Vaccines An ‘Option’ Amid Deadly Measles Outbreak, HHS Chief Says
“The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote after suggesting the use of vitamin A as a treatment. Measles has no approved antiviral treatment. Studies have found the MMR vaccine is safe and effective. Meanwhile, vaccine resistance hardens in Texas as measles cases grow.
CNN:
As Measles Outbreak Grows, HHS Secretary Says Vaccination Is A Personal Decision That Can Protect Individuals And Communities
As a measles outbreak in Texas has grown to nearly 150 cases, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an opinion piece on Fox News on Sunday that parents should consult with health-care providers “to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine” for their children. Kennedy did not explicitly recommend the vaccine, but said the outbreak was a “call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health.” (Kounang, 3/2)
ABC News:
Texas Measles Outbreak Grows To 146 Cases, Children And Teens Most Impacted
The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 146, according to new data released Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, with 79 unvaccinated and 62 of unknown status. At least 20 people have been hospitalized so far, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Just five cases have occurred in people vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. (Kekatos, 2/28)
The Washington Post:
Amid Texas’s Measles Outbreak, Vaccine Resistance Hardens In Seminole
When the local hospital warned of a brewing measles outbreak, Kaleigh Brantner urged fellow residents of this rural West Texas community to beware of vaccinating their children. Two weeks later, her unvaccinated 7-year-old son came home from school with a fever. The telltale rash across his body followed. But his mild symptoms and swift recovery only hardened Brantner’s anti-vaccination convictions, even after an unvaccinated child died of measles at a hospital 80 miles away. (Nirappil and Gordon, 3/2)
The New York Times:
In Texas Measles Outbreak, Signs Of A Riskier Future For Children
Every day, as Dr. Wendell Parkey enters his clinic in Seminole, a small city on the rural western edge of Texas, he announces his arrival to the staff with an anthem pumping loudly through speakers. As the song reaches a climax, he throws up an arm and strikes a pose in cowboy boots. “Y’all ready to stomp out disease?” he asks. Recently, the question has taken on a dark urgency. Seminole Memorial Hospital, where Dr. Parkey has practiced for nearly three decades, has found itself at the center of the largest measles outbreak in the United States since 2019. (Rosenbluth, 2/28)
NBC News:
What To Know About Using Vitamin A To Support Measles Recovery As Texas Outbreak Spreads
More than one month into a major measles outbreak in western Texas that has sickened 146 people and killed one school-age child, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its first public statement and it highlighted a therapy that has raised some eyebrows among infectious disease experts. “Measles does not have a specific antiviral treatment,” read the statement, which was posted only on X on Thursday night. “Supportive care, including vitamin A administration under the direction of a physician, may be appropriate.” (Dunn, 2/28)
