Measles Outbreak Hits Texas Day Care

A measles outbreak is expanding in West Texas, affecting a day care facility with multiple cases, including children too young to be fully vaccinated. As of Tuesday, 505 cases had been reported in the outbreak area, which now covers 10 counties, the AP reports. It began in late January and has spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Mexico. Three unvaccinated individuals, including two elementary school-aged children, have died in Texas. President Trump's controversial health secretary, the famously anti-vaccine Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said Sunday that the outbreak's curve is flattening, but ABC News reports the data shows cases are continuing to increase. Kennedy attended the funeral of the second child killed by the virus.

Seven cases at the day care have been linked to one child who initially infected two others; more than 200 children attend the day care, and some of them have only received the first of two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine series that children are scheduled to complete by 6 years of age. Lubbock Public Health director Katherine Wells expressed concerns over potential spread to other facilities, given the highly contagious nature of the virus. The county is now recommending children get vaccinated earlier than is typical. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)