Texas leaders quiet amid the biggest measles outbreak in decades
Texas is facing its worst measles outbreak in decades, as cases have jumped from two to 146 in just one month. A child is dead, 20 more are hospitalized and the worst is likely still ahead, public health experts say, as Texas’ decreasing vaccination rates leave swaths of the state exposed to the most contagious virus humans currently face.
State and local health officials are setting up vaccine clinics and encouraging people to get the shot, which is more than 97% effective at warding off measles.
But neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor lawmakers from the hardest hit areas have addressed the outbreak publicly in press conferences, social media posts or public calls for people to consider getting vaccinated. State and local authorities in West Texas have not yet enacted more significant measures that other places have adopted during outbreaks, like excluding unvaccinated students from school before they are exposed, or enforcing quarantine after exposure.
The response to Texas’ first major public health crisis since COVID is being shaped by the long-term consequences of the pandemic, experts say — stronger vaccine hesitancy, decreased trust in science and authorities, and an unwillingness from politicians to aggressively push public health measures like vaccination and quarantine.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/28/texas-measles-abbott-lawmakers-response/
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