Oz Says Don’t Worry About Hantavirus — RFK Jr. Is “Involved” in Response |
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Speaking to reporters in the White House on Tuesday, President Donald Trump was asked about the potential spread of hantavirus in the U.S., following the return of over a dozen Americans who were on a cruise liner where the virus had infected multiple people.
The question specifically asked about infectious disease experts expressing concern regarding the lack of an adequate government response to the minor outbreak. Trump deferred to Mehmet Oz, the former television personality turned head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Oz rejected the concerns of those experts. “It’s just not true,” he said, adding that Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is involved” in the response.
“The country is prepared, and the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is focused on it,” Oz added.
Q: What do you say to infectious disease experts who are worried the country isn't prepared to deal with something like hantavirus because of all the HHS funding and staffing cuts?TRUMP: Doc, you want to answer that?DR OZ: It's just not true. Secretary Kennedy is involved. — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-05-11T16:18:59.063Z
Q: What do you say to infectious disease experts who are worried the country isn't prepared to deal with something like hantavirus because of all the HHS funding and staffing cuts?TRUMP: Doc, you want to answer that?DR OZ: It's just not true. Secretary Kennedy is involved.
The hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship near Argentina has led to 11 confirmed cases and three deaths among the 147 people who were on board. Eighteen Americans were on the ship, and have since returned to the U.S. They are currently under observation at medical centers in Nebraska and........