Vitamin A, While Helpful for Measles, Is Not a Replacement for Vaccination

This is a MedPage Today story. Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend vitamin A for all patients with measles -- not just severe cases -- but experts warn that this shouldn't be seen as a replacement for vaccination. In a recent opinion piece for Fox News, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote that studies support the administration of vitamin A "under the supervision of a physician for those with mild, moderate, and severe infection" and that it can reduce mortality from the disease. He also indicated that the CDC had recently broadened its recommendation to use vitamin A in all measles cases, not just severe disease. While Kennedy appeared to support measles vaccination in that opinion piece -- he wrote that vaccines "contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons" -- he also noted that the choice to vaccinate is a personal one. Taken together, experts...

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