Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, attended the funeral on Sunday of an 8-year-old girl who died of measles amid an outbreak that has burned through the region and called into question his ability to handle a public-health crisis.
The child’s death, in a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, early Thursday morning, is the second confirmed fatality from measles in a decade in the United States.
The girl died of “measles pulmonary failure,” according to records obtained by The New York Times. The hospital, part of UMC Health System, confirmed the death later on Sunday, adding that the girl was unvaccinated and had no underlying health conditions.
Mr. Kennedy conferred with the girl’s family but did not speak at the funeral ceremony, according to people in attendance.
“My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief,” Mr. Kennedy said in a message posted on X, formerly Twitter.
