The outbreak so far has led to one death and more than 140 cases.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new U.S. health secretary, said that a measles outbreak in western Texas that has infected more than 100 people and led to one death is a “top priority” for his agency and said that vaccines will be provided.
“Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team,” Kennedy said in a post on social media platform X on Feb. 28.
He said that his agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), would send Texas 2,000 doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine through its immunization program.
Additionally, HHS will provide “lab support to better track the virus causing the outbreak,” will communicate “with public health officials every day in all affected areas to support their response and ensure they have the resources they need,” and provide communications to local communities in Low German—the language used by Mennonites.
“We will continue to fund Texas’ immunization program. Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team at HHS,” Kennedy wrote on the platform.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed in a statement that a child died due to measles in the western Texas outbreak, while state officials in Texas said that more than 146 cases have been identified so far.
