Dr. Mehmet Oz urges public to take the measles vaccine as U.S. cases rise
#Mehmet Oz #Measles Outbreak #Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #Vaccination Rates #Medicare #Public Health Policy #CDC
📌 Key Takeaways
- Dr. Mehmet Oz issued an urgent plea for measles vaccinations amid rising outbreaks in South Carolina, Texas, and the Utah-Arizona border.
- The U.S. is currently at risk of losing its official 'measles elimination status' due to declining vaccination rates and high exemption numbers.
- Oz confirmed that Medicare and Medicaid will continue to provide full coverage for the measles vaccine as part of the core medical schedule.
- The administration is navigating internal contradictions between medical urgency and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s history of vaccine skepticism.
📖 Full Retelling
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, urged the American public to receive the measles vaccine during a televised appearance in Washington on February 8, 2026, as several states battle significant outbreaks that threaten the nation’s measles elimination status. Speaking on CNN’s "State of the Union," Oz emphasized that while the administration has recently overhauled other federal health guidelines, the measles vaccine remains a critical solution to a growing public health crisis. The plea comes as a large-scale outbreak in South Carolina, totaling hundreds of cases, has already surpassed the scale of previous surges in Texas and along the Utah-Arizona border.
The context of the announcement is marked by significant political friction regarding vaccine safety. Oz, a heart surgeon by trade, found himself defending the mixed messaging of the Trump administration, including past skeptical comments from President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Despite Kennedy’s long history of anti-vaccine activism and his role in revising federal vaccine schedules, Oz maintained that the administration remains supportive specifically of measles immunization. He guaranteed that Medicare and Medicaid would continue to cover the cost of the shots, ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent Americans from accessing the core vaccine schedule.
Public health experts remain concerned that the United States is on the verge of losing its status as a country where measles is considered eradicated, a milestone first achieved in 2000. This decline is attributed to a record-high number of vaccine exemptions and a general erosion of trust in public health institutions following the COVID-19 pandemic. While the federal government has recently dropped certain vaccine recommendations for children at the President's request, Oz reiterated that the measles virus is uniquely dangerous and that the current spike in cases among children necessitates immediate preventative action.
🏷️ Themes
Public Health, Politics, Immunization
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Mehmet Oz
American surgeon, TV host, and government official (born 1960)
Mehmet Cengiz Oz (Turkish: Öz; mə-MET JENG-ghiz oz; Turkish: [mehˈmet dʒeɲˈɟiz øz]; born June 11, 1960), also known as Dr. Oz ( ), is an American television presenter, physician, author, educator, and government official serving as the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv...
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📄 Original Source Content
By — Matt Brown, Associated Press Matt Brown, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Dr. Mehmet Oz urges public to take the measles vaccine as U.S. cases rise Health Feb 8, 2026 4:05 PM EST WASHINGTON — A leading U.S. health official on Sunday urged people to get inoculated against the measles at a time of outbreaks across several states and as the United States is at risk of losing its measles elimination status. "Take the vaccine, please," said Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator whose boss has raised suspicion about the safety and importance of vaccines. "We have a solution for our problem." Oz, a heart surgeon, defended some recently revised federal vaccine recommendations as well as past comments from President Donald Trump and the nation's health chief, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., about the efficacy of vaccines. From Oz, there was a clear message on the measles. READ MORE: The U.S. is on the verge of losing its measles elimination status "Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses," he told CNN's "State of the Union." "But measles is one you should get your vaccine." An outbreak in South Carolina in the hundreds has surpassed the recorded case count in Texas' 2025 outbreak, and there is also one on the Utah-Arizona border. Multiple other states have had confirmed cases this year. The outbreaks have mostly impacted children and have come as infectious disease experts warn that rising public distrust of vaccines generally may be contributing to the spread of a disease once declared eradicated by public health officials. Asked in the television interview whether people should fear the measles, Oz replied, "Oh, for sure." He said Medicare and Medicaid will continue to cover the measles vaccine as part of the insurance programs. "There will never be a barrier to Americans get a...