RFK Jr. is dangerous for immunocompromised people like me 

Last week, as my recent lab results loaded into the patient portal, my fears came true: “No significant level of detectable measles IgG antibody.”

My heart sank as I read the words. As someone who is immunosuppressed, I am unable to receive an MMR booster because live attenuated vaccines can potentially cause me severe illness. Suddenly, I felt even more vulnerable than I had only moments before.  

I began taking immunosuppressants to treat multiple sclerosis in 2017, and my life changed instantly. I no longer had the luxury of relying on a fully functioning immune system to protect me from infectious disease. As a result, I adopted additional modes of protection beyond simply washing my hands.  

Before my children have friends over, I check that their household is healthy. We use hand sanitizer when we’re out, I mask indoors in public spaces, and when we enter our home, we all wash our hands immediately. “Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Get those hands clean,” I joke.

But there’s nothing humorous about my situation. The medication that calms my multiple sclerosis kills an entire class of B-cells — the same cells that fight viruses like COVID and the flu. Being extra cautious isn’t a choice for me — it’s a necessity. 

Becoming infected with a virus when you’re immunosuppressed not only means potentially becoming sicker than someone with an unaltered immune system (and possibly requiring hospitalization) — it also means my disease symptoms will likely flare. Walking, standing and activities of daily living become harder as my weakness escalates, weighing me down with unfathomable force. 

Although my life has changed immensely since becoming immunosuppressed, vaccines and herd immunity have been my one consistent protection. I continue to get vaccinated against flu and COVID yearly despite a blunted response secondary to my immunosuppression because some protection is better than none. Vaccines give me peace of mind because they fill in where my immune system is lacking. And when sporadic cases of once eliminated diseases sprout up here and there, herd immunity helps to protect me.  

But the current measles outbreak changed everything.  

In Texas, at least 327 people have been infected since late January. Forty of the patients have been hospitalized, and the virus has already claimed the life of at least one child. As the outbreak spreads to other states, including my own, those of us who are immunosuppressed become victims amid the anti-vaccination movement. 

Matters became worse when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic, took over the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has made claims about disease causes and interventions that lack strong evidence. He demanded data supporting vaccine safety, but when provided with this evidence, he dismissed it. Those of us in the immunocompromised community aren’t safe with RFK Jr. making decisions regarding public health. 

According to Time, much of RFK Jr.’s opposition to vaccines seems to center around the false claim that they cause autism, but studies including millions of children have found no relationship between the two — RFK Jr. fails to accept this. He also made the false claim that the COVID-19 vaccine is the deadliest vaccine ever made. Yet results from clinical trials show that the vaccine is safe and effective, especially against severe illness, hospitalization and death.  

During RFK Jr.’s first week on the job, and amid a brutal flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention halted a successful flu vaccination campaign. “In particular, the campaign aimed to communicate that flu vaccination can lessen symptoms and the chance of getting severely ill, even if it doesn't prevent someone from catching the flu,” NPR reported. Without the campaign, vaccination rates will decline, and flu will rage yearly.  

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration then cancelled the meeting to update next season’s flu vaccines, leaving uncertainty over how this may affect vaccine preparation or availability. Those most vulnerable will be at risk. 

Vaccines available to the public have already been through rigorous testing in multiple phases of clinical trials to prove their safety. Many of the vaccines used today have also been proven safe and effective through decades of use and the elimination of once harmful childhood viruses. Yet Kennedy’s lawyer recently asked the FDA to revoke approval of the polio vaccine — a vaccine that has allowed 20 million people alive today to walk who would have otherwise been paralyzed. Without the vaccine, this disease, which is almost eradicated, may return, along with the symptoms of paralysis, limb deformities and death.  

Kennedy has discouraged people from receiving vaccines and may limit access to them. Parents are listening to his bogus advice and treating their children with vitamin A to combat the measles — several of children thus treated have since been hospitalized for vitamin A toxicity.  

There are many of us living with diseases like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis and more who rely on immunosuppression to stay alive and able-bodied. Some of us have lost protection to viruses like the measles and are unable to receive a booster. We also lack the ability to mount a strong immune response if exposed. Without herd immunity, we lose the safety net we have relied upon.  

The spread of fear and misinformation has already severed the American people’s trust in science and public health, and the impact on the immunocompromised community will be immense. Vaccinate yourself and your children. Not only will your family be protected, you’ll be protecting others too. 

Lindsay Karp is a freelance writer with a background in speech-language pathology.