Lubbock, Texas Officials Confirm First U.S. Measles Death in 10 Years

A school-age child from West Texas has sadly died of measles, marking the first death from the disease in over a decade in the United States.

According to the City of Lubbock Health Department, the child had not been vaccinated for the disease. Katherine Wells, the Lubbock Health Department's director of public health, confirmed the tragic death from the recent measles outbreak that has infected at least 124 people, the majority of whom are children from a rural portion of West Texas.

18 People in Texas Hospitalised Due to Measles

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 18 people had been hospitalized due to the recent outbreak of the disease, but Dr. Lara Johnson, a pediatrician and the chief Medical officer at Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock says that number is not currently up to date and that her team has cared for approximately 20 children with measles so far.

Johnson revealed that all of the cases of children with measles who were admitted to the hospital were not vaccinated and were brought in because they were having trouble breathing.

Measles Resurgence in U.S. Due to Lack of Vaccine

Measles was considered dead and gone in the U.S. back in 2000 because of the widespread and effective use of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, according to the CDCP. Two doses of the measles vaccine have been proven to prevent the disease with a 97% rate of effectiveness.

Please act now and get vaccinated before things get worse in West Texas. This disease is preventable, and it's a shame any child should suffer because their parents have chosen not to vaccinate them. Do the right thing. Vaccinate your children.