Second child dies in Texas measles outbreak聽
A second Texas child died from measles April 3 amid an ongoing outbreak in the state, the Texas Department of State Health Services April 6. The child was not vaccinated and had no reported underlying conditions, the agency said. The latest death follows a child that died Feb. 26. An unvaccinated adult in New Mexico that died in also tested positive for measles after their death, but measles was not confirmed as the official cause of death. As of April 4, there have been 481 confirmed cases of measles in Texas since late January, with most occurring in children.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention April 4 announced there were 607 confirmed cases across the nation so far this year, with the vaccination status of 97% of cases classified as "unvaccinated or unknown."
In a posted on X, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is 鈥渢he most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.鈥 The CDC in March deployed officials to Texas to assist local efforts on the outbreak, and Kennedy said yesterday that CDC officials have been redeployed to the state.