A recent study in JAMA Network Open has found that between January and March 2025, America’s Poison Centers reported a 38.7% increase in vitamin A exposures during the measles outbreak across many states.
… [T]he sudden interest in vitamin A in response to the measles outbreak was neither expected nor evidence-based, as it does not prevent measles. …
The researchers found that the surges coincided with two key events: the first of several media statements promoting vitamin A as a measles treatment on February 19, 2025, and comments by Dr. Suzanne Humphries on the hugely popular The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where she promoted vitamin A and cod liver oil as treatments for measles.
Previous studies have established how social media and online trends can have an impact on public health concerns and behaviors.
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… Searches for vitamin A rose 7.5 percentage points above expected levels, while searches for cod liver oil increased by 1.3 points. At the same time, poison centers reported a significant rise in exposure to dangerous amounts of vitamin A, most of them involving children.
