Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the epicenter of the measles outbreak, following the death of another child

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the epicenter of the measles outbreak, in Texas, on Sunday.

The Trump administration official made his way to Gaines County on the same day as the funeral of a second child who was not vaccinated and died of complications from the disease.

Kennedy said via X that he was working to control the outbreak and traveled all the way to the town "to comfort the families who buried two young children." He also shared photos with parents and minors affected by measles.

Kennedy Jr. attended the funeral of an 8-year-old girl who died from complications of measles

The U.S. health official was seen Sunday afternoon outside a Mennonite church where funeral services for 8-year-old Daisy were being held, but he did not attend a news conference organized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the outbreak.

Seminole is the epicenter of the outbreak, which began in late January and continues to grow, with nearly 500 cases in Texas alone. The disease is believed to have spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico.

As of April 4, 481 measles cases had been confirmed in the outbreak since late January. Most of the cases were in children. Fifty-six people were hospitalized during the outbreak, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The second minor died Thursday from what his doctor described as measles lung failure, and had no underlying conditions, the same department said in a news release Sunday.

This is the third known measles-related death in recent weeks. The others involved an elementary school child in Texas and an adult in New Mexico, neither of whom had been vaccinated.

Vaccination is "the most effective way to prevent the spread," said Secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. an anti-vaccine advocate, has resisted urging widespread vaccination in the face of a worsening measles outbreak under his tenure, assumed earlier this year. However, in a lengthy social media statement, he claimed it was "the most effective way to prevent the spread" of the disease.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been used for more than six decades in the U.S. and is 97% effective against measles after two doses, according to specialist journals.

Nationally, the United States has more than twice as many measles cases as in all of 2024.

Experts and local health authorities expect the outbreak to continue for several more months, or even a year. In West Texas, where the most cases have been diagnosed, the vast majority of cases are in unvaccinated people and in children under the age of 17.

Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to 9 out of 10 susceptible people will contract the virus if exposed.