A fast spreading measles outbreak in West Texas has forced the closure of some private schools. In their haste to stop the spread of this extremely deadly virus, local health agencies are overburdened, putting other crucial tasks on hold.
As of February 21, the Texas Health Department has recorded 90 cases and 16 hospitalizations since the outbreak began three weeks ago. The majority of affected people are younger than 18. Authorities believe that the Texas outbreak is connected to nine more measles cases that were recorded in New Mexico, which is over the border from Gaines County, where the Texas outbreak originated. Current research aims to validate that relationship.
Health officials are concerned that they are overlooking cases. Communities are at risk from undetected diseases because medical professionals and authorities cannot stop the spread of the infection if they are unable to identify the affected person.
According to Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer for The Immunization Partnership in Houston, a nonprofit organization that promotes vaccine availability, this is just the beginning. This is going to get much worse before it gets better, in my opinion.
According to Katherine Wells, the public health director in Lubbock, Texas, an undetermined percentage of parents might not be bringing their ill children to clinics for testing. Some people might keep their children at home if they are responding to fever reducers and you are staying hydrated, she said.
The majority of unvaccinated individuals will get measles if they come into contact with the airborne virus, which can persist indoors for up to two hours. Before they exhibit symptoms, those who are afflicted can transmit the illness. Approximately 1 in 5 measles patients require hospitalization, 1 in 10 kids get ear infections that can cause irreversible hearing loss, and 1 in 1,000 kids pass away from neurological and respiratory diseases.
A sizable portion of Gaines’ population is Mennonite, who frequently refuse vaccines. In an interview with Texas Standard, Albert Pilkington, CEO of the downtown Seminole Hospital District, stated, “We respect everyone’s right to get vaccinated or not get vaccinated.” Isn’t that the essence of being an American?
By bringing parents of unvaccinated children to pop-up clinics that provide measles vaccinations, local health officials have been attempting to encourage parents to protect their children.
According to Wells, some individuals who were hesitant to get vaccinated because they believed that their children wouldn’t be exposed to measles are changing their minds and coming forward.
In an effort to identify diseases before they spread, local health agencies are also running mobile testing units outside of schools. Clinics that can offer preventative therapy to newborns exposed to the virus but too young for vaccination are being staffed. In addition to teaching school nurses how to recognize the disease’s symptoms, local health officials are offering advice to daycare facilities on how to safeguard infants and young children.
Wells stated, “I am dedicating 75% of my staff to this outbreak.” People who are afflicted have sought treatment in Lubbock, despite the fact that it is not the epicenter of the outbreak. If an infected person was present in the [emergency room], we must identify all patients within two hours of the visit, notify them, and determine if they received a vaccination.
Rural communities’ local health departments are frequently underfunded. According to Wells, other programs, like one that teaches people about substance misuse, have had to be put on hold due to the workload.
As of last year, health officials were advising schools to keep unvaccinated children at home for 21 days if they shared a classroom or the cafeteria with someone who was infected, according to Zach Holbrooks, executive director of the South Plains Public Health District, which includes Gaines. This implies that many parents could have to take care of their children by staying at home after work.
Due to a large number of ill students, many private schools have had to close, according to Holbrooks.
As measles spreads, the burden of outbreaks increases. In addition to $76,000 in medical expenses and an estimated $1 million in economic losses from illness, quarantines, and caring, containing a 2018 outbreak in Washington state with 72 cases cost roughly $2.3 million.
Due to numerous laws that are either pending or have recently been passed in the United States that allow parents to exempt their children from vaccination requirements at public and some private schools, public health researchers anticipate that these outbreaks will grow in size and frequency.
These practices are combined with false information regarding kid vaccinations that is currently being spread at the highest governmental levels. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly appointed director of the Department of Health and Human Services, has mistakenly linked vaccines to autism by citing discredited beliefs that have been refuted by over a dozen scientific studies.
HHS postponed a crucial meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices during Kennedy’s first week of work, with no indication of when it would resume. Additionally, the CDC no longer has the letter template on its website that advised school principals to keep unvaccinated children home from school for 21 days if they have been exposed to the measles virus. There is still an older version available in its archive.
Generally speaking, a community cannot be considered fully protected unless at least 95% of its members are vaccinated against measles. This barrier is sufficiently high to protect children who are too young to receive the vaccination, anyone who are unable to receive it due to medical conditions, and anyone who does not develop a robust, long-lasting immune response to it. According to the CDC, more kindergarteners were excluded from a vaccination requirement last school year than ever before.
Exemptions in Gaines were close to 20% in 2023–2024, which was significantly more than the national average. One of the lowest childhood immunization rates in Texas is found in Gaines. Just 46% of kindergarteners in a nearby public school district in the Loop community have received measles vaccinations.
Texas lawmakers have introduced roughly 25 legislation this year that could further restrict vaccination in the midst of an outbreak that shows the toll of measles in areas of America that are undervaccinated. According to Lakshmanan, the majority of people who think that getting vaccinated against measles is beneficial should speak with their representatives about the risks involved in making such decisions.Resources to become involved are provided by her group and others.
She mentioned pending laws that will reduce vaccination rates, saying, “We have kids winding up in the hospital, and yet lawmakers who have their blinders on.” It’s simply astounding.
