The measles outbreak in the United States continues to swell and get worse as a second unvaccinated school-aged child in West Texas died from the illness related to the disease.
According to a report by the Associated Press, the child was “receiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalized” and did not have underlying health conditions. Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for UMC Health System in Lubbock, Texas, quoted in the AP report, declined to say which day the child died.
The US has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.
The latest death did not feature in either the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the Texas State Department of State Health Services reports that were issued on Friday.
Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the CDC. The first shot is recommended for children ages 12 to 15 months, and the second for ages 4 to 6 years.
The measles outbreak in the United States
The latest death of an unvaccinated school-age child in Lubbock, Texas, is the second in the area since February, when another child died of the ailment. It was the first measles death in the US in a decade. In early March, an adult in New Mexico who was unvaccinated and did not seek medical care became the second measles-related death.
More than two months in, the West Texas outbreak is believed to have spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas, sickening nearly 570 people, according to the Associated Press. The World Health Organization (WHO) also reported cases related to Texas in Mexico.
The number of cases in Texas shot up by 81 between March 28 and April 4, and 16 more people were hospitalized. A CDC team is on the ground in Texas assisting with the outbreak response.
Experts and local health officials expect the outbreak to go on for several more months, if not a year. In West Texas, the vast majority of cases are in unvaccinated people and children younger than 17.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has delivered a message on the importance of vaccination against measles, saying it should be encouraged. The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine has been used safely for more than 60 years and is 97 percent effective against measles after two doses, according to an AP report.
Misinformation about how to prevent and treat measles is hindering a robust public health response, including claims about vitamin A supplements that have been pushed by Kennedy and holistic medicine supporters despite doctors’ warnings that it should be given under a physician’s orders and that too much can be dangerous.
Former FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said responsibility for the death rests with Kennedy and his staff. Marks was reportedly forced out of the FDA after disagreements with Kennedy over vaccine safety.
“This is the epitome of an absolute needless death. These kids should get vaccinated — that’s how you prevent people from dying of measles,” Marks told AP in an interview.
Kennedy is expected to launch a Make America Healthy Again tour across the southwestern United States in the coming week.
