahmed Aboulenein and Nancy A. Lapidin
WASHINGTON (https://smarthealthradar2025.blogspot.com/) – U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated several inaccurate statements regarding vaccinations this week, claiming that the measles vaccine includes tissue derived from aborted fetuses and suggesting that the mumps vaccine is ineffective.
Kennedy’s remarks coincide with the U.S. grappling with one of its most significant measles outbreaks in a quarter-century. Experts caution that the country stands on the brink of having endemic measles resurface, which was previously eliminated nationwide in 2000; they emphasize that public health authorities such as Kennedy must promptly advocate for the use of these highly efficacious vaccines.
In the ongoing outbreak in Texas, two children have succumbed, and over several hundred additional cases have been reported. The situation is particularly concentrated within a Mennonite community and has also affected nearby regions such as New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
In February, Kennedy assumed the position of the country’s leading health authority. For many years, he has been raising questions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, which has led to a decrease in immunization rates.
Kennedy says he is not opposed to vaccines, but has begun to revive some of the unproven or debunked theories he promoted as a lawyer and public figure, now from his perch at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
"Some communities within our nation, such as the Mennonite groups in Texas, were disproportionately affected. They hold strong religious reservations against vaccinations due to their belief that the MMR vaccine includes remnants from aborted fetuses along with DNA fragments, hence they refuse to be vaccinated," he stated during an interview with News Nation on Wednesday.
Kennedy was alluding to the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. According to vaccine specialists, these immunizations do not include "fetal tissue remnants" from abortions or whole fetal cells.
The component of the vaccine related to rubella is derived from a fetal cell line that dates back to an abortion in the 1960s. However, these cells do not remain present in the final version of the MMR vaccine.
These cells originate from fetal cells that were multiplied numerous times within test tubes across decades in laboratories, bearing little resemblance to their initial form.
As the virus multiplies within these cells, it undergoes purification where all components except the virus itself are removed. What remains is an attenuated form of the virus incapable of causing illness,” explained Dr. Miriam Laufer, who serves as the interim director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland.
Based on a factsheet about vaccine production from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania, the quantity of DNA used in the final stages of making vaccines is extremely small, measuring only in billionths or even trillionths of a gram.
"Although the final vaccines do not include complete fetal cells, they might have small traces of cellular material, like bits of DNA," explained Dr. Paulo Verardi, who is a Professor of Virology and Vaccinology at the University of Connecticut.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not reply to requests for comments.
Kennedy additionally mentioned this week that the component of the vaccine targeting mumps is ineffective and raised safety concerns about it.
"The issue actually lies with the mumps component of the vaccine and how it’s combined. This specific combination was never subjected to safety testing," he stated during a live televised town hall event hosted by TV personality Dr. Phil on Monday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that two doses of the MMR vaccine offer approximately 86% protection against mumps.
It is accurate to say that vaccine-induced immunity may diminish with time; however, this decline occurs at different rates for various diseases and vaccines, according to Verardi and other specialists in vaccination.
"For mumps in particular, immunity can decline, so adults vaccinated in childhood may become susceptible again. Still, vaccinated individuals generally experience a milder illness if infected, which is still a key benefit of vaccination," he said.
(Ahmed Aboulenein reported from Washington and Nancy Lapid from Tucson; Additional reporting was done by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; The article was edited by Caroline Humer and Stephen Coates)
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