A second school-age child in Texas has died from measles amid a fast-growing, multistate outbreak that now totals more than 600 cases nationally.
Texas' Department of State Health Services reported Sunday that a school-aged child who tested positive for measles was hospitalized in Lubbock and passed away Thursday from what the child’s doctors described as measles pulmonary failure. The child was not vaccinated and had no reported underlying conditions, state officials reported.
The ongoing outbreak is centered in Texas' South Plains region. In late February, state health officials confirmed the death of an unvaccinated school-age child in west Texas. At the time, it was the first fatality from measles in the U.S. since 2015. This marks the third known measles-related death tied to this outbreak. An adult in New Mexico also is suspected of having died from measles, multiple media outlets reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Friday that as of April 3, there are a total of 607 confirmed measles cases reported by 22 jurisdictions. NBC News pegged the total number of cases at 628.
In Texas alone, 481 cases of measles have been confirmed in the outbreak since late January, Texas' health department reported. "Most of the cases are in children. Fifty-six people have been hospitalized over the course of the outbreak," state officials said.
The Texas outbreak began in a small Mennonite community near Lubbock and has since spread.
"Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness, which can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus. During a measles outbreak, about one in five children who get sick will need hospital care and one in 20 will develop pneumonia. Rarely, measles can lead to swelling of the brain and death. It can also cause pregnancy complications, such as premature birth and babies with low birth weight," Texas health officials said in a statement.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the head of the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said in an X post Sunday that there are 642 confirmed cases of measles across 22 states, 499 of those in Texas.
The New York Times reported that RFK Jr., the nation's top public health official, traveled to Texas this weekend and attended the funeral of the 8-year-old girl who died of measles.
In a post on X, RFK Jr. wrote, "I came to Gaines County, Texas, today to comfort the Hildebrand family after the loss of their 8-year-old daughter Daisy. I got to know the family of 6-year-old Kayley Fehr after she passed away in February. I also developed bonds with and deep affection for other members of this community during that difficult time. My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief."
He said he also traveled to Texas to support state health officials and "to learn how our HHS agencies can better partner with them to control the measles outbreak," he said.
"The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine," said RFK Jr., representing his most direct remarks to date supporting vaccines.
A longtime critic of well-established vaccines, RFK Jr. has resisted urging widespread vaccinations as the measles outbreak has worsened. In the past, RFK Jr. opposed vaccine mandates for COVID-19 and promoted the disproven claim that childhood immunizations can cause autism. Under his watch, the CDC also plans to investigate the debunked link between vaccines and autism.
The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine has been used safely for more than 60 years and is 97% effective against measles after two doses.
In early March, RFK Jr. deployed a CDC team to bolster local and state capacity for response across multiple Texas regions, supply pharmacies and Texas run clinics with needed MMR vaccines and other medicines and medical supplies, he said in his X post.
Under his leadership, the HHS also is working with local schools and healthcare facilities to support contact investigations, and to reach out to communities, including faith leaders, to answer any questions or respond to locations seeking healthcare.
"Since that time, the growth rates for new cases and hospitalizations have flattened," RFK Jr. claimed.
Public health experts are sounding the alarm about the outbreak and warn that communities with low immunization rates are at greatest risk for further spread of the disease.
Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., who is a physician, called Sunday for stronger messaging from top health officials.
"Everyone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No benefit to getting measles. Top health officials should say so unequivocally b/4 another child dies," Cassidy wrote on X.
Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., the Food and Drug Administration’s former vaccine chief, criticized RFK Jr.'s handling of the outbreak. "This is the epitome of an absolute needless death,” Marks told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday. “These kids should get vaccinated—that’s how you prevent people from dying of measles.”
RFK Jr.’s response to the outbreak has been “abysmal,” Paul Offit, M.D., the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN.
Offit highlighted the secretary’s history of decrying vaccines and minimizing the risk of measles.
“The disease has returned because a critical percentage of parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children, in large part because of misinformation provided by people like RFK Jr,” he said, as CNN reported.
Michelle Au, M.D., a physician and member of Georgia's House of Representatives, wrote on X: "Some are praising RFK Jr. for accurately noting 'the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.' That’s not enough. He needs to state plainly that the MMR is safe, and that unvaccinated patients should receive it."
Public health officials are working to combat the measles outbreak even as the Trump administration makes massive cuts to the HHS and the CDC.
As part of an effort by the Department of Government Efficiency and RFK Jr., the health divisions cut their workforces by 10,000 people last week. The cuts only further the agency's downsizing efforts, as seen by previous early retirement, buyout and probationary firings at the HHS and across the federal government.
RFK Jr. told reporters April 3 that the HHS estimated 2,000, or 20%, of the recent job cuts at the department were done in error, adding reinstatements were "always part of the plan."
Measles can be transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes, according to the Texas department of health. People who are infected will begin to have symptoms within a week or two after being exposed. Early symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. A few days later, the telltale rash breaks out as flat, red spots on the face and then spreads down the neck and trunk to the rest of the body. A person is contagious about four days before the rash appears to four days after. People who could have measles should stay home during that period.
Texas state health officials and the CDC recommend children receive one dose of MMR at 12 to 15 months of age and another at 4 to 6 years. Children too young to be vaccinated are more likely to have severe complications if they get infected with the measles virus. However, each MMR dose lowers the risk of infection and the severity of illness if infected.