State health officials said at least 58 measles have been reported across northwest Texas, and it occurred on Tuesday in a “very contagious” outbreak linked to a lack of vaccinations.
The majority of these new cases in rural northwest Texas are in Gaines County, with 45 documented illness cases documented, according to the Texas Department of Health.
According to the state, in the past three weeks, nine cases have come from Terry County, two from Yoakum County and one each from Lubbock and Linn counties.
At least four patients had been vaccinated, but “resting is not vaccinated or the vaccination status is unknown,” the health department said.
Most of the infections are school-age children, with 13 hospitalized.
More cases are expected.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of the disease, there is a high possibility that additional cases will occur in Gaines County and surrounding communities,” state health officials said. “DSHS is working with the South Plains Public Health District and Lubbock Public Health to investigate the outbreak.”
The Republican-controlled US Senate last week confirmed longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services.
He was particularly critical of the measles-mumpsulvera (MMR) vaccine, a vaccine that is linked based on autism.
A U.S. Health Service official could not immediately contact us Tuesday for comment.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor with Louisiana’s eastern neighbor, urged Texans to get a measles vaccine “which has been proven safe and effective since 1963.”
Cassidy’s statement on Tuesday was predictably ocked by online people who pointed out that it provided an important vote in favor of Kennedy’s confirmation.
