HHS spokesperson quits after reportedly clashing with RFK Jr over ‘muted’ measles response

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The top spokesperson in the Department of Health and Human Services announced his resignation on Monday after reportedly clashing with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the department’s response to the growing measles outbreak.

Thomas Corry, who served as the department’s assistant secretary of public affairs for roughly two weeks, announced that he had resigned on Friday in a LinkedIn post, saying his departure was “effective immediately.”

“To my colleagues at HHS, I wish you the best and great success,” Corry wrote.

Corry’s departure was allegedly brought after disagreeing with Kennedy and HHS’s deputy chief of staff, Stefanie Spear, over management in addition to concerns over the measles response, two people familiar with the matter told Politico.

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The Independent has asked HHS for comment.

Parts of the United States are experiencing a measles outbreak with areas of West Texas seeing the highest number of cases in three decades. So far, at least 146 people have been infected and one unvaccinated school-aged child has died in Texas a result of the outbreak.

However, Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, dismissed concerns last week during President Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting saying outbreaks are “not unusual.”

Measles, an extremely contagious virus, was once eliminated in the U.S. thanks to the highly effective and safe vaccine. However, a growing anti-vaccine movement has inspired some parents to not vaccinate their children.

Kennedy stopped short of asking people to get vaccinated in an op-ed for Fox News, published over the weekend, but did encourage parents to “consult their healthcare provider” to “understand their options to get the MMR vaccine.”

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“Measles outbreak is call to action for all of us,” the article title read, with the standfirst stating: “MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease.” In the article’s opening line, RFK Jr stated he is “deeply concerned about the recent measles outbreak.”

The remarks appear to mark a U-turn from Kennedy’s previous peddling of vaccine skepticism and conspiracy theories, including his promotion of the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism.

Along with his comments about vaccines and autism, the HHS secretary has made other historic inflammatory remarks, including suggesting in January 2022 that Anne Frank was in a better situation when she hid from Nazis than Americans were under Covid-19 mandates.

He also baselessly claimed that Covid-19 was a “bioweapon” that targets “Caucasians and Black people” while sparing Ashkenazi Jewish and Chinese people.