Vaccines protect children from the measles, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says in a Fox News op-ed responding to concern about the highly infectious disease whose recent resurgence is making nationwide headlines.

Amid an alarming Texas measles outbreak, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time anti-vaccine activist, offered a mild endorsement of measles vaccines. He also downplayed their role in taming the dangerous virus that was once declared eliminated in the US.

A top spokesman in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly resigned over reports of internal clashing over management and escalating health emergencies.