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.

Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine official at the Food and Drug Administration, wrote in a letter on Friday that he was resigning from his position and criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has questioned the effectiveness of vaccines for years and promoted debunked claims that certain vaccines are linked to autism.

The United States is poised to stop funding Gavi, a major global vaccine partnership credited with saving the lives of millions of children. 

President Donald Trump’s administration also plans to dramatically scale back its support for work to combat malaria, but will continue to fund some grants for drugs that treat HIV and tuberculosis, as well as provide food aid to countries hit by wars and natural disasters.

The Trump administration intends to terminate the United States’ financial support for Gavi, the organization that has helped purchase critical vaccines for children in developing countries, saving millions of lives over the past quarter century, and to significantly scale back support for efforts to combat malaria, one of the biggest killers globally.

The administration has decided to continue some key grants for medications to treat H.I.V. and tuberculosis, and food aid to countries facing civil wars and natural disasters.

The Trump administration plans to end U.S. funding for Gavi, a global program that purchases shots to help vaccinate children in developing countries against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. 

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half of the world’s children. Since its launch in 2000, the program has helped more than 1.1 billion children.

A large study into the potential connections between vaccines and autism is reportedly being planned by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to reports Friday.

It's not clear if Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is involved in the study or how the plans would be implemented.

The CDC and Kennedy's department have not commented about the reporting, released by Reuters, which quoted two sources said to be familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump, in his address to Congress Tuesday...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is moving forward with a study examining potential connections between vaccines and autism, according to multiple reports.

Newsweek reached out to the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services for comment on Friday.

The announcement has raised questions, given the extensive scientific research that has consistently found no link between vaccines and autism. Yet, despite overwhelming evidence debunking the claim, skepticism persists, fueled in part by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr...