The Texas Department of State Health Services is reporting that a second measles death has occurred in the state. The patient was a school-aged child and died in what officials are saying was a case of measles pulmonary failure. The patient tested positive for measles and was hospitalized in Lubbock. The child was not vaccinated and had no reported underlying conditions.1
As of April 6, 499 cases in Texas have been reported in the outbreak, according to an X post yesterday by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.2
Most of the cases are in children, and a total of 56 people have been hospitalized.1 Since the state’s previous reporting (April 1), there have been 77 new cases.
National Measles Numbers
Kennedy also wrote that there have been 642 confirmed measles cases in the US to date.2 The cases have been reported by 22 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.3
What You Need to Know
A school-aged child in Lubbock, Texas, who was unvaccinated and had no known underlying conditions, died from measles pulmonary failure—marking the second measles-related death in the state during this outbreak.
The Texas statistics continue to show the incidence rates keep increasing in the state as well as hospitalizations.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy visited Texas yesterday to meet with the family of the child who died from measles.
It is important to note that these numbers keep growing as more reported cases come in and contribute to the national accounting by the CDC. The federal agency reports the latest national numbers on Fridays, so it is likely the outbreak numbers will increase in the coming days.
READ MORE: Measles Outbreak Grows to 5 States
The CDC says there are now 6 active, ongoing outbreaks. States that have the highest number of cases within their outbreaks are Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Ohio. It is also been calculated that 93% of confirmed cases (567 of 607) are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024, and 69% of cases (198 of 285) were outbreak-associated. 3
Related to infectious disease and public health policy, there have been reports that the entire department of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) is going to be laid off. This department is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and falls under its massive downsizing and restructuring plan that was announced recently. HHS said it was going to reduce its workforce by laying off 10,000 full-time employees, and when combined with HHS’ other efforts, expects to reduce the workforce by 20,000 employees. The restructuring would result in a total downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees.
In his X post, Kennedy wrote that he has now visited with both families of the children who have died from the measles.2
"In early March, I deployed a CDC team to bolster local and state capacity for response across multiple Texas regions, supply pharmacies and Texas run clinics with needed MMR vaccines and other medicines and medical supplies, work with local schools and healthcare facilities to support contact investigations, and to reach out to communities, including faith leaders, to answer any questions or respond to locations seeking healthcare," Kennedy wrote on X. "The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine. I’ve spoken to [Texas] Governor [Greg] Abbott, and I’ve offered HHS’ continued support. At his request, we have redeployed CDC teams to Texas. We will continue to follow Texas’ lead and to offer similar resources to other affected jurisdictions."2
References
1. Texas Announces Second Death in Measles Outbreak. Texas Department of State Health Services press release. April 6, 2025. Accessed April 7, 2025.
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/texas-announces-second-death-measles-outbreak
2. Kennedy. X post. April 6, 2025. Accessed April 7, 2025.
https://x.com/seckennedy/status/1908965229418991682
3. Measles Cases and Outbreaks. CDC. April 4, 2025. Accessed April 7, 2025.
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html
