Kennedy previously led an anti-vaccine propaganda organization that spread misinformation so egregious it gotkicked off of Facebook.

So heres what you should know about measles and the measles vaccine.

It is thebest protection we haveagainst measles, as both theCDCandWHOwill openly tell you.

The World Health Organization estimates that measles vaccination saved 60 million lives worldwide between 2000-2023.

Yes, very much so.

Anti-vaxxers like to point out that measles used to be a common childhood illness, which is true.

But that doesnt mean its harmless.

Those resulted in 500 deaths, 48,000 hospitalizations, and 1,000 cases of permanent brain damage from encephalitis.

Measles is also horrendously contagious, perhaps the most contagious human disease known.

For a comparison, the average person with the flu will give it to 1.3 other people.

For ebola, that number is 1.8.

For smallpox, before we eradicated it through vaccination, it was 3.5 to 6.

But measles beats even that, spreading to 12 to 18 people, on average.

Im getting my numbers fromthis chart on Wikipedia.

No, the vaccine does not give you measles.

Even if he meant all the same symptoms, its still not true.

He specifically called out encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that can lead to death or brain damage.

The measles vaccine causes 1-2 cases of encephalitis perone millionchildren vaccinated.

In other words, measles the disease has1,000 times greaterencephalitis risk compared to the vaccine.

Kennedy also claimed that the measles vaccine cause[s] deaths every year, which isnt true.

The second best time, if youve just been exposed to measles, isnow.

A dose of the vaccinecan be given within 72 hours of being exposed to the virusto provide last-minute protection.

If you think you need the vaccine for this reason, ask your doctor.

There is another option, which is to get a dose of immunoglobulin instead.

It has to be one or the other, not both; the globulin can cancel out the vaccine.

After both recommended doses, that increases to 97%.

This is exactly why two doses are recommended.

Kennedy said that vaccinated people lose 4.5% of their immunity each year.

Everybody still got the disease, because children without any measles immunity were constantly being born.

Eventually theyd encounter the virus, and get sick.

As I discussed above, this was fine for most kids and catastrophic for some.

ReadRoald Dahls letter about losing his daughter to measles, if you havent already.

The only way you get natural immunity is by rolling those dice.

One child in every 1,000 died of measles.

The other 999 carry that immunity with them for life, but only because they were lucky.

The point of a vaccine is to give you the immunitywithoutthe risk of complications and death.

Which means, sorry, no measles parties.

Or,as the Texas health department puts it, No!

DSHS strongly advises against intentionally exposing anyone to infectious diseases like measles.