- A second child has died from a worsening measles outbreak spreading through West Texas. A measles case killed a child in February, marking the first death from the disease in a decade, followed by an adult in March.
- The current outbreak has infected roughly 570 people in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas, while additional cases in Mexico have been linked to Texas.
- The total number of cases is now more than double what the U.S. experienced in all of 2024.
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A second child has died from a worsening measles outbreak that’s spreading through Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. The child, who was not vaccinated, was reportedly “receiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalized,” according to The Associated Press.
Texas identifies nearly 500 cases this year
While a spokesperson for UMC Health System in Lubbock, Texas, declined to say when the child died, the death was not included in measles reports Friday, April 4, issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Texas State Department of State Health Services.
According to the Texas State Health Services bulletin published Friday, 481 cases have been identified in the state since late January, resulting in 56 hospitalizations.
The death follows another measles case that killed a child in Lubbock in February, marking the first U.S. death due to measles in a decade. An unvaccinated adult in New Mexico also died from the disease in early March.
West Texas’ measles outbreak spreads
The current outbreak, which began more than two months ago in West Texas, has infected nearly 570 people across the region, including in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. The World Health Organization reports that cases from Texas have also been linked to some in Mexico.
The total number of cases is now more than double what the U.S. experienced in all of 2024, according to The AP. Between March 28 and April 4, an additional 81 cases were reported alongside 16 hospitalizations.
The White House offers conflicting guidance
Health officials worry that under the leadership of longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who heads the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. could lose its status as having eradicated the disease.
Amid the outbreak, Kennedy has touted the importance of the measles vaccine while simultaneously stressing that the choice to vaccinate is a personal one. He has also continued to cast doubt on their safety and efficacy, and announced plans to launch a study investigating the link between vaccines and autism –– a link that has been widely debunked by the scientific community.
An article entitled “Measles Outbreak is Call to Action for All of Us” that was published on the HHS website March 3 has since been taken down. A CDC statement on the measles outbreak published Feb. 27 is still available, and states that “Vaccination remains the best defense against measles infection.”
The statement goes on to read that “Supportive care, including vitamin A administration under the direction of a physician, may be appropriate.” However, children in West Texas have recently been treated for vitamin A toxicity following their measles hospitalizations.
Top FDA vaccine specialist resigns
Kennedy’s views recently led to the resignation of Dr. Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine specialist. Marks cited the HHS secretary’s “misinformation and lies” in his decision to step down.
According to Texas’ data, an overwhelming number of the state’s measles cases are in unvaccinated children under the age of 17.
“This is the epitome of an absolute needless death,” Marks told The AP in an interview Sunday, April 6. “These kids should get vaccinated — that’s how you prevent people from dying of measles.”
On Saturday, Kennedy was reportedly planning a trip to Texas. He has also been asked to testify before the Senate health committee on Thursday, April 10.