Texas’s largest measles outbreak in 30 years is spreading near the state’s western border. As of Wednesday, one person has died, according to the Associated Press. More than 15 people are understood to be hospitalized, and about 100 have been infected.
Doctors and immunologists are carefully watching the outbreak of the disease, which can be fatal in some cases, and urging people to be mindful of whom they’re around and keep up with their vaccination schedules. These steps are particularly important for people of color, who are more likely to have the kinds of chronic illnesses that make a measles infection more difficult to recover from.
The outbreak is mostly young people: 51 cases are in children ages 5-17, and another 26 are in four-year-olds and under. Only five of the sick individuals have received the measles vaccine — which newly confirmed Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has notoriously attacked, ABC News reports.
A separate hotspot of nine measles cases is growing in nearby New Mexico, per the outlet.
In 2024, 285 cases of the disease were diagnosed nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Measles symptoms include those of the common cold, followed by a non-itchy rash. The rash is sometimes only depicted on white skin, where it is bright and red, but on Black and Brown skin it is often a darker purple and can be harder to see, Dr. Kevin Fenton, president of the U.K. Faculty of Public Health, explains on Instagram.
The illness is highly contagious and can survive in the air for over two hours. Plus, it can pose serious complications, especially for children, including pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death, PBS explains.
Before the development of vaccines, about 3 to 4 million Americans contracted the disease, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 400-500 died each year, CDC data indicate.
However, the disease is now easily avoidable with a pair of vaccines first developed in the 1960s. What once infected millions of people each year now only reaches about 200, thanks to the vaccine. Contrary to common disinformation, it does not give children autism, nor is it medically dangerous, as Kennedy falsely claimed during a devastating outbreak in Samoa in 2018.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that at least 95% of a community be vaccinated to achieve “herd immunity.” Still, immunization rates are declining nationwide, as more parents seek exemptions for their kids. In Gaines County, the epicenter of the Texas measles outbreak, vaccination rates have slipped down to 80%, making the area more susceptible to an outbreak like this one, NPR reports.
Vaccine exemptions filed for kindergarteners in Gaines County also rose to 17.5% in 2023, one of the highest in Texas. Additional children may be unvaccinated since that figure does not include homeschoolers.
Yet immunization uptake also varies by population. According to 2023 data, the percentage of Black adolescents who had a full measles vaccine by age 17 was 92.9%. Meanwhile, 89.9% of Latino teenagers, 93.0% of Asian American teenagers, and 79.3% of Native teenagers were fully covered, The Office of Minority Health reports.
Measles might have once sounded antiquated, but these resurgences are becoming more frequent. A Chicago measles outbreak in 2024 spread to 60 people, and in 2019, the nation saw a three-decade peak in caseloads, PBS reports.
That means it’s as good a time as ever to ensure you and your family are safe from a measles outbreak. The first step health officials recommend is to protect children with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. It typically comes in two shots, one as infants and the other as toddlers. Combined, the two doses are 97% effective.
It’s also wise for certain adults to get the shots — even if they have already — because anyone vaccinated before 1968 received a less effective version of the vaccine. However, those born before 1957 are considered immune because they likely had measles as a child, NPR explains.
Vaccination clinics are underway in both Texas and New Mexico as officials try to curb the outbreak. Health workers are also working on educational campaigns within Texas schools to boost immunization rates, according to PBS.
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