Measles outbreak grows as state health commissioner discusses vaccine concerns
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The measles outbreak continues to spread in Texas as the state's Commissioner of the Department of State Health Services spoke to a committee of lawmakers about the growing distrust of vaccines and the agency's attempts to fight the virus.
The case count is now up to 158 people, according to the latest numbers reported by Dr. Jennifer Shuford, the DSHS Commissioner. She presented those numbers to the Texas House Committee on Public Health as the state faces a measles outbreak it has not seen in 30 years.
'Measles is highly contagious,' Dr. Shuford explained. 'It's probably the most contagious virus that we know of.' She said school-age children between the ages of 5 and 17 are the most impacted group followed by children under the age of four.
One school-aged child died and 20 people have been hospitalized, due to this outbreak, according to Dr. Shuford. A majority of the confirmed cases are located in Gaines County and spreading to the surrounding counties in the South Plains and Panhandle region.
Dr. Shuford said the state set up two specimen collection sites in the most impacted area to help increase the speed of testing for the virus. Most of the testing is being done at a lab in Austin, but DSHS is working with El Paso, Tarrant, and Bexar counties to boost their measles testing capacity at their public health labs.
The state has also set up vaccine sites that operate 7-days a week. 'We just want to have vaccine available for whichever providers can give those vaccines, especially in that outbreak community,' Dr. Shuford said.
If someone is exposed to the virus the state is trying to get that person a vaccine within 72 hours of exposure. It may prevent that person from being sick or make their symptoms less severe. If the state misses that 72-hour window it is also providing immunoglobulin injections, which is a treatment that puts antibodies in the body to strengthen the immune system.
The agency is also looking at pediatric hospital bed capacity. Part of that is communicating with hospitals around the states to get a look at the available hospital beds, including pediatric ICU beds in the state. Most of the infected people are being hospitalized in Lubbock, and the state is making sure there are beds available in case Lubbock becomes overwhelmed.
Dr. Shuford reported the state expects the cases to keep growing because of the lack of measles vaccination rates in Texas. The state says the best defense against measles is the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine which has been in use in the United States for more than 50 years.
'We are concerned about our MMR coverage across our state, knowing that it's lower than some other places across the United States, and that this particular region has lower vaccination rates,' Dr. Shuford said.
State Rep. John Bucy III, D-Austin asked the commissioner why vaccination rates are so low in some areas of Texas. 'What's going on, especially if we've eliminated this disease in 2000,' Bucy asked.
'There has been just some decreased interest or distrust in vaccines, and that's caused a decrease in vaccination rates,' Dr. Shuford explained. It is part of a growing debate in the country about whether people should vaccinate. The question of whether or not someone should vaccinate themselves has become a political talking point.
'If someone chooses not to get the vaccine, not because of health reasons, but they choose not to get it living in a denser population or community, they're not just impacting their own safety. They could be impacting the safety of their neighbors and their communities, correct,' Bucy asked.
'They're allowing it to be able to spread to other people,' Dr. Shuford responded.
Rep. James Frank, R – Wichita Falls, followed Bucy's questioning and asked if anyone infected in this outbreak was already vaccinated. Dr. Shuford said yes, but that it is hard to tell how many and if they were people who were given the vaccine after they had already been exposed to the virus.
'I think some of the distrust is caused, I think, in some parts rightly or wrongly by perceived information, or sometimes actual misinformation coming from people in authority,' Frank said. 'The measles vaccine seems a very clear case something we should do, and yet there are other things that are called vaccines that sometimes I don't think operate like vaccines and don't keep you from getting it.'
The DSHS is working with the CDC to promote the use of the MMR vaccine as it fights this recent outbreak.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scientific American
2 hours ago
- Scientific American
How RFK, Jr.'s Dismissal of CDC Immunization Committee Panelists Will Affect America's Vaccine Access
In a striking move on Monday, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, announced the dismissal of all sitting public health experts of an independent vaccine committee that counsels the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, the group holds public meetings to review the latest scientific evidence on vaccine safety and effectiveness and to make clinical recommendations for people in the U.S.—guidance that greatly influences access to disease-preventing shots. In his announcement in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Kennedy— who has a long history of as an antivaccine activist —framed the firings as taking 'a bold step in restoring public trust by totally reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices.' He also alleged there were 'persistent conflicts of interest' among committee members. Public health experts had been bracing for such a move. 'This was everybody's fear about having RFK, Jr., as our HHS secretary,' says Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. ACIP's decisions shape immunization schedules —affecting which groups will be recommended vaccines, when and how often they should get them and whether health insurance will cover costs. The panelists hold three open meetings each year to assess and vote on the clinical use of various existing and new vaccines, including ones that protect people against pneumonia, chicken pox, shingles, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), polio, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and COVID. According to the agenda of ACIP's next meeting, slated for June 25–27, members are expected to vote on highly anticipated recommendations that would influence the next winter respiratory illness season—including guidance for COVID, flu and RSV vaccines for adults and children. In response to various questions about the plans for ACIP, an HHS spokesperson directed Scientific American to the agency's statement about the announcement and said the committee is still scheduled to meet on June 25–27. According to the statement, new committee members are currently under consideration. The secretary of health and human services gives the final approval of newly appointed ACIP members. 'I cannot imagine that they could compose a new ACIP that has been sufficiently vetted in [less than] three weeks,' Nuzzo says. 'One of the reasons why there's so much concern right now is that changing the composition of ACIP, potentially stacking it with antivaccine members, as many fear could happen, could make it harder for Americans to access vaccines that they want, that their doctors think are beneficial for them.' Scientific American spoke with Nuzzo about how the ACIP dismissal may affect vaccine policy and access and people's health. [ An edited transcript of the interview follows. ] What is the primary role of ACIP? There are a few features of the committee that make it important. One is expertise. The membership of the committee is somewhat diverse to represent a range of expert backgrounds because when you're talking about vaccines, there are pediatric issues, adult issues—a lot of different types of expertise need to be brought to bear. It's also an independent group, meaning that it's not populated by any particular political party. ACIP's members are outside experts who are appointed through a very transparent, open process, up to a fixed term. These are independent, nonpolitical actors who also have their conflicts of interests managed. Who they get money from is public knowledge. [ Editor's Note: Members withdraw themselves from deliberations and voting on any product for which they have disclosed a conflict of interest. ] How does ACIP make its decisions? During the meeting, [the members] have documents, they have people giving presentations. Sometimes those presentations are given by government scientists who have reviewed evidence, or sometimes [the members will look at] evidence from studies on vaccines. All of the meetings are open: either you could show up in public or, usually, [see a] broadcast on the web. So all of the data that are used in the discussion about vaccines and vaccine policies are made public, and they are reviewed. And not only are they reviewed, but the rationale and the interpretation of those data are public. So the public can see, interrogate, and vet the conclusions and the data that the committees use to base their conclusions. It's a very open [process], and that openness adheres to a governance structure has existed throughout multiple presidential administrations, multiple political parties presiding [over] it. It's also important to note that the CDC director does not have to accept ACIP's recommendations—the CDC director usually does, but the CDC director does not have to. My worry is not just that politics enters into ACIP; it's also just that 'Will the will of ACIP be adhered to?' How do ACIP's recommendations affect people? ACIP is one of two key advisory committees that serve the U.S. government related to vaccines [the other is the Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) ]. ACIP makes recommendations regarding vaccine policies and utilization—and those recommendations are important, not just because they represent the scientific consensus that exists at the time but also because they usually influence people's access to vaccines. One real concern is: if ACIP doesn't recommend a vaccine, insurers may decide not to cover the cost , and some of these vaccines have important out-of-pocket costs. Some of us can afford that, but a lot of us can't. And so there are real issues about who is going to be able to benefit from vaccines, and it creates a real inequity. It may also have an effect on the market and companies' willingness to incur the risks of making vaccines. Vaccines are not like making a car. There are a discovery process and research-and-development process that have to occur. If vaccine manufacturers fear that they're not going to be able to sell vaccines, that people aren't going to be able to access them, then they may simply decide not to make them. They might decide that the U.S. market is not where they want to invest their resources and may decide to instead serve other countries. So it's not just that ACIP provides advice that the American public can use to make their own vaccine decisions but also [that it] is often the basis by which [vaccine] providers and insurers make vaccines available. So it's not just about information; it's also about access. What does this action potentially mean for future vaccine policies? I'm worried about all vaccines at this point. I can't rule out that that isn't just the first warning shot. Some of the rationale around who should or should not get COVID boosters, in my view, feels like an opening to removing the availability of flu vaccines. We've seen the secretary of HHS wrongly malign MMR vaccines amid one of the worst measles outbreaks the U.S. has seen in decades. So I fear that everything's fair game.
Gizmodo
7 hours ago
- Gizmodo
RFK Jr. Purges CDC's Vital Vaccine Advisory Committee
On Monday afternoon, the head of HHS enacted a "clean sweep" of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is continuing his ideological purge of the federal government. The Health and Human Services Secretary just terminated all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—the outside experts who help steer the country's vaccine policies. Kennedy announced the firings late Monday afternoon in an editorial published by the Wall Street Journal. He argued that by 'retiring' the ACIP's current members, he would restore the public's trust in vaccines. However, RFK Jr. himself has long overexaggerated the dangers of vaccination, and experts worry that he will stock the ACIP with anti-vaccination proponents. 'Today's action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines…trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives,' said Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, in a statement provided to Gizmodo. 'With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses.' The ACIP is a panel of outside experts assembled by the CDC. Their recommendations, formally adopted by the CDC, greatly influence which vaccines are routinely provided to the public. States often mandate that children receive vaccines universally recommended by the ACIP, such as the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, before they can enter public school, for instance. Insurance plans are also typically required to cover ACIP-recommended vaccines without any cost-sharing. For two decades, RFK Jr. has regularly misrepresented the evidence on vaccine safety and other important health issues. And it didn't take long for him to signal that he would undermine the country's vaccine policies. In his opening speech as the head of HHS in mid-February, Kennedy stated that he would form a commission to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule as a potential culprit of chronic disease (no strong evidence supports a connection between the vaccine schedule and a population-level rise in chronic illness). Kennedy has previously argued that the ACIP's current and former members were rife with conflicts of interest, such as having received money from vaccine manufacturers. During the Senate committee hearings this January, for instance, he claimed that 97% of ACIP members had these conflicts—an unsurprisingly misleading claim. Kennedy was wrongly citing a 2009 report that found 97% of financial disclosure forms from people on advisory committees in 2007 had at least one error or omission, such as missing dates. Kennedy's latest WSJ editorial correctly describes the 97% statistic, though he still appears to imply these omissions are largely undeclared financial conflicts (the 2009 report found that 15% of members did not comply with ethics requirements during their committee stints). Aside from eliding the truth about the ACIP's ethical standards, Kennedy seems to have outright broken his promise to Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) that he would 'maintain' the ACIP without changes—a promise that secured Cassidy's pivotal tiebreaker vote in early February to further his nomination through the Senate. On a X post late Monday, Cassidy acknowledged many people's fears that the ACIP will now 'be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.' But Cassidy didn't acknowledge the broken promise, only stating that he would continue talking with Kennedy to 'ensure that this is not the case.' Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion. I've just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I'll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the — U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) June 9, 2025 Of course, there's little reason to believe that RFK Jr's antivax agenda will be meaningfully constrained by anyone in the government. He's already enacted a renewed investigation into the debunked link between vaccines and autism—an investigation that will be led by notorious vaccine skeptic David Geier. Kennedy and the Trump administration have also impeded the development of newer, possibly more effective vaccines for both flu and covid-19, and are attempting to place testing roadblocks that will make future vaccine approvals harder to secure.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr fires entire US vaccine committee
Robert F Kennedy Jr has dismissed all current members of a key federal vaccine advisory panel, accusing them of conflicts of interest. The removal of all 17 experts of the advisory committee on immunisation practices was revealed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed and an official press release. Mr Kennedy, the US health secretary, who has spent two decades amplifying vaccine misinformation, cast the move as essential to restoring public trust, claiming the committee had been compromised by financial ties to pharmaceutical companies. 'Today we are prioritising the restoration of public trust above any specific pro or anti-vaccine agenda,' he said in a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services. 'The public must know that unbiased science – evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest – guides the recommendations of our health agencies.' In his op-ed, Mr Kennedy claimed the panel was 'plagued with persistent conflicts of interest' and had become 'little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine'. He added that new members were being considered to replace those ousted, all of whom were appointed under Joe Biden, the former president. Committee members are chosen for their recognised expertise and are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest. 'RFK Jr and the Trump administration are taking a wrecking ball to the programs that keep Americans safe and healthy,' Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said in response. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor who expressed concern about Mr Kennedy's track record during his Senate nomination but ultimately voted in his favour, wrote on X: 'Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion. 'I've just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I'll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case.' The decision drew sharp criticism from Paul Offit, a paediatrician and leading expert on virology and immunology, who served on the panel from 1998 to 2003. 'He believes that anybody who speaks well of vaccines, or recommends vaccines, must be deeply in the pocket of industry,' Mr Offit told AFP. 'He's fixing a problem that doesn't exist.' 'We are witnessing an escalating effort by the administration to silence independent medical expertise and stoke distrust in life-saving vaccines,' added Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Paediatrics, in a statement. Once a celebrated environmental lawyer, Kennedy pivoted to public health from the mid-2000s, chairing a non-profit that discouraged routine childhood immunisations and amplified false claims, including the long-debunked theory that the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism. Since taking office, he has curtailed access to Covid shots and continued to raise fears around the MMR vaccine even as the US faces its worst measles outbreak in years, with three reported deaths and more than 1,100 confirmed cases. Experts have warned that the true case count is likely to be far higher. 'How can this country have confidence that the people RFK Jr. wants on the advisory committee on immunisation practices are people we can trust?' asked Mr Offit. He recalled that during Donald Trump's first term as US president, several states formed independent vaccine advisory panels after the administration pressured federal health agencies to prematurely approve Covid vaccines ahead of the 2020 election. He warned that kind of fragmentation could happen again. The advisory committee on immunisation practices is scheduled to hold its next meeting at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta from June 25 to June 27. Vaccines for anthrax, Covid, human papillomavirus, influenza, Lyme disease, respiratory syncytial virus, and more are on the agenda. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
