Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. encouraged people to get vaccinated and offered to send a team to Kansas to assist in the measles outbreak response.

"We've deployed the Epidemic Intelligence Service to all the states that have requested our help," Kennedy said. "We have people on the ground in those states, and they are doing a great job at limiting the spread of the outbreak.

"If Kansas, the governor of Kansas, wants to contact us, we will deploy a team to Kansas to make sure that that outbreak is is curtailed there."

Kennedy, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, addressed the Kansas measles outbreak when asked about it by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, during an appropriations subcommittee hearing May 20.

"Kansas, my home state, is one of several states that are facing the impact of a recent measles outbreak," Moran said.

He noted that many of the patients have been unvaccinated children.

"What do you need?" Moran asked Kennedy. "What do you need from us, and what can you do currently to be of help to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in support of their response to ensure that this outbreak doesn't spread, to make sure that those who have been positive for measles are cared for, and this becomes a thing of the past not a thing of the future?"

Kennedy said, "The best way to prevent the spread of measles is through vaccination, we urge people to get their MMR vaccines."

However, he said, "There are groups in this country that don't want to be vaccinated, many of them for religious reasons."

Kennedy said he respects religious objections.

"We need to be able to treat people who do get sick," Kennedy said, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was not giving physicians advice on treatment "until I came in and we started a new program to treat people who actually get sick."

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics , "There is no tested, valid treatment for measles" and "there is no cure." The academy encourages vaccination.

Moran asked Kennedy whether "you have all the tools at HHS to be of help to Kansas and other states?"

"We do," Kennedy said. "We not only have tools like vaccination and the tracking and tracing and surveillance and analytics and lab support, we also now are for the first time are able to provide physicians with at least some treatment protocols so that when children do come to a hospital with measles, there's a protocol for treating them."

Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000.

"But now we are seeing continued local spread in our communities again, most notably in Texas and New Mexico. We've had local spread here in Kansas as well," said Dana Hawkinson, the medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System. "But we should say that the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine has proven and shown to be a very effective and safe vaccine for preventing illness and preventing death."

The MMR vaccine saved 93 million lives between 1974 and 2024, Hawkinson said in a May 21 appearance on KU's Medical News Network.

"When we have that 95% herd immunity, or population immunity, we were able to stop the spread and the transmission of this disease because the vast majority of people are vaccinated and protected," Hawkinson said. "But that is not what we have seen currently."

What KDHE and CDC data says about measles

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported May 21 that Kansas has had 58 total measles cases statewide, with 54 associated with the southwest Kansas outbreak. That's up from 56 total cases as of May 14. Among the outbreak cases, there have been two hospitalizations but no deaths.

Nationwide, there have been 1,046 total confirmed measles cases across 31 jurisdictions as of May 22, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Those cases have led to 127 hospitalizations and three deaths. Two of the deaths have been unvaccinated school-aged children in Texas, while the other was an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico.

Where are measles cases in Kansas?

Measles cases have been recorded in southwest and south-central Kansas.

The data indicate both of the two new cases were in Haskell County, which has had 10 total cases, up from eight a week ago.

Gray County — located between Dodge City and Garden City — has had the most total cases at 21. Stevens County has had seven and Kiowa county has had six. Finney, Ford, Grant, Morton, Reno and Sedgwick counties each have between one and five cases, but KDHE hasn't reported the exact number in order to protect patient privacy.

Measles is primarily affecting unvaccinated children

In Kansas, measles is primarily affecting unvaccinated children.

Of the 56 cases associated with the southwest Kansas outbreak, 12 are adults. Among the 44 child patients, 18 are ages infant to 4 years old — which is when the second MMR vaccine dose is recommended — while 19 are ages 5-10 years old, three are 11-13 years old and four are 14-17 years old.

At least 47 of the patients haven't been vaccinated. Five patients have received age-appropriate vaccinations, while one patient was under-vaccinated for their age. Vaccination statuses for three patients couldn't be verified.

The KDHE data dashboard also includes demographic data on race and ethnicity.

Of the 58 total cases, race data show 57 patients have been White and one was listed as unknown. Ethnicity data show five patients were Hispanic or Latino, 52 were not Hispanic or Latino and one was listed as unknown.

Kansas public health officials recommend MMR vaccine

Public health officials recommend that two doses of the MMR vaccine for children, with the first dose administered at age 12-15 months and the second dose at age 4-6 years, before entering school. Adults are generally recommended to get one dose. Two doses are recommended for adults working in health care or attending higher education, due to the higher risk of exposure and transmission.

For counties that are part of the measles outbreak as well as the surrounding counties, KDHE is recommending an early dose of the MMR vaccine. Also known as an infant dose, that dose is recommended for infants ages 6-11 months.

For children in those counties who are older than 12 months and have not been vaccinated, KDHE recommends "one dose immediately and follow with a second dose at least 28 days after." Children older than 12 months who have already gotten a first dose "should receive an early second dose."

KDHE is also advising teenagers and adults who have previously been vaccinated with one dose should receive a second dose.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at . Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd .