# US health official quits after reported clashes with RFK Jr over measles

Tom Corry, a top spokesperson at the Department of Health and Human Services, abruptly resigned on Friday.

## Tom Corry's Resignation

“I want to announce to my friends and colleagues that last Friday I announced my resignation effective immediately,” Corry, who previously served in a similar role in the first , wrote on . “To my colleagues at HHS, I wish you the best and great success.”

Corry, who was , did not provide a reason for his departure, and HHS did not respond for a request for comment.

## Outbreak Details

Last month, Corry had  that he was “thankful” to be a part of the team that is going to work to make America healthy again, and on making healthcare more affordable and accessible.

But on Monday, two people familiar with the matter  that Corry had been clashing with the HHS secretary, , along with his close aides, regarding the management of the health department amid the escalating measles outbreak.

The sources indicated that Corry had become increasingly uneasy with Kennedy’s “muted response” to the intensifying outbreak of measles in Texas, where  people have become infected since January.

The outbreak has also resulted in the , marking the first fatality from the highly contagious disease in the US since 2015.

Corry’s resignation comes as last week, during ’s first official cabinet , a reporter asked Kennedy about the Texas outbreak, to which he responded that it was , which sparked  from doctors and health experts around the country.

Measles was declared , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meaning no outbreaks .

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 just two days after initially downplaying the outbreak, Kennedy said he recognized the serious impact of the ongoing epidemic in Texas and that the government was providing resources, including protective vaccines, to combat the situation.

Then, on Sunday, two days after Corry’s resignation, Kennedy published an opinion piece in , expressing his concerns about the disease’s spread.

In the piece, the  adopted a different stance from his previous remarks, and said that “vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons”.

However, he stopped short of directly calling for vaccinations, instead suggesting that the vaccines should be “readily accessible for all those who want them”.

“Parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their children’s health. All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the  vaccine,” he also wrote. “The decision to vaccinate is a personal one.”

The ongoing crisis in Texas comes as Kennedy reportedly  an upcoming meeting to discuss next year’s flu vaccines, and last month  a public meeting on immunization.
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