RFK Jr.’s Faulty Claim that U.S. Measles Response Is ‘Better’ Than ‘Any Other Country’

When asked about the largest surge in measles in over 30 years, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. is doing or has done “better … than any country in the world” in controlling outbreaks of the disease. But plenty of nations don’t have the high caseload America is now experiencing.

In recent remarks in Florida, Kennedy gave what has become his standard response when asked about measles.

“We’re doing a better job than any country in the world at controlling the measles outbreak. This is a worldwide epidemic,” he said when a reporter asked at an Aug. 26 event. “Mexico has 11 times the amount of measles cases as we do. Canada has four times the amount of measles cases. Britain has two times. … Every place there’s been a measles outbreak, I’ve sent the CDC in to cooperate with the state health agencies, and we’ve brought it to an end overnight.”

Kennedy has been claiming a superlative response and invoking international comparisons for months. In April, when testifying before Congress on multiple occasions, he repeatedly said that under his leadership the U.S. had “done better” at controlling, preventing or limiting measles outbreaks than any other country in the world, calling measles a “global outbreak.”

In June, when measles was surging in Virginia, Kennedy similarly told a local news outlet, “There’s a global measles epidemic right now. We’ve done better than any country in the world in controlling it.”