Just a brief update this time.
Texas’ measles outbreak has grown to 223 cases, the state reported Tuesday morning.
The outbreak began in Gaines County, near the New Mexico border. The reported cases have not spread outside of West Texas and the Panhandle, according to Tuesday’s report.
The state’s case count is still rapidly growing, up from 198 reported on Friday.
A total of 29 people in Texas have been hospitalized, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. One unvaccinated child has died, in the U.S.‘s first reported measles death in a decade.
The Texas count does not include measles cases from a New Mexico county that borders Gaines County. On Friday, New Mexico reported 30 measles cases and one death connected to the outbreak.
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The vast majority of Texas’ confirmed measles cases have been among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
State numbers show that, of the 223 confirmed cases, 80 were among unvaccinated people, 138 were among people whose vaccination status is unknown and five were among vaccinated people.
See here for the previous update. I may go back at some point and make a graph so we can see the growth of reported cases over time, but the main thing to remember is that this has all happened in about a month and a half. The first DSHS alert was from January 30, and we’ve gone from two cases in Gaines County to the 223 in Texas plus 30 in New Mexico since then. There’s no reason to think we’ve peaked.
There is one bit of good news in all this: Lots of people are getting vaccinated as a result of this outbreak.
Doctors warn that the highly contagious viral disease, once nearly eradicated, has made a resurgence due to declining herd immunity over the years. However, the current outbreak has prompted a significant increase in vaccine demand.
“We initially ordered up and doubled our quantity in stock, and then it became difficult to get,” said Angela Solis, director of clinical services at Lamar Plaza Drug Store.
“The demand is there. It’s being given to adults who don’t know their vaccine status, and it’s being given early before the recommended schedule now because of the outbreak.”
Some pharmacies across Texas have reported temporary shortages of the measles vaccine due to increased demand. However, larger pharmacy chains like CVS say they still have doses in stock as they work to meet the growing need.
State health officials continue to urge Texans to check their vaccination status and get immunized to help curb the outbreak.
As a reminder, you can just get the shot if you want to. There’s basically no risk. The risk is in not being vaccinated.
The outbreak is spreading now, as spring break travel is ramping up and the Houston Rodeo is drawing millions of visitors. That means the risk of transmission in our community is growing by the day. Experts are now warning unvaccinated people in our community — including babies who aren’t eligible for the measles vaccine until they reach 12 to 15 months — to avoid large crowds.
It is unacceptable that parents of young babies — who should be enjoying their first months and introducing them to the world — are now forced to live in fear of a virus that their grandparents defeated. It’s even more unacceptable that this virus is being enabled by an equally dangerous threat: misinformation.
Vaccine misinformation has been spreading for years, and during the COVID pandemic it exploded. Social media became a breeding ground for confusion; a single misleading post can reach millions before the truth has a chance to catch up. Well-intentioned parents, overwhelmed with conflicting messages, started questioning long-settled science. And instead of turning to doctors, scientists and public health experts, they were pulled into echo chambers that magnified their doubts, turning concern into fear.
Misinformation spreads like a virus. And as it has climbed, so has vaccine hesitancy.
In only a few years, our measles vaccination rates have dropped. Just six years ago, Houston-area kindergartners had a 97% vaccination rate. Last year, it had fallen to 94.5% — just below the threshold needed to prevent outbreaks. In some communities, the numbers are even worse. In Alief ISD, the vaccination rate has dropped below 85%. That’s not just a statistic — that’s an open door for measles to spread.
It angers me to see people, many in positions of power, stoke the flames of misinformation to build a following or push an agenda. But the truth is, the vast majority of parents who haven’t vaccinated their kids aren’t making a political statement. They’re making choices out of fear rooted in love for their children.
As a mom, I understand that instinct all too well. But as a former teacher and a public servant, I must tell the truth — misinformation is killing our kids, and it has to stop.
The truth is that the measles vaccine isn’t new. It’s not experimental. It has been around for more than 60 years, and it has saved millions of lives. The science is not in question. The only question is whether we will act in time to stop further spread.
If only it were that easy. Anti-vaxxers are gonna anti-vaxx. And when they do get sick, they go to quacks.
Inside the building — a “barndominium” in West Texas parlance — there’s a handful of tables and chairs set up. Sick families, mostly Mennonite, sit in a makeshift waiting room on the far left, and Dr. Ben Edwards is at a table on the far right.
One by one, families are called over to meet with the doctor.
Edwards asks about their diet and nutritional intake but does not do bloodwork to look at levels of specific vitamins or nutrients. Based on the conversations with the parents and the child, he decides whether the patient might benefit from cod liver oil, which is high in vitamins A and D. Bottles of the product — offered at no charge — line tables in the room.
If kids are having significant trouble breathing, Edwards recommends budesonide, an inhaled steroid typically used for asthma.
He does not offer vaccines.
Gaines County, where Seminole sits, has one of the state’s highest vaccine exemption rates, at nearly 18%, compared to 3% nationally. The embrace of unproven remedies shows that many members of the community are also eschewing conventional medical approaches.
“We need to help these kids out,” said Edwards, a family physician based an hour away in the city of Lubbock. Part of that help, he said, is by supplying kids and their families with cod liver oil and nutrition information, “like Bobby Kennedy is trying to do.”
Edwards is, of course, referring to newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s been vocal against proven medical practice. He’s encouraged vitamins and cod-liver oil over vaccination and isolation to control the outbreak.
There’s no antiviral or cure for measles. Kids sick enough to be hospitalized are often given oxygen to help with their breathing. Studies done in other countries have suggested that vitamin A may be helpful in treating malnourished children with the disease. There’s no credible evidence to suggest cod liver oil is effective.
Though doctors here can administer vitamin A for measles, it’s typically used for severe cases in the hospital. Most people in the U.S. have normal levels of the vitamin and don’t need extra.
Too much can be toxic, said Dr. Ronald Cook, chief health officer at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock and health authority for the city. “Before I’d give mega doses of vitamin A, I would certainly get a vitamin A level” in the blood, he said.
Any messaging suggesting that vitamin A, including cod liver oil, could be an alternative to vaccination is “misleading,” said Dr. David Higgins, a pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. “The goal is to prevent measles from ever occurring. Every single illness, hospitalization and death [from measles] is entirely preventable with vaccines.”
Yeah, vitamin A. You’ll be shocked to learn that this particular doctor, who was sadly trained in Houston, “sells dietary supplements, blood tests, and $35-a-month membership plans for access to his online education materials”. Because of course he does.