Tag Archives: measles

Measles update: Now in Collin County

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sure hope this is an isolated case. A middle school student in Collin County has tested positive for measles, health officials confirmed Wednesday, the first reported case in a child in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year amid an outbreak … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Hello, Montana

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Put another state on the board, Johnny. Montana is the ninth U.S. state to have an active measles outbreak. The U.S. was up to 800 cases of measles nationwide on Friday. Texas is driving the high numbers, with an outbreak centered in West Texas … Continue reading →

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Measles update: RFK Jr sucks

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll get to that in a minute. But first, here’s something else to worry about. As Texas battles against its largest measles outbreak in decades, immunization data obtained by Houston Landing shows that more than 1,000 kindergarten and seventh grade … Continue reading →

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Measles update: More on how we’ve done this to ourselves

Posted on April 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the Associated Press: The measles outbreak in West Texas didn’t happen just by chance. The easily preventable disease, declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, ripped through communities sprawling across more than 20 Texas counties in part because health departments were starved of … Continue reading →

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It’s not just measles

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome back, whooping cough. We didn’t miss you, but here you are again. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough. Washington state recently announced its first confirmed … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Time for another moment of perspective

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the Friday numbers. The measles outbreak centered in the South Plains region of Texas grew to 541 cases across the state on Friday, according to health officials. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 56 have … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Another needless death

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We have to start with some bad news. An 8-year-old girl with measles died Thursday morning, the second known measles-related death in an ongoing outbreak that has infected nearly 500 Texans since January. Her funeral was Sunday at a church … Continue reading →

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Measles update: We’re already making this harder on ourselves

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your weekend update. The measles outbreak centered in the South Plains region soared past a combined 500 cases in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma on Friday, according to health officials. Texas has seen 481 measles cases amid the outbreak … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Moving around the state

Posted on April 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And we have some new counties to add to the board, too. The measles outbreak that began in the South Plains region of Texas rose to 422 cases and spread to two new counties on Tuesday, according to health officials. … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Hello, Ohio

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Put another state on the board, Johnny. A measles outbreak in Kansas doubled in less than a week to 23 cases and has “a possible link” to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico that have sickened more than 370, the … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Hello, Kansas

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Put a new state on the board, Johnny. State health officials report the number of measles cases is growing in Kansas this year as cases climb nationwide. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported on March 20 on … Continue reading →

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The measles outbreak is going to go national

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the concern, anyway. With its measles outbreak spreading to two additional states, Texas is on track to becoming the cause of a national epidemic if it doesn’t start vaccinating more people, according to public health experts. Measles, a highly … Continue reading →

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Third Houston measles case documented

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Again, we hope that’s all there is. The Houston Health Department has confirmed the city’s third measles case, months after identifying two cases in adults which marked the first measles cases since 2018. The Houston Health Department Sunday reported an … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Hello, Oklahoma

Posted on March 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas count tops 250 and keeps on climbing. The measles outbreak that began in the South Plains region of Texas grew to 259 cases and spread to two more counties on Friday, health officials said. The latest update from … Continue reading →

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Texas measles case count up to 223

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a brief update this time. Texas’ measles outbreak has grown to 223 cases, the state reported Tuesday morning. The outbreak began in Gaines County, near the New Mexico border. The reported cases have not spread outside of West Texas and the Panhandle, according … Continue reading →

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Rural Texas’ scramble to respond to the measles outbreak

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have a lot of sympathy during these trying times, but there’s a reason for all this, and we should be clear about it. Five years ago, Melanie Richburg used a roll of duct tape, a HEPA filter and a … Continue reading →

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Measles case count tops 200

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And still going strong. The measles outbreak in West Texas has soared to 198 cases, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported Friday. In New Mexico, 30 cases have been reported in Lea County, which borders Gaines County, of as Friday. Twenty-three … Continue reading →

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Here comes the CDC

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know we still have one of those. A measles outbreak in Texas has grown to 159 cases, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is now on the ground in that state to respond. … Continue reading →

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Time for a measles update

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

One forty-six. And counting. The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 146, according to new data released Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status … Continue reading →

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First Texas measles death recorded

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very sad. A school-aged child has died in Lubbock from measles, the first death reported in an ongoing outbreak that has infected more than 120 people in West Texas since January, Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed on Wednesday. … Continue reading →

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And this is how measles spreads

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully this won’t turn into something much bigger. Health officials in Hays County have issued a public health alert after a possible measles exposure in the area. Officials said a person who tested positive for the contagious virus visited San … Continue reading →

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Measles outbreak approaches 100 cases

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Up and up it goes. Some private schools have shut down because of a rapidly escalating measles outbreak in West Texas. Local health departments are overstretched, pausing other important work as they race to limit the spread of this highly contagious virus. Since the … Continue reading →

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Some background on the measles outbreak

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

NBC News did some reporting on the growing measles outbreak in West Texas. On Friday, the number of confirmed cases rose to 49, up from 24 earlier in the week, the state health department said. The majority of those cases are in … Continue reading →

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Yeah, still more measles

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The number keeps going up. As a West Texas measles outbreak continues to worsen, experts are concerned an increase in nonmedical vaccine exemptions among schoolchildren could make such outbreaks more common. Twenty-four cases of the highly contagious respiratory illness have … Continue reading →

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Still more measles

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Still nothing to freak out about! Right!? At least 10 cases of measles — eight of which are among school-aged children — have been reported in Gaines County in West Texas over the past two weeks, driving worries of an … Continue reading →

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More measles

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing to see here! At least four cases of measles, including two involving school-aged children, have been reported in Texas in less than two weeks, putting state health agencies on alert. For some communities, this is the first case of … Continue reading →

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On weakening vaccine mandates

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I had to take several deep breaths while reading this story. They only helped a little. When speech pathologist Rebecca Hardy recalls her up-close seat to lawmaking during the 2015 state legislative session, she remembers how tough it was to … Continue reading →

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I sure hope these are the only cases we see

Posted on January 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Stay away, measles. The Houston Health Department said [last] Friday it has identified two cases of measles in adults who’ve recently traveled internationally, the first cases in Houston since 2018. The adults live in the same household, and it’s unknown … Continue reading →

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Our overall vax level is down

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not great! The coverage rate for routine childhood vaccines – or the percentage of kids getting them – dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to recover, according to statistics from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Health … Continue reading →

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Our vaccination rates are down, too

Posted on August 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I wish I had a snappy intro for this, but I just don’t. The summer months are typically the busiest of the year in Dr. Kenya Parks’ office, a steady flow of parents trotting in their little ones to receive … Continue reading →

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Perspective on the anti-vaxx situation

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe it’s not as bad as we think. It’s certainly true that pockets of vaccine refusal persist in this country, as they have for many years. If those pockets are now experiencing greater numbers of measles cases, it may be … Continue reading →

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Bankrolling the anti-vaxxers

Posted on June 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is why we can’t have nice things. A wealthy Manhattan couple has emerged as significant financiers of the anti-vaccine movement, contributing more than $3 million in recent years to groups that stoke fears about immunizations online and at live … Continue reading →

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Our vaccine exception rates keep going up

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A small change to the law in 2003 has had a big effect over time. As measles cases hit a 25-year high in the United States, Texas medical experts fear the state could see the next outbreak of a vaccine-preventable … Continue reading →

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Our measles risk

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Do I spend too much time worrying about stuff like this, or do I not spend enough time on it? Harris County is one of the nation’s most vulnerable counties to a measles outbreak, according to a new study based … Continue reading →

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