Vaccine skeptic health boss Robert F Kennedy Jr. was met with mass vitriol and backlash after revealing he visited the epicenter of the measles outbreak to attend the funeral of a second unvaccinated child who died of the virus.

The US Health Secretary, and known vaccine critic, traveled to West Texas to comfort the families who have buried two young girls, aged six and eight.

Daisy Hildebrand died on Thursday amid the mass measles outbreak, as cases near 500 in and around the epicenter of Gaines County.

Just weeks earlier, six-year-old Kayley Fehr became the first child to die of the measles in a decade in the United States.

‘My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief,’ Kennedy wrote on X.

In his post, Kennedy tried to urge followers and communities to take the MMR vaccine, insisting it is ‘the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.’

But Kennedy has built his reputation and brand around vaccine skepticism as the longstanding face of the anti vaccine nonprofit Children’s Health Defense – a role which he stepped down from ahead of being sworn in as the Department of Health Secretary.

‘Maybe supporting RFK Jr. wasn’t such a great idea after all,’ one critic wrote on X.

‘Thank you for installing RFK Jr. into HHS… no telling how many people will die unnecessarily,’ another wrote.

Vaccine skeptic health boss Robert F Kennedy Jr. was met with mass vitriol and backlash after revealing he visited the epicenter of the measles outbreak

The little girl died on Thursday amid the mass measles outbreak, as cases top 500 in and around the epicenter of Gaines County

‘RobertKennedyJr needs to be FIRED for his total incompetence and damage he’s doing by pushing Vitamins that are sending kids to the hospital over vaccines.’

Simultaneously, staunch, long term RFK supporters who have defended his vaccine skepticism are furious that he has ‘sold out’ his beliefs by promoting the MMR.

‘RFK Jr. in a 2021 book wrote that Americans had been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease. He said measles outbreaks had been fabricated to push people towards vaccines,’ one former supporter pointed out.

‘I was most hopeful that you wouldn’t be the one to sell your soul so easily. You’ve made it quite obvious that there will be no meaningful change. Evil will continue to prevail,’ another said.

‘Sad day to hear you back track on this. I never thought you would. So disappointing!’

Another said they thought ‘Bobby was one of the good guys’ before the post. 

Daisy died Thursday from ‘what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure,’ and did not have underlying health conditions, the Texas State Department of State Health Services said Sunday. 

Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for UMC Health System in Lubbock, said that the child was ‘receiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalized.’

President Trump said on board Air Force 1 on Sunday that his administration would respond ‘very strongly’ if the crisis continues to worsen.

‘It’s a fairly small number of people relative to what we’re talking about… this is not something new and we’ll see what happens, but certainly if something progresses, we’ll have to take action very strongly,’ he told reporters. 

There are concerns for the West Texas community as the measles continues to rip through

The second little girl to die from measles in Texas this year was farewelled in a funeral on Sunday (pictured)

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been used safely for more than 60 years and is 97 percent effective against measles after two doses.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teams have been ‘redeployed,’ Kennedy added. The nation’s public health agency never relayed it had pulled back. 

Neither the CDC nor the state health department included the death in their measles reports issued Friday, but the CDC acknowledged it when asked Sunday.

The devastating spread of the virus comes as RFK Jr implemented sweeping cuts to his department, including a reported 2,400 from the CDC, which works to prevent diseases caused by infections, genetics, environmental poisons and other causes. 

The number of cases in Texas shot up by 81 between March 28 and April 4, and 16 more people were hospitalized. Nationwide, the US has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a liver doctor whose vote helped cinch Kennedy’s confirmation, called Sunday for stronger messaging from health officials in a post on X.

‘Everyone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No benefit to getting measles,’ he wrote. 

‘Top health officials should say so unequivocally b/4 another child dies.’

He was inundated with criticism from furious voters who noted he helped to ensure Kennedy ascended to the top Health Department role.

Huge cuts have taken place to the health department, sparking fears about who is left to handle the outbreak

‘Remember that time you voted to confirm a life long anti vaccine activist as HHS Secretary?’ one said.

‘You supported RFK Jr to lead our public health agencies – a man who has been the pre-eminent anti-vax leader globally. When you had a chance to make a real impact on an issue you claim to deeply care about, you were a coward to the MAGA cult.’

Cassidy has requested Kennedy to appear before his health committee Thursday, although Kennedy has not publicly confirmed whether he will attend.

Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s former vaccine chief, said responsibility for the death rests with Kennedy and his staff. Marks was forced out of the FDA after disagreements with Kennedy over vaccine safety.

‘This is the epitome of an absolute needless death,’ Marks told The Associated Press on Sunday.

‘These kids should get vaccinated – that’s how you prevent people from dying of measles.’

Marks also said he recently warned US senators that more deaths would occur if the administration didn’t mount a more aggressive response to the outbreak.

Experts and local health officials expect the outbreak to go on for several more months if not a year. In West Texas, the vast majority of cases are in unvaccinated people and children younger than 17.