America has made measles great again. Not even halfway into 2026, the nation is already poised to surpass last year’s record-setting number of confirmed measles cases, judging from the latest data out of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But this seemingly headlong race to end America’s herd immunity to measles—a disease that had spent most of the 21st century officially eliminated within its borders—is really only just the beginning of the problem. Adding insult to injury, new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network Open has shown a troubling rise in public engagement with some notably ineffective and potentially toxic alternative treatments for this deadly and highly contagious disease. The researchers used Google search trend data from January to June 2025 to quantify public interest in the topic. They then compared changes in online interest with a timeline of media coverage and public statements from Trump administration officials across multiple agencies.
The researchers detected two fascinating (albeit alarming) surges in interest. The first occurred in the wake of a March 4, 2025, Fox News interview with Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During the interview, the infamous anti-vaxxer touted cod liver oil supplements and vitamin A as viable treatments for measles. A second series of spikes surrounded two late March podcast appearances by certified physician and noted vaccine skeptic Suzanne Humphries, who promoted the same two questionable remedies. Neither of Humphries’ interviews involved a government official, but one did occur on the chart-topping podcast of Joe Rogan.
