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A measles outbreak in Texas has halted nearly two decades of progress since the disease was eliminated in 2000 thanks to widespread MMR vaccinations.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has reported 124 cases, most of them in children under 17.
Measles is especially dangerous for children under five. A decline in vaccination rates is believed to be behind the outbreak and is being blamed on the pandemic and anti-vax rhetoric from the new US health secretary, RFK Jr.
At the outbreak’s epicentre in West Texas, officials reported an 18 per cent vaccine exemption rate in the 2023-24 kindergarten class.
In Texas, immunisation exemptions can be requested for “religious or personal beliefs”.
In a state with plenty of both, the outbreak is expected to continue spreading.
