The measles outbreak in west Texas grew to 124 cases over the weekend, with 18 patients requiring hospitalization, the state’s health department said on Tuesday.
The cases increased by 34 since Friday, with the outbreak concentrated in Gaines County, which on Tuesday reported 80 cases.
Eight other counties also reported cases in west Texas: Terry reported 21, Dawson reported 7, Yoakum reported 5, Dallam reported 4, Martin reported 3, Ector reported 2, and Lubbock and Lynn each reported 1.
The vast majority of the cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Only five of the 124 infected people have been vaccinated.
New Mexico has also seen an outbreak, but state health officials say there’s no evidence that the outbreaks are connected. New Mexico’s case count on Tuesday remained at 9. All of New Mexico’s cases have been reported in Lea County, which borders Texas’s Gaines County.
Texas state health officials are strongly urging the public to be immunized with two doses of the vaccine against measles, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The vaccine is typically administered in children first between the ages of 12 and 15 months, and the second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.
The vaccine is highly effective in preventing the spread of measles, and, when vaccinated individuals do get sick, their cases are typically much less severe.
The vaccine is required for most children entering kindergarten in public schools, but Texas allows children to get exemptions from the requirement for religious or other conscience-related reasons. As a result, the percentage of children with exemptions in Texas has risen from 0.76 percent in 2014 to 2.32 percent in 2024, The Associated Press reported, citing state data.
In Gaines County, nearly 14 percent of schoolchildren opted out of at least one required vaccine in the 2023-24 school year, according to the AP. Health officials told the AP the true number is likely higher because it doesn’t include children who are homeschooled.
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