Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confronting his first disease outbreak as Health and Human Services secretary. His response to the spread of measles in and beyond Texas has managed to alarm serious scientists while also drawing criticism from his Make America Healthy Again movement.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a stop in Texas on Sunday and visited the family of a 6-year-old girl who died of the measles virus in February.

Kennedy confirmed the visit to Texas in a post on X in which he encouraged people to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine amid rising measles cases.

An endorsement of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has provoked an angry outcry from anti-vaccine activists.

Americans were sharply divided over the public health response to COVID-19, including masking, remote learning, business closures and vaccines. Five years after the start of the pandemic, Judy Woodruff sat down with two people on opposing sides of that divide trying to figure out how to move forward. It's part of her series, America at a Crossroads.

Geoff Bennett:

Americans were sharply divided over the public health response to COVID-19, things like masking, remote learning, business closures, and later vaccines.

A former ethics professor at a taxpayer funded community college in Minnesota is suing Governor Tim Walz after he was fired for refusing to comply with the state's Covid-19 vaccine mandate for government employees and expressing his opinions on the matter to his students.

Professor Russell Stewart filed a complaint in federal court Wednesday against Walz and the leadership at Lake Superior College over his March 2022 termination for non-compliance with the Covid-19 vaccine mandate and a September 2021 email he sent to students explaining his position, National Review has learned.

Teams manning government hotlines for reporting adverse events from foods, supplements and cosmetics, and call centers that provide other essential safety information were among the thousands of Health and Human Services Department employees laid off last week.

The big picture: Though the department is hurriedly calling some workers back, the episodes show how information blackouts are becoming a feature of the Trump administration's efforts to reorganize the health bureaucracy.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off his “Make America Healthy Again” tour in Utah to discuss the state’s fluoride ban.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation Thursday barring cities and communities from adding the mineral to their water systems. The ban goes into effect May 7.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a show on Facebook of his meeting with American Indian and Alaska Native leaders last month, declaring himself “very inspired” and committed to improving the Indian Health Service, which he says has “always been treated as the redheaded stepchild” by his agency.

Now Native leaders have some questions for him.