CDC assists with measles outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is assisting Texas health authorities with the West Texas measles outbreak. Nearly 150 people are infected, and one child died ─ the first U.S. measles death in a decade. Texas health officials say hundreds of thousands of people in San Antonio may have been exposed over Valentine’s Day weekend when a person visiting the area later tested positive. The CDC says 164 cases in nine states have been reported in unvaccinated people, of whom more than 80% are children. Health and Human Services Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has recommended vaccinating children against the disease while also saying doing so remains a personal decision. (CDC news release, 2/27/25)