On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seemed to minimize the severity of the measles outbreak. It further resulted in the death of a school-age child in West Texas. Katherine Wells, director of public health at the Lubbock, Texas, confirmed that the child had not been vaccinated against measles.
Significantly, the child became the first in the U.S. to die from the disease in a decade. Moreover, the Texas measles outbreak has infected at least 124 people, primarily children, in rural West Texas.
Rising Cases Of The Measles Outbreak
The outbreak leads to the first measles death in the U.S. The last death had been reported in 2015, when a woman in Washington state passed away. According to a Tuesday update from the Texas Department of Health Services, the confirmed cases of the outbreak are 124. Significantly, an increase of 34 since late last week. The majority of those affected are children between the ages of 5 and 17.
Statements From Healthcare Authorities
The public health experts are so far not silent on the rising cases of measles outbreak. Kennedy, during a meeting with President Donald Trump’s cabinet at the White House, stated:
“We are following the measles epidemic every day. Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year. In this country last year there were 16. So, it’s not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year.”
Kennedy also highlighted that eighteen people have been hospitalized so far in the outbreak. All have been unvaccinated. Furthermore, he stated that hospitalizations were “mainly for quarantine”. It is to be noted that local health officials told CNN most patients were admitted for respiratory issues.
From Amy Thompson and Dr. Lara Johnson
The statement from Amy Thompson, CEO of Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, where the child died also came forward:
“We have had so many kids coming in and then obviously we were not prepared. Probably so early in what we are seeing to have a death.”
Dr. Lara Johnson, a pediatrician and chief medical officer at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, also highlighted major points. She stated that hospitalized patients were admitted due to breathing difficulties and required supportive care, including supplemental oxygen.
It is further to be noted that The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 18 hospitalizations. The number of measles deaths still appears to be lagging.
Details About Measles Vaccine
The CDC and the Texas Department of State Health Services further informed genotype testing to the D8 strain of measles. None of the tested samples have been linked to the vaccine or declining vaccination rates. According to the CDC, measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 due to the widespread use of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Health authorities have highlighted that two doses of the measles vaccine are 97% effective at preventing the disease. Most U.S. children receive them as recommended by the CDC—one dose around age 1 and another at about age 5. However, with rising vaccine skeptics, fewer children are being immunized. In 2023, the percentage of kindergarteners with vaccine exemptions reached a record high of 3%, according to the CDC.
