RFK Jr.'s response to the West Texas measles outbreak offers dire warnings about the future of managing disease outbreaks in the U.S., the latest episode of The Nation's Health Podcast reveals.

“What you're watching is a gradual dissolution of the public health infrastructure and the immunization infrastructure,” Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, says in the new episode, which is available now.

Vaccine research, public support, requirements, misinformation and outbreak response could be affected now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a known vaccine skeptic and spreader of misinformation — has assumed the helm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, predicts Offit.

Kennedy responded to the measles outbreak in Texas by playing down the importance of vaccination and suggesting inappropriate alternative treatment for people who are infected. Two children and one adult have died in the outbreak, which has infected more than 700 people in several states.

“I think he will continue to erode confidence in vaccines,” Offit said.

Listen and share the new episode online now and subscribe for updates.

By FatCamera, courtesy iStockphoto