The Kotok Report (KR) has an ongoing series about the RFK Jr. health recession. We will publish Part 5 on May 10th. Meanwhile, RFK Jr. damage is unfolding daily in the United States. KR will continue to report the economic costs of RFK Jr.’s healthcare policies as they evolve negatively and nationwide.
We have written about the measles spread and other diseases. We offered evidence about how misguided policies under RFK Jr. are sickening (and maybe killing) some Americans. We cited how the US Senate Health Committee chair, Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician, has since regretted the confirmation of RFK Jr. We offered the evidence of the RFK Jr. deception with citations.
The two senators from Utah voted “aye” on the RFK Jr. confirmation. It was a 52-48 vote. So, with the committee chair they make three; and they “own” the outcome, along with others. The outcome in Utah is now revealed and cannot be denied. Measles vax rates have fallen below long-established immunity-producing levels of 95%. Though measles was once considered eradicated in the US, the measles epidemic in Utah is spreading. The economic cost in public health services grows daily. The numbers of hospitalizations and quarantines grow daily. Utah is on track to pass the South Carolina epidemic in numbers and scope.
Here’s the RFK Jr. confirmation history of Utah’s two senators. Utah Senator Mike Lee’s support was enthusiastic: “Time to MAHA!” he posted on social media.
“Senate confirms RFK Jr. Here’s how Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis voted” | Deseret News (February 13, 2025), https://www.deseret.com/politics/2025/02/13/senate-confirms-robert-f-kennedy-jr-mike-lee-john-curtis/
Personally, I would not take my family to Utah in the face of a measles epidemic. Utah is a magnificent state, and I have visited there many times — on business, for touring, for fishing, for events, for speeches, for conferences, and for skiing when I was younger. I’ve hiked to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park and toured Temple Square in Salt Lake City. I’ve fished the Provo River. Wonderful geography, strong cultural history, and lots of a great community define Utah. And now, add an epidemic of a fully preventable disease.
Measles spreads in Utah thanks to three key senators who allowed RFK Jr. to be confirmed. These three, along with others who voted “aye,” own this outcome. These three can stop it. Or, they can permit more folks to be sick — some seriously, some hospitalized, some potentially with lifelong impacts. And they can watch, with the rest of us, how Utah pays the economic price inflicted by the policies and leadership of RFK Jr.
Here’s a link to the news report that triggered this midweek KR Quick Note.
“Measles is spreading rapidly in multiple U.S. states. Experts warn cases are going unreported” | Healthbeat, https://www.healthbeat.org/2026/04/09/where-measles-is-spreading-april-2026/.
Healthbeat allows republishing of its articles with attribution, so here’s a generous excerpt:
Utah’s large outbreak, like others, began with just a handful of cases that started being identified last June. A few were in Utah County, around Provo. Others were in a rural area in the southwest corner of the state – where the virus continued to gain traction, becoming the focus of the outbreak throughout last year.
By the end of 2025, 197 people had been diagnosed with measles largely in that one corner of the state. Then in recent months the outbreak surged statewide. Since January, another 386 people have been diagnosed, bringing the outbreak’s total to 583 reported cases as of this week. At least 47 people have been hospitalized.
Dr. Leisha Nolen, Utah’s state epidemiologist, said the number of cases known to public health officials is an undercount. “I can say confidently that we are missing cases,” she said.
But it’s difficult to say how many.
In some communities that are particularly distrustful of government and public health, as few as 1 in 10 cases may go unreported, she said. Cases in remote rural communities, with limited access to health care, may also have higher rates of underreporting, while more cases may get counted in cities with easier access to doctors and hospitals.
One thing is clear: Utah’s outbreak is continuing to grow. In the last three weeks, state health officials have learned of 121 new cases.
Further Reading
“Robert F. Influencer Jr. Is Selling Politics, Not Health” | MedPage Today,
https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/prescriptionsforabrokensystem/120798
The continuing RFK Jr. Health Recession series:
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