Child Dies of Measles During Recent Outbreak in Texas and New Mexico
A school-aged child has died from measles in West Texas, marking the first measles-related death in the United States in a decade. The child, who was not vaccinated against the disease, was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles.
The Texas Department of State Health Services and Lubbock health officials confirmed the death to The Associated Press. The child wasn’t identified but was treated at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, though the facility noted the patient didn’t live in Lubbock County.“This is a big deal,” Dr. Amy Thompson, a pediatrician and chief executive officer of Covenant Health, said Wednesday at a news conference. “We have known that we have measles in our community, and we are now seeing a very serious consequence.”
The Texas outbreak is believed to have started in a rural Mennonite community with low vaccination rates.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported on Tuesday that it was aware of 124 cases diagnosed since the outbreak began in early January, up from 90 cases on Friday. Almost all cases – 101 – were in patients 17 and younger.The US declared measles “eliminated” in 2000, but the country has seen outbreaks in recent years amid a rise in anti-vaccine sentiment. The last US measles death was in 2015, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America.The current outbreak is centred in north-western Texas, with measles also recently found across the state’s border in New Mexico, as well as Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York City and Rhode Island, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).Currently, there are nine cases reported in New Mexico, four of whom are children.
The press has been quick to proclaim that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy is not taking the outbreak seriously. This was the leade to an NBC piece on the subject.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday appeared to downplay the seriousness of the West Texas measles outbreak that has killed a school-age child.
Perhaps the press is unhappy that Kennedy brought up that measles outbreaks have occurred in recent history.
Let’s examine the numbers during the Biden years. The number of measles cases in the United States has varied significantly since 2020: From 2020 to 2024, 338 confirmed measles cases were reported.
I don’t recall the press harping on Biden’s HHS head, Xavier Beccera, about these cases.
It is also important to note that the case fatality rate in developed countries is around 0.1% to 0.3%. In countries with less advanced and robust healthcare systems and a malnourished population, that rate can be as high as 28%.
Therefore, as sad as it is, death is a potential consequence of an infection…though most people do recover and enjoy natural immunity. Death from measles is usually the result of pneumonia.
There are no specific details about the child who succumbed to the disease. There are a number of individual factors that do not include Secretary Kennedy. Risk factors include:
- Poor nutrition.
- Children under 9 months and those between 9 months to 5 years have higher odds of mortality.
- Co-infection with other diseases.
- Hospital-acquired infection.
- Comorbidities
The resurgence of measles coincides with growing vaccine hesitancy, particularly concerning the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine. The consequence of COVID vaccine mandates means people are reconsidering the safety of all vaccines…and that isn’t Kennedy’s fault either.
Parents can decide what is best for their children while appreciating the risk factors and realizing that 99.7-99.9% of people recover within 2-3 weeks of infection.
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