Texas health officials say vaccinations should start in younger children in five additional counties following the second death of an unvaccinated child.
Texas health officials say vaccinations should start in younger children in five additional counties following the second death of an unvaccinated child.
Texas health officials say vaccinations should start in younger children in five additional counties following the second death of an unvaccinated child.
DALLAS — The Texas Department of State Health Services says five additional counties now have an ongoing spread of measles, meaning transmission and cases are enough to be included in a “designated outbreak area.”
After reports of a second death related to measles in West Texas, state health officials reiterated that updated MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) immunization recommendations should apply to the counties in that outbreak area: Cochran, Dallam, Dawson, Gaines, Garza, Lynn, Lamar, Lubbock, Terry and Yoakum counties.
Cochran, Dallam, Garza, Lamar and Lubbock counties are newly included.
The vaccine recommendations also include people who visit the county frequently.
Lubbock County is home to Texas Tech University, which thousands of North Texas students attend. The updated guidelines were shared after state health officials confirmed another unvaccinated child died late Thursday at University Medical Center in Lubbock.
For people who live in or visit the outbreak area, state health leaders now recommend an extra early dose of the MMR vaccine to infants between 6 and 11 months old. The previous recommendation was between 12 and 15 months old. A second dose should be administered between the ages of 1 and 4 years instead of between 4 and 6.
Any unvaccinated child over the age of 1 is recommended to get their first shot immediately and their second dose about a month later.
Infants (6 to 11 months)
- Immediately administer an early dose of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinefor infants aged 6-11 months.
Children (12 months and older)
- Administer a second dose of MMR vaccine for preschool-aged children aged 1 to 4 years who received one prior dose.
- Children at least one year of age with no documentation of vaccination history should receive two doses at least 28 days apart.
In addition, a second dose is now recommended for adults in the outbreak area who’ve only had one dose. Generally, a second dose has not been recommended for people not likely to be exposed to measles.
More than 450 cases have been reported in Texas, including six here in North Texas.
The lower age recommendations for vaccinations apply only to counties in the outbreak.
But Dr. Kara Starnes, urgent care medical director at Cook Children’s, said North Texas families should consult with their pediatricians if they feel strongly about immunizing their children earlier than guidelines recommend.
“If you’re in your doctor’s office and want to have that conversation, I think there’s many doctors that would be willing to give that early,” she said.
Starnes’ own level of concern about measles “has gone up pretty substantially” since Tarrant County alerted the public that someone visited Great Wolf Lodge and Grapevine Mills Mall between March 28 and March 30 while they were infected.
Starnes is now fielding a lot of questions from parents about potential exposures.
“Because this is something that no one’s really ever seen before. Phone calls are increasing…just the overall level of concern is increasing,” Starnes said.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. posted on social media that he attended the funeral for the latest child who died from the outbreak in Seminole, on the border with New Mexico.
The noted vaccine skeptic went to Gaines County to console grieving families, he said.
He posted, “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.”
But, a second post featuring pictures of him with families of the two girls who’ve died claimed some children were being healed by antibiotics and steroids.
Gov. Abbott’s Press Secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, released the following statement when asked what the state is doing to stop the spread of the virus:
“The Governor’s Office remains in close contact with the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) regarding the outbreak. DSHS has sent epidemiologists, immunization teams, and specimen collection units to impacted areas. The State Medical Operations Center is overseeing resource allocation and providing daily updates while coordinating with local health officials and emergency response teams. Texas will continue deploying every necessary resource to protect the health and safety of Texans.”
Public health experts say antibiotics and steroids are not treatment for measles and reiterate that the MMR vaccine is the only tool that can save lives.
“The message that we’ve been saying needs to be consistent from the top of the federal government down is that the vaccine is what will protect people,” said Dr. Philip Huang, Director of Dallas County Health and Human Services.
The loss of funding and grants has led Dallas County to cancel about 50 pop-up immunization clinics, some of which would have been at schools with low rates of students vaccinated against the measles, Huang said.
The MMR vaccine is still readily available at various clinics and locations across the county.
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