At least 24 cases of measles have been identified in Gaines County, Texas, according to the state's Department of State Health Services (DSHS). This announcement comes with a warning of potential additional cases due to the highly infectious nature of the disease.
Notably, none of the 24 individuals infected had received the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Among the infected, two are adults, while the remaining 22 are children. Nine patients required hospitalization due to the severity of their symptoms.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. vaccination rates for measles have been declining in recent years. Experts link the recent measles outbreaks to an increase in parents seeking exemptions from childhood vaccinations. This trend follows political backlash to coronavirus restrictions and widespread misinformation about vaccine safety, as reported by The Washington Post.
The outbreak is concentrated in a small county in West Texas, which has a population of approximately 22,500 people. DSHS data reveals that over 3 percent of K-12 students in Gaines County held a conscientious exemption for at least one vaccine in the 2023-2024 school year, marking the highest bracket recorded by the Texas DSHS. The Associated Press reported that 14 percent of school-age children in the county had an exemption for at least one vaccine, one of the highest rates in Texas.
Even a minor reduction in vaccination rates can significantly increase the risk of an outbreak. Measles can easily spread in communities where vaccination rates fall below 95 percent, according to the CDC. Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, tiny white spots known as Koplik spots, and a measles rash resembling small raised bumps or flat red spots.
In the three schools tracked by the DSHS during the 2023-24 school year, the highest MMR vaccination rate among kindergarten-age students was approximately 94.3 percent, while the lowest was about 46.2 percent. A sample of seventh-graders at the same school showed an MMR vaccination rate of roughly 55.6 percent.
Measles can cause severe illness and death, with children under five being the most vulnerable, according to the CDC. Before the vaccine became available in 1963, measles resulted in an estimated 400 to 500 deaths annually in the United States, with about 48,000 hospitalizations each year. Government-sponsored immunization campaigns significantly reduced the number of cases, leading to the declaration of measles elimination in the United States by 2000.
A 2023 CDC report highlighted that measles vaccinations prevented approximately 57 million deaths worldwide between 2000 and 2022. However, a decline in childhood immunizations during the coronavirus pandemic led to an 18 percent increase in estimated measles cases and a 43 percent rise in estimated deaths in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Former President Donald Trump, known for his skepticism towards vaccines, has a mixed record on the subject. His choice for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has a history of disseminating vaccine misinformation. During the recent election cycle, Trump promised to cut federal funding for schools requiring vaccines. Last month, he issued an executive order to reinstate U.S. service members dismissed for refusing coronavirus vaccines, describing it as "correcting an injustice."
