At least 49 cases have been confirmed. Health officials — who are scrambling to get a handle on the vaccine-preventable outbreak — suspect 200 to 300 people may be infected.

Summary

A measles outbreak in rural West Texas has surged to 49 confirmed cases, mostly among unvaccinated school-age children, with officials suspecting hundreds more unreported infections.

The outbreak is centered in Gaines County, home to a large Mennonite population with low vaccination rates. Despite CDC support, Texas has not requested federal intervention.

The outbreak has now spread to Lubbock, raising wider public health concerns.

Experts warn it could persist for months without increased vaccination efforts, but skepticism toward vaccines remains a significant barrier.

  • GraniteM@lemmy.world
    60·
    5 days ago

    Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything.

    “Are you feeling all right?” I asked her.

    “I feel all sleepy,” she said.

    In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.

    Roald Dahl, pleading with people to vaccinate their children against measles.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      4 days ago

      According to the doctors from the DoYourOwnResearch University - like donvict, Joe Rogan, and Brainworms - it’s probably because she didn’t eat properly, get enough sunshine, and work out. Maybe a dose of HCQ or horse dewormer to top it off and she’s be in top-top shape. And getting those chakras aligned…

      Obviously, /s

      Anti-vaxxers and the bullshit artists calling themselves “skeptics” (they are NOT FUCKING SKEPTICS, by the way - the abuse of that term is maddening) drive me crazy. They can all go fuck themselves. They are fine with killing people, even children, rather than admit they have no fucking clue what they are talking about. It’s all about them and their goddamn ego.

    • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
      12·
      4 days ago

      And much like a novel of his works, a bunch of kids are going to have to die for us to figure this out.

      • Dnb@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        10·
        4 days ago

        Maybe we can call them late term abortions to get Republicans to actually give a fuck about all the kids harmed by anti vaccination