# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/81 "2025-03-06T17:19:52Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > To make sure this is very clear: measles is _not_ only a Texas problem You can add Florida to that list, too. > **[1st case of measles detected in Florida](https://abcnews.go.com/US/1st-case-measles-detected-florida/story?id=119495312)** > > A Miami high schooler came down with measles, a doctor said Tuesday. It's the first known case of measles in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/82 "2025-03-06T17:43:28Z")
In Florida it’s called ‘Freedom Rash’. ---
**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 6, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/83 "2025-03-06T18:02:34Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So _any_ statement about how anything is today has the implied caveat “until it’s turned inside out by upcoming events”. So very sadly true. As I said, was about making the implicit assumptions in the discussion so far _explicit_. Because when the availability/cost of the vaccines go from free to $$$ or flat out unavailable, the distinction between the groups is going to get blurry, especially among the economically vulnerable. As I said, very _minor_ quibble that was fully implied in the discussion to date. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In Florida it’s called ‘Freedom Rash’. Ha ha… ouch. The dark humor is more key, and more painful every day. In addition to the nightmare excuse scenario I mentioned upthread, another worry has been eating at my guts. With current levels of vaccination, it’s unlikely that we’ll go _full_ wildfire, even with the reams of un or undervaccinated individuals. But a noticeable percentage of that category are younger persons left unprotected by Conspiracy/Anti-Vaxx influenced parents. Unless things improve, I can of course see a generation of young folks suffering from a host of long-term medical effects, right after our current government _cripples_ care and treatment options for them, through dismantling government agencies that could provide care. And as usual, it’s the least economically secure that are going to get hit, up through the middle class. I really wonder (as I apparently have a desire for ulcers, thanks brain!) who is going to get the blame when 4+ years down the line all these parents of medically avoidable “special needs” kids get denied a whole range of medical, educational, and social protections. Nawww, I kid, I know it’s NOT going to be any of those responsible. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/84 "2025-03-06T21:52:49Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Shingrix is $0 with 98% of insurance carriers. Insurance only covers it if you’re over 50 or immuno-compromised. ---
**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 6, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/85 "2025-03-06T22:49:55Z")
I’m going to Texas in a couple of months and will be in large groups of people for almost a week, today I went and got the MMR and will get a booster in a month. So fucking stupid, all of this. ---
**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 7, 2025, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/86 "2025-03-07T00:02:54Z")
Presented without much comment because this isn’t the Pit, but please excuse me, this “news” means I’m going to need several drinks. > **[Kennedy touts unconventional therapies for measles linked to disciplined...](https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/06/health/kennedy-measles-texas-doctor-treatment/index.html)** > > Kennedy has touted the benefits of an unconventional measles treatment including the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin and cod liver oil, which has high concentrations of vitamin A. > There is a highly effective vaccine that prevents measles but no specific antiviral to treat it. Kennedy has previously pushed the use of vitamin A, and in an interview with Fox News this week, he endorsed an unconventional treatment regimen for measles including a steroid, an antibiotic and cod liver oil, which is rich in vitamin A. > > In the interview, which was posted in full on Fox Nation, Kennedy praised two West Texas doctors who he said were using this remedy on their patients and had seen “almost miraculous and instantaneous recovery.” He said these doctors had “treated most of the patients” in the current outbreak, which has now reached 159 reported cases. > > One of the doctors Kennedy is apparently taking cues from has troubled history. He was disciplined by the Texas Medical Board in 2003 for “unusual use of risk-filled medications.” ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2025, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/87 "2025-03-07T00:52:52Z")
Sigh. > **[Second measles death reported in ongoing outbreak](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna195231)** > > An unvaccinated adult in New Mexico tested positive for the measles virus after their death, the state Health Department said. ---
**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 7, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/88 "2025-03-07T01:52:28Z")
I’m a little confused by this phraseology. > The [New Mexico Department of Health said](https://www.nmhealth.org/news/alert/2025/3/?view=2188) Thursday that the state had its first measles death. > > A person in New Mexico tested positive for the measles virus after death, the state Health Department said. The official cause of death is still being investigated. I mean, presumably he died in some not-immediately-determinable way, and he tested positive, but it’s not clear they’ve connected the…um…dots. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/89 "2025-03-07T01:56:48Z")
As I understand he had not sought care and died. He had measles. Was measles the proximate cause of death or say a heart attack while having measles? Cannot yet state with confidence. ---
**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 7, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/90 "2025-03-07T01:59:36Z")
Right, that’s how I read it, which makes “NM has its first measles death” maybe jumping the gun. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2025, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/91 "2025-03-07T02:52:31Z")
It was a similar circumstance with Covid … they died while having Covid. It may or may not have been exclusively the Covid that killed them, but the heart attack, which was triggered by fighting off Covid. Which gets credit as proximate cause? Details are sure to come regarding any other contributing causes of death, if any. I think this has a ways to grow. Frustrating today. One of my hesitant delayer families was in today. They’ve been willing to get them but just one at a time. Given the current measles outbreak I tried hard to get them to do the MMRV today. They went with the booster Pentacel and it alone instead, afraid because he is slow on expressive language (early intervention referral placed today) and no talking them out of that worry. True no known cases near us … yet. Fortunately few of these families in my neck of the woods. But damn they aggravate us. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/92 "2025-03-08T06:32:44Z")
Actually, back in the day, vitamin A in its pure form (not the beta-carotene that is in our multi-vitamins) was given to measles patients for a few days, and still is in endemic areas, when people are diagnosed. It apparently reduces the length and severity of the illness in many cases. It’s still no substitute for the vaccine. ---
**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 8, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/93 "2025-03-08T16:12:00Z")
Vitamin A is _not_ protective against measles. It may, when administered under physician guidance, be useful in preventing or mitigating complications in severe disease/hospitalized patients. But the major role for vitamin A is in Third World countries where vitamin A deficiency is common. [https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/31490/AAP-leaders-combating-misinformation-amid-measles?autologincheck=redirected](https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/31490/AAP-leaders-combating-misinformation-amid-measles?autologincheck=redirected) In breaking batshit crazy news, Marjorie Taylor Greene is recommending parents take their kids to “measles parties” so they get infected and (yowza!) become immune, assuming parents have no problem with their kids getting miserablly ill and risking serious complications and death. Anything but vaccinating them. I hear ivermectin is terrific against measles. 🤪 ---
**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 8, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/94 "2025-03-08T17:52:52Z")
I had to swing by the Costco this morning, and the Pharmacy was devoid of people. I talked to the pharmacist and got a Shingrex shot. ---
**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 8, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/95 "2025-03-08T17:55:34Z")
> [@Maus\_Magill](#): > > …the Pharmacy was devoid of people. I talked to the pharmacist Isn’t that a little dehumanizing? ---
**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 8, 2025, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/96 "2025-03-08T18:49:43Z")
I haven’t seen an credible evidence on vitamin A as a mitigant for measles, though I have seen lots of research on supplemental A for vitamin deprived individuals for a host of deficiencies, but I see zero evidence that a research based approach is being used, or they’d be crowing about it at the CDC (what’s left of it that hasn’t been muted), or in scientific circles. No, it’s, and I’ll quote the article again: > In the interview, which was posted in full on Fox Nation, Kennedy praised two West Texas doctors who he said were using this remedy on their patients and had seen “almost miraculous and instantaneous recovery.” He said these doctors had “treated most of the patients” in the current outbreak, which has now reached 159 reported cases. This isn’t the language a rational actor would be using if it were just shortening the duration or dealing with underlying issues. The language _Kennedy_ is using (note, the doctors MAY be saying something else, and it’s barely possible that the Mennonite community is having vitamin deficiencies) is straight out of Infowars style supplement sales. You know, take my overpriced woo and you can be healthy / virile / potent / with NO side effects and pwn the libs! ---
**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 8, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/97 "2025-03-08T19:01:57Z")
It might have some benefits for kids under two years old. No overall significant reduction in mortality with vitamin A therapy for children with measles was found. However two doses reduced overall and pneumonia‐specific mortality in children aged less than two years. No trials directly compared a single dose with two doses. > **[Vitamin A for treating measles in children](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7076287/)** > > Measles is a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. Vitamin A deficiency is a recognized risk factor for severe measles infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily oral dose of vitamin A for two days to children ... ---
**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 8, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/98 "2025-03-08T21:42:10Z")
Junior’s comments represent more antivax dog-whistling. Why get vaccinated, when if you get measles, a hit of vitamin A provides “miraculous and instantaneous recovery”? Utter bullshit. \*one wonders - if vitamin A therapy is so fantastic, why not have it on hand in all doctor’s offices for when vaccines immediately turn children autistic? A shot of vitamin A, and the kiddies will instantaneously become neurotypical again. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/99 "2025-03-08T22:01:59Z")
Vitimrn A is dangerous if used in excess. I see that coming. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-measles-death-in-texas-feb-2025-and-now-in-other-parts-of-the-us/1014834/100 "2025-03-09T00:04:01Z")
I have long collected vintage medical books, and that was indeed used as a “treatment” for measles at one time. Maybe it was “discovered” in an area where deficiencies were rampant, IDK. Like I’ve said, pure vitamin A requires a prescription because of its narrow therapeutic index. OTC vitamin A is sold as beta carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A as needed. [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=4) [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=6)