A second child has died from measles during an outbreak of the disease that has sickened more than 450 people across West Texas.
The child was identified as an 8-year-old girl who had not been vaccinated against measles, according to the New York Times. Her death was confirmed Sunday.
Three people h
ave now died from measles in the U.S. this year. Previously, a child in Texas died in February, and an adult in New Mexico died in March. Before this year, there had been zero measles deaths in the U.S. since 2015.
The outbreak in Texas began in January, and health officials believe it has spread to Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas. Across the U.S., more than 600 people have been diagnosed with measles in 2025, more than twice as many than in all of 2024.
While measles is highly contagious, a vaccine against the disease was developed in the 1960s and is 97% effective at preventing an infection. Children as young as a year old can receive the first dose of the two-shot vaccine.
The outbreak began shortly after President Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious vaccine skeptic, to lead the nation’s health department. Kennedy was confirmed to the role in a contentious Senate vote and has since promoted unproven and less effective measles treatments such as cod liver oil.
“This is the epitome of an absolute needless death,” former Food and Drug Administration vaccine chief Peter Marks told The Associated Press. “These kids should get vaccinated — that’s how you prevent people from dying of measles.”
With News Wire Services ...read more read less
