# First Measles death in Texas - Feb, 2025, and now in other parts of the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 26, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834 "2025-02-26T16:56:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/41 "2025-02-28T17:50:43Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The staff assigned to prevent diseases from being taken out of the lab have been fired. [/s] I know a company that did almost this. It was a Chinese airline company that fired all its Western employees. Unfortunately for them one of the employees fired was responsible for renewing a license for a website hosted in the US. It went down right in time for their sale for travel during Golden Week, I think, one if their highest volume times. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/42 "2025-03-03T15:56:07Z")
# “RFK Jr. urges people to get vaccinated amid deadly Texas outbreak” [https://www.axios.com/2025/03/03/kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-vaccine](https://www.axios.com/2025/03/03/kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-vaccine) > Health and Human Services Secretary [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.](https://www.axios.com/health/rfk-jr) spoke of the benefits of the MMR vaccine on Sunday in response to a growing [measles](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/28/measles-outbreak-texas-infection-facts) outbreak in Texas. > > **Why it matters:** Kennedy has a long record of [sowing skepticism about vaccines](https://www.axios.com/2024/11/14/rfk-jr-positions-vaccines-drugs-health-care) and last week appeared to downplay the situation in Texas when he [described](https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/measles-death-texas-puts-kennedys-vaccine-views-test-2025-02-27/) such outbreaks as “not unusual.” > > - He has previously repeated [debunked](https://www.factcheck.org/2023/08/scicheck-what-rfk-jr-gets-wrong-about-autism/) claims [about vaccines](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/28/hpv-vaccine-cervical-cancer-prevention-cdc-report) and provided [elusive answers to senators](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/03/rfk-vaccines-autism-hhs-confirmation) on his stance on vaccinations ahead of being confirmed. > > **Driving the news:** Kennedy wrote an op-ed for [Fox News’](https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/robert-f-kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-call-action-all-us) website on Sunday with the headline “Measles outbreak is call to action for all of us” and the subheading “MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease.” > … WHAT?? ThelmaLou checks to see if hell has frozen over. … Nope. > **Yes, but:** Kennedy emphasized that the decision to vaccinate is “a personal one.” Okay, fine. No prob. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/43 "2025-03-03T16:19:05Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “RFK Jr. urges people to get vaccinated amid deadly Texas outbreak” [Cue booing from MAGAbots.](https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/20/politics/donald-trump-booster-shot-boos/index.html) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2OUwj93fU2Q/maxresdefault.jpg "Trump Booed For Telling Alabama Crowd To Get Covid Vaccine") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OUwj93fU2Q&t=00) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/44 "2025-03-03T17:47:47Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > WHAT?? ThelmaLou checks to see if hell has frozen over. … Nope. If he ever admitted that he had been wrong all these years, that’s when hell would be in danger. But these nuts never do. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/45 "2025-03-03T18:00:10Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’ve always wondered - why don’t these parents feel the same grief/loss/pain about their kids’ death as a pro-vaxx parent would? I’m sure they do, but everyone deals with grief differently. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/46 "2025-03-03T18:25:10Z")
Here’s a gift link to a NY Times article saying that the administration is, surprise!, underplaying the measles outbreak. > **[Federal Officials Underplaying Measles Vaccination, Experts Say](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/health/measles-vaccination-texas-kennedy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1E4.ablZ.3bTamvqZoCsI&smid=url-share)** > > Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described the outbreak in West Texas last week as a “top priority.” But he has not explicitly encouraged Americans to get vaccinated. RFK Jr. is a sociopathic child-killing moron. And, the senators who allowed this dangerous person anywhere near our healthcare system have blood on their hands, too. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/47 "2025-03-04T11:01:07Z")
So no internal bleach or UV light (though that just might work if a hundred years of research was put into it). There was a South Park in the late 90’s about the mother’s all having a “Chicken Pox Party” so all the kids could get it at the same time and not have 50% in school for a couple months. I don’t recall the episode being anti-vax, though I know there had been a vaccine for quite some time. I just read that the UK gave it but gave up as it wasn’t cost effective and the USA didn’t routinely give it. I’d have been very pissed at my mother if she did something like that. It’s not so much the chicken pox, I’m nearer the age where complications can return with encephalitis, brain damage or dying. Aren’t these the things that are so evil about MMR and DPT vaccines with that crowd. Yeah, logic makes no sense to them. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/48 "2025-03-04T11:47:16Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > I just read that the UK gave it but gave up as it wasn’t cost effective Where did you read that? Figures show the south west accounts for nearly half of all cases in the country, with 26 out of a total of 57. Parents are now being urged to get their children vaccinated. > “Measles is highly infectious, and it can cause serious disease or even death in some rare cases,” said Dr Alasdair Wood, UKHSA consultant." [‘Concerning’ measles rise as health chiefs issue warning - BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8k5gx3xr1o) ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/49 "2025-03-04T12:36:32Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Where did you read that? It wasn’t a direct attributed quote and looking through my history and doing other google searches, the NHS (in he UK) and Europe considers the vaccine (especially when later combined with the MMR - Measles, Mumps, Rubella) cost-effective. The UK did taper off a bit around 2012-2016 yet it’s always been a thing the NHS considers cost effective compared to the cost of an outbreak. I can only guess I read it on some site (not Fox/Murdoch yet perhaps with similar lines of thought) that equivocated tapering off to not really doing it so much (USA) and look at Europe now. I don’t think I had the Measles part of MMR, yet never heard I was vaccinated/immune to Measles. I recall in 1995 when I had a rash (pun intended) of bicycle crashes on my 10-speed the doctor asked me when I last had a tetanus booster and I just shrugged and said whenever I was like 2 or 3 years old and he popped one off the shelf and did the job. Mumps and Rubella - maybe the least of the Measles despite being the _German_ Measles I’ve had shots for and DMT was routine. My Russian wife is a care worker with the elderly and her history of vaccination has come up now and then. She’d be entirely SOL if she had to even try and get paper records of her vaccinations from the Soviet Union. Fortunately, they were pretty good about vaccinating most people. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/50 "2025-03-04T12:53:39Z")
Texas officials: NO MEASLES PARTIES. People are so stupid. “But it worked in the 1800s!” [Please Stop Having Measles Parties, Texas Government Begs](https://www.vice.com/en/article/please-stop-having-measles-parties-texas-government-begs/) ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/51 "2025-03-04T14:27:41Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > NO MEASLES PARTIES Apparently, South Park was not making any statement on vaxxing. Some kids in town got Chickenpox, they’ll all likely get it eventually so why not all at once? They get back at their parents by hiring a Herpes-ridden prostitute to use their parents stuff so the parents get Herpes and laughter ensues. Then Kenny drops dead of Chickenpox! _one beat of shock_ and the laughing goes on. > **Pox parties,** also known as **flu parties,** are social activities in which children are deliberately exposed to [infectious diseases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infectious_disease) such as chickenpox. Such parties originated to “get it over with” before vaccines were available for a particular illness. Herd mentality, I mean Herd Immunity. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/52 "2025-03-04T15:00:38Z")
[quote=“Coriolanus, post:49, topic:1014834”] The UK did taper off a bit around 2012-2016 yet it’s always been a thing the NHS considers cost effective compared to the cost of an outbreak. [/quote]\> > The vaccine-autism myth is one chilling example of [fraudulent science](http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452). February 28, 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of an infamous article published in the prestigious medical journal, _The Lancet_ , in which Andrew Wakefield, a former British doctor, falsely linked the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine to autism. The paper eventually was retracted by the co-authors and the journal. Wakefield was de-licensed by medical authorities for his deceit and “callous disregard” for children in his care. It took nearly two decades for the UK immunization rates to recover. By the end, UK families had experienced more than 12,000 cases of measles, hundreds of hospitalizations — many with serious complications — and at least three deaths.\> [The Vaccine-Autism Myth Started 20 Years Ago. Here’s Why It Endures Today | TIME](https://time.com/5175704/andrew-wakefield-vaccine-autism/) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/53 "2025-03-04T16:02:02Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > Herd mentality, I mean Herd Immunity. No - chicken pox can be deadly after puberty. The younger you are, the more mild the symptoms. It is much more preferable to take care of a sick little kid for a couple of days than to have your teenager in the ICU. Vaccines for chickenpox were not available until the late eighties/early nineties, hence chickenpox parties. I’m sure the Southpark episode was inspired by Parker and Stone remembering being sent to chickenpox parties as little kids. I know I was, but I never got it. Do you know how hard it is to get a chickenpox vaccine as an adult? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/54 "2025-03-04T16:07:45Z")
I would say extremely easy. As I mentioned in a different thread I am also an adult who was exposed as a child to chickenpox but was never symptomatic. About the time I turned 45 I was having a comprehensive physical and asked them to check my status because my parents had always assumed that I had had at some point because despite close contact with my younger brother while he had chickenpox I didn’t develop symptoms. So again they assumed I had had it as a unmarked version earlier. That was not the case. So I got approval from my health care provider which only required a single phone call and got the vaccination for chickenpox the same day. Considering ongoing political tensions regarding vaccines I would suggest calling your health insurance and finding a location that can do it quickly and easily for you as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/55 "2025-03-04T16:12:27Z")
I’ve tried the county health department, several different pharmacies, and my GP doesn’t stock it. My antibody tests show that I have been exposed, but not enough to grant immunity. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/56 "2025-03-04T16:15:40Z")
If I recall correctly you had similar issues finding a close provider in a related but different thread. For myself I was able to get it at my local Kroger grocery store via their little clinic. In fact I was just checking and could go into my local grocery store to get an updated MMR and Tdap vaccine with less than an hour wait. That doesn’t help you if there is nothing nearby, but I would check with local pharmacies grocery stores with included clinics or even Walmart. Which if I recall correctly was the same advice I gave last time which means it may not be any help at all in your area. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/57 "2025-03-04T16:29:15Z")
I remember you passing that along. I did try, but to no avail. I even asked my sons’ pediatrician, who also happens to be a Band parent. She couldn’t without serious ethics issues. I’m just stuck avoiding people with shingles. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/58 "2025-03-04T16:35:21Z")
Pro-immunization advocates are enjoying antivaxer meltdown over RFK Jr.'s semi-endorsement of the MMR vaccine. But most haven’t picked up on the antivax dog whistles in Junior’s measles statement. > **[Has RFK Jr. betrayed the antivax movement?](https://www.respectfulinsolence.com/2025/03/04/has-rfk-jr-betrayed-the-antivax-movement/)** > > Yesterday, I woke up to see an amazing op-ed in which longtime antivaxxer and now HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a call to action that included the MMR vaccine. Has he gone pro-vax? Not exactly, but it's amusing to watch his fans howl. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/59 "2025-03-04T16:52:02Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > But most haven’t picked up on the antivax dog whistles in Junior’s measles statement. So, apparently stupider than the average dog? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/60 "2025-03-04T17:54:54Z")
> [@Maus\_Magill](#): > > I remember you passing that along. I did try, but to no avail. I even asked my sons’ pediatrician, who also happens to be a Band parent. She couldn’t without serious ethics issues. I’m just stuck avoiding people with shingles. Could you expand on the ethical issues? I never had mumps as a kid, and when our first daughter was born, and got MMR, her pediatrician vaccinated me also just to be safe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834.md?page=4)