An unvaccinated child died from measles in Texas on Wednesday, authorities said, in what is the first US fatality from the highly contagious disease since 2015. The child’s death comes at a delicate moment for US public health as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long spread falsehoods on MMR vaccines, begins his term as health secretary.
An unvaccinated child in Texas has died from measles, authorities said Wednesday, marking the first US fatality from the highly contagious disease in nearly a decade as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downplayed a growing outbreak.
The death comes as immunisation rates decline nationwide, with the latest cases concentrated in a Mennonite religious community that has historically shown vaccine hesitancy.
It arrives at a delicate moment for US public health as Kennedy, who has long spread falsehoods about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, begins his tenure leading the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The school-aged child who was not vaccinated was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles,” the state health department said in a statement, with city officials adding the child died “within the last 24 hours”.
This year more than 130 measles cases already have been reported in west Texas and neighbouring New Mexico, the vast majority in unvaccinated children.
Around 20 have been hospitalised in Texas, and officials warn the outbreak is likely to grow.
During a meeting of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, Kennedy downplayed the situation, stating, “It’s not unusual. You have measles outbreaks every year.”
He also stated the death toll as two – but neither the Texas nor New Mexico health departments said they knew of any additional fatality.
The confirmed death “should serve as a reminder that there was a reason that the vaccine was developed and that the vaccine is a value to individuals”, infectious disease physician Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University told AFP.
Lara Johnson, chief medical officer at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas where the child was treated, told reporters that when she graduated from medical school in 2002, “I was confident I would never see a measles outbreak unless I chose to work internationally.”
