Vitamin A became a highly searched topic around the time Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the nutrient as a form of treatment for measles amid the 2025 outbreak, according to a new report.
In a study published by the JAMA Network on June 1, experts said internet searches for “vitamin A” and measles increased by 44% on Feb. 26, 2025, and peaked at 100% on March 22, 2025.
Searches for the terms “cod liver” and measles peaked at 52.6% on March 5, 2025.
The findings coincide with government media statements made in February of that year advocating vitamin A as a measles treatment.
In early 2025, RFK Jr. falsely claimed that the MMR vaccine — which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella — causes encephalitis (brain swelling) but “does stop the spread of the disease.”
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He proposed using vitamin A to “help against serious disease and death” amid the measles outbreak in the U.S.
