Tag Archives: measles

“Grey’s Anatomy: West Texas”

Posted on June 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be…something. TV producer Shonda Rhimes is coming to Texas. Or at least one of her shows is. ABC-TV has ordered a spin-off version of “Grey’s Anatomy” that will be set in West Texas, according to Variety. “Grey’s … Continue reading →

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Fewer people going to Dilley detention center

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Take the wins where you can. Only 100 people are currently detained in the federal government’s controversy-plagued family detention center at Dilley, nonprofit news outlet ProPublica reports. That compares to an average daily population of more than 900 in January. The … Continue reading →

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Measles in El Paso

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Great. Just great. Seventeen measles cases have been reported in El Paso, including 13 at the Camp East Montana Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, health officials said Thursday. The four community cases in El Paso aren’t connected to the … Continue reading →

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South Carolina is the new measles champ

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They took the crown from Texas. Great job, everybody! The record-breaking measles outbreak in South Carolina continues to grow with 89 new cases reported since the last update on Friday. This brings the total number of cases in the outbreak … Continue reading →

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South Carolina is where the measles action is now

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I wish I didn’t feel the need to keep following these stories, but unfortunately I do. South Carolina on Friday reported 124 new measles cases in the last three days, bringing the total number to 558 in the state’s fast-growing … Continue reading →

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In which I learn something about whooping cough

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I started here, yet another story about how whooping cough is on the rise in Texas. Bexar County is seeing a dramatic rise in cases of whooping cough this year alongside potentially record-breaking increases statewide. So far in 2025, San … Continue reading →

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The anti-vax movement for pets

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

You knew this would be a thing. In the four years since she opened her own veterinary practice, Dr. Kelly McGuire has seen her fair share of heartbreaking cases. There was the dog whose kidneys shut down after it contracted … Continue reading →

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Yep, more measles

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s having its best year in a long time. The surging number of measles cases around the world is a stark warning sign that outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases could be next, the World Health Organization warned Friday. “It’s crucial … Continue reading →

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Whooping cough hits a new high

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, anti-vaxxers! Couldn’t have done this without you. More than 3,500 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, cases have been reported in Texas so far this year, already reaching a 11-year high even though two more highly infectious months are … Continue reading →

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Measles isn’t done with us yet

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas outbreak may be over, but there are other outbreaks out there. One of the largest measles outbreaks in the U.S. is now centered in bordering areas of southwestern Utah and Arizona. In Southwest Utah, all but one of … Continue reading →

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More kids are not getting vaccinated

Posted on September 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is so bad. For more than a half-century, vaccines have had remarkable success eradicating the most lethal and devastating childhood infectious diseases, saving millions of lives and ushering in a relative golden era of global public health. But now, … Continue reading →

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How Trump made the measles outbreak worse

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Everything Trump touches dies. As measles surged in Texas early this year, the Trump administration’s actions sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists that kept them from performing the agency’s most critical function — emergency response — when it mattered … Continue reading →

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West Texas measles outbreak declared to be over

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The West Texas measles outbreak, the nation’s largest in 30 years, is now over, state health officials announced on Monday. The Texas Department of State Health Services announced the outbreak was over after no new cases had been … Continue reading →

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Some lessons learned from the measles outbreak

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. As the number of Texas measles cases tied to a West Texas outbreak slows to a trickle, South Plains public health director Zach Holbrooks remembers the call from a colleague in an adjacent county six months ago that … Continue reading →

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There will be more measles outbreaks

Posted on July 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This one may be coming to an end, but the underlying conditions for it aren’t going away. Texas appears to be past the worst of its largest measles outbreak in 30 years, but the state will be vulnerable to future outbreaks … Continue reading →

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Measles update: There’s good news and there’s bad news

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The good news. Texas health officials on Tuesday said the county at the center of the state’s measles outbreak is no longer classified as an outbreak county. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported no new cases of measles … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Yes, there are still new cases being reported

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still a thing. The Texas Department of State Health Services says three new measles cases have been detected in the last week in connection to an outbreak in West Texas. The state has been tracking case numbers since the … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Maybe I should call this the “RFK Rampage update”

Posted on June 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday eight new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory committee, some of whom have been critics of shots — especially during the … Continue reading →

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Measles update: There’s nowhere to go but down

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What a depressing headline. Amid a widespread decline in childhood measles vaccination rates since before the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States, a study published Monday found that coverage can vary substantially within a state. Looking at county-level data in 33 states, researchers at … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Never forget who RFK Jr is

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a liar. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says his “Make America Healthy Again” Commission report harnesses “gold-standard” science, citing more than 500 studies and other sources to back up its claims. Those citations, though, are rife with errors, from broken links to misstated … Continue reading →

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Measles update: El Paso the exception

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Weird. As soon as measles started spreading in West Texas, El Paso health officials began preparing schools and day care facilities for the day the virus would inevitably arrive. But now that it’s here, it’s not kids who are making … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Maybe we really are slowing to an end

Posted on May 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t get much slower than that. Texas health officials reported only one new case of measles on Friday, the smallest increase since the outbreak began four months ago. The latest update from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows … Continue reading →

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Measles update: The wastewater still has something to tell us

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. An outbreak detection program found the presence of the measles virus in samples of Houston wastewater in early January 2025, before cases were reported, new findings show. The findings were possible because almost three years earlier, a team … Continue reading →

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Measles update: It would help if the people with measles stopped traveling while sick

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what else to say. An El Paso resident’s two-day visit to Austin has prompted a warning from city public health officials, after the person was confirmed to have measles. The person was in Austin from April 25 … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Who needs research?

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m very sorry to say that we once again have to talk about RFK Jr and his continued quest to make us all sick and stupid. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s motto is “ Make America Healthy Again,” … Continue reading →

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Whooping cough is way up in Texas this year

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is what happens when vaccine rates decline. Amid the worst measles outbreak Texas has seen in over 30 years, pertussis cases are spiking as well. Also known as whooping cough, pertussis is surging across Texas and the nation. Already … Continue reading →

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Measles update: We can’t escape the main character

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

No matter how much we might want to. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a visit to Texas on Tuesday that measles deserves less attention than other chronic diseases, while downplaying the number of deaths that have … Continue reading →

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Measles update: The liars keep gaining

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard out there for the facts. While the most serious measles epidemic in a decade has led to the deaths of two children and spread to 27 states with no signs of letting up, beliefs about the safety of … Continue reading →

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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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