Poison center reports rose 39% for a common supplement — after it was incorrectly touted as a measles cure

Nypost · Jun 06, 2026 · 936 words · By McKenzie Beard

Vaccine Efficacy and Hesitancy Public Health vs. Alternative Treatments Influence of Media Personalities on Health Behavior

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What to know about Vaccine Efficacy and Hesitancy

Just because you can grab it off a drugstore shelf doesn’t mean it’s harmless.

Claims checked 16

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Just because you can grab it off a drugstore shelf doesn’t mean it’s harmless.

Why it matters

As the US confronted a major resurgence of measles last year, poison control centers reported a sharp spike in calls involving children exposed to a widely available supplement.

Common ground

Around the same time, new research shows internet searches surged for whether that same vitamin could be used as an alternative treatment for the potentially deadly disease.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Vaccine Efficacy and Hesitancy story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that A 2005 study found that giving deficient children under age 2 a high-dose treatment after diagnosis reduced mortality?
How does this story connect Vaccine Efficacy and Hesitancy with Public Health vs. Alternative Treatments over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/06/health/poison-center-reports-rose-39-after-supplem…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 6

check_circle Corroborated 3

verified Verified By Reference 3

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info

Claim 1: “A 2005 study found that giving deficient children under age 2 a high-dose treatment after diagnosis reduced mortality”

SINGLE SOURCE

One web search result mentions that 200,000 IU of vitamin A reduced mortality from measles in children, but the evidence does not explicitly link this to a specific '2005 study' in a way that is corroborated by a second independent source. Another 2005 study mentioned is unrelated (psychology).

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web search NEUTRAL — a 2005 study by Seligman and colleagues published in American Psychologist.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-08033-003

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web search NEUTRAL — Limited experience of treatment with vitamin A for children with measles with the disease, therefore, may lead to lack of familiarity found that 200,000 IU of vitamin A on two consecutive with the gui…
https://www.readkong.com/page/call-to-action-vitamin-a-for-t…

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web search NEUTRAL — A controlled trial examining vitamin E and vitamin C supplementation in children with measles and pneumonia found that these vitamins did not improve clinical outcomes. No benefit was observed for fev…
https://vitamindwiki.com/pages/measles-treated-in-many-ways-…

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Claim 2: “data from America’s Poison Centers recorded 86 pediatric vitamin A exposures nationwide between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2025 — a 38.7% increase over the same period in 2024”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results (including a press release from America's Poison Centers and a report from MedPage Today) confirm that 86 pediatric vitamin A exposures were reported between Jan 1 and March 31, 2025, representing a 38.7% increase over 2024.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Adrienne Mayor (born (1946-04-22)April 22, 1946) is a historian of ancient science and a classical folklorist. Mayor specializes in ancient history and the study of "folk science", or how pre-scientif…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrienne_Mayor

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_poisoning

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 3: “search interest in vitamin A stayed relatively steady until Feb. 25, 2025, when it jumped 44% the next day and ultimately peaked at 100% by March 22”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided consists of general descriptions of Google and its services. There is no specific data regarding search interest percentages or dates for 'vitamin A' in 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Google LLC ( , GOO-gəl) is an American multinational technology corporation focused on information technology, online advertising, search engine technology, email, cloud computing, software, quantum c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Google+ (sometimes written as Google Plus, stylized as G+ or g+) was a social network owned and operated by Google until it ceased operations in 2019. The network was launched on June 28, 2011, in an …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google+

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gemini (also known as Google Gemini and formerly known as Bard) is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot and virtual assistant developed by Google. It is powered by the family of large language…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Gemini

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “Vitamin A is essential for vision, immune function, reproduction and cell health”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent health sources (Consumer, StatPearls/NCBI, and a general health guide) confirm that Vitamin A is essential for vision, immune function, reproduction, and cell health/differentiation.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 10, 2025 ... Vitamin A is important for normal vision, the immune system, reproduction, and growth and development. Vitamin A also helps your heart ...
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-Consumer/

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web search NEUTRAL — essential for vision, cellular differentiation, epithelial integrity, immune function, and gene regulation. Vitamin ... vitamin A in pediatric health.[20].
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482362/

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web search NEUTRAL — May 23, 2022 ... Vitamin A is essential for healthy vision, metabolism and cell ... It's an important factor in keeping your immune system and reproductive system ...
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23107-vitamin…

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Claim 5: “In 2025, there were 2,288 confirmed measles cases in the US, the highest total since 1991”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “Long-term overuse can lead to bone thinning, liver damage, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, skin irritation and joint pain”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 7: “Excess intake during pregnancy has also been linked to birth defects”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 8: “researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital examined Google search trends for “vitamin A and measles” and “cod liver and measles” from January through June 2025”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about the city of Boston and unrelated hospitals. There is no evidence mentioning a study by Boston Children's Hospital regarding Google search trends for vitamin A and measles in 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Butaro Hospital (Kinyarwanda: Ibitaro bya Butaro) is a hospital in Burera District, in the Northern Province of Rwanda. The hospital serves as the district hospital for Burera District and surroun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butaro_Hospital

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Danvers State Hospital, also known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, The Danvers Lunatic Asylum, and The Danvers State Insane Asylum, was a psychiatric hospital located in Danvers, Massach…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danvers_State_Hospital

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Robert D. Truog is an American bioethicist and pediatrician. He is the Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Medical Ethics, Anaesthesiology & Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, where he is also the Di…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Truog

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “Ninety-six percent occurred in people who were unvaccinated or had unknown or incomplete vaccination status”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 10: “Interest in cod liver oil and measles followed a similar pattern, peaking on March 5 at 52.6% relative search volume”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Similar to claim 1, the evidence only provides general information about Google Search and does not contain any specific data regarding 'cod liver oil and measles' search volumes.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Google Search (also known simply as Google or google.com) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search or ask for information by entering keywords or phrases on a website page or …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Search

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recently released a statement backing the administration of vitamin A under physician supervision as supportive care”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that the CDC released a statement indicating that vitamin A may be used under the supervision of a healthcare provider as supportive care for measles.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the national public health agency of the United States. CDC may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDC_(disambiguation)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — CDC NSW is a bus operator in New South Wales, Australia. It is an umbrella brand of ComfortDelGro Australia established in 2017 to cover the latter's New South Wales operations, some of which had been…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDC_NSW

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_an…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 12: “searches for vitamin A ran 7.5 percentage points higher than projected, while cod liver oil searches were 1.3 percentage points above expectations”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists of definitions of the word 'following' and unrelated films/TV shows. There is no data regarding search projections for vitamin A or cod liver oil.

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web search NEUTRAL — Following is a 1998 British independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, produced, directed, photographed, and edited by Christopher Nolan in his feature film directorial debut.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Following

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web search NEUTRAL — The Following is an American crime thriller television series created by Kevin Williamson, and jointly produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Following

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 5, 2026 · The meaning of FOLLOWING is being next in order or time. How to use following in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/following

schedule

Claim 13: “2,030 cases already reported in the first six months [of 2026]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 14: “MMR vaccination rates among US kindergarteners have fallen below the 95% threshold needed to prevent community spread of the virus”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 15: “in the US, vitamin A deficiency is rare, according to the National Institutes of Health”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

help

Claim 16: “a single large dose can trigger nausea, vomiting, vertigo and blurry vision, according to the Mayo Clinic”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.